Tens of thousands of refugees demonstrate in Bangladesh camps to push for repatriation to Myanmar after food ration is slashed.
Tens of thousands of Rohingya refugees in Bangladesh are demanding to be repatriated to Myanmar so that they can leave the squalid camps they have lived in since fleeing a brutal military crackdown in their homeland in 2017.
More than a million Rohingya have been crammed into the camps in southeastern Bangladesh, the world’s largest refugee settlement. Most fled the crackdown by Myanmar’s military almost six years ago, although some have been there for longer.
On June 1, the World Food Programme cut the monthly food allocation to $8 per person from $10 earlier. In March, the ration cut had been reduced from $12 to $10 due to a reduction in global aid for the refugees.
During Thursday’s demonstrations across the sprawling camps, the mainly Muslim refugees, young and old, waved placards and chanted slogans.
“No more refugee life. No verification. No scrutiny. No interview. We want quick repatriation through UNHCR data card. We want to go back to our motherland,” the placards read.
“Let’s go back to Myanmar. Don’t try to stop repatriation,” said the others.
