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For years, the plight of the Rohingya has been fading from the world’s conscience. About a million people languish in Bangladesh’s refugee camps, trapped in limbo after fleeing Myanmar’s brutal campaign of ethnic cleansing in 2017. Aid is dwindling, food rations have been slashed and children are growing up without education or prospects. Meanwhile, repeated repatriation attempts have failed, leaving both Bangladesh and the refugees themselves with little hope.
But a surprising development in Dhaka changed the dynamics. The August 2024 appointment of Nobel Peace Prize laureate Mohammed Yunus as Bangladesh’s interim prime minister put the Rohingya issue back on the international agenda. Unlike his predecessors, who largely treated the refugees as an unwelcome burden, Yunus brings a humanitarian ethos and global stature that is reviving international engagement with one of the world’s most protracted refugee crises.
Since assuming office, Yunus has reframed the Rohingya not only as Bangladesh’s burden but as a global responsibility
Dr. Azeem Ibrahim
