JUST before the Eid holidays, I was in the Rohingya camps in Cox鈥檚 Bazar with my colleagues. It was heart-warming to see the little children laughing and learning in makeshift classrooms. These learning centres were their happy places where they played, learnt and looked up to their teachers, Afa and Bhai, as role models.
But today, those classrooms are at risk of being shut down. The reason? Funding cuts. Nearly half a million Rohingya children and adolescents are now at risk of losing access to education. Without education, their future hangs in balance.
We met a Rohingya man seeking care at one of the IRC鈥檚 health facilities. He is among the 150,000 new arrivals who have taken refuge in Cox鈥檚 Bazar in recent months, with reports suggesting that another 50,000 may arrive by 2025. Many lack documentation and face serious barriers to basic services. Women and children are especially at risk of being trafficked, exploited and abused. Urgent, coordinated action is needed to ensure their protection and access to lifesaving support.
We also met families preparing to resettle in a third country. We saw their hope and their joy and felt their worry of uncertainty. Starting over in a new land is never easy. But it does bring something that many have long been denied: a chance at stability and safety.
More than 2,000 Rohingya refugees have already been resettled. One of them is Lucky Karim, once a resident of the camps and now a global voice for the Rohingya people in Cox鈥檚 Bazar. She was one of the first Rohingya woman to be resettled from Cox鈥檚 Bazar. Her journey shows what is possible when people are given the chance to rebuild.
We also met a mother of four daughters who had just left the camp. Her words stay with us:
鈥榊et again, I am leaving one country for another country, but this time with my four daughters.
鈥楳y husband left me for another woman and I only have these four daughters.
鈥業n the new country, my sole wish is to raise them properly so that they don鈥檛 have to depend on anyone else, so that they can make their own choices and look after me.鈥�
Resettlement gives these people more than safety. It offers hope, dignity and a chance to rebuild their lives. It allows them to live without fear, reunite with family and, finally, dream of a future again. Resettlement needs to continue. But it needs strong diplomatic support from Bangladesh and more commitment from the global community.
Meanwhile, it was raining again in Cox鈥檚 Bazar because it is monsoon time.
The shelters, made of tarpaulin and bamboo, leak. Many floods. The threat of landslides looms. People have nowhere else to go. Too often, families lose their loved ones in disasters. To protect lives and restore hope, we must invest in climate-resilient infrastructure for both Rohingya families and host communities in Cox鈥檚 Bazar.
We met many women full of potential. Some are now stepping into leadership roles. For the first time, four Rohingya women have become majhis, or community leaders. This is a turning point. When women lead, communities grow stronger. But, they need support, training, safety and the space to make decisions. More than half the refugee population is women. Their voices matter equally.
In the camps, we met young people creating art, repairing phones, singing songs, doing photography and videography, producing digital content, writing poems and learning skills such as carpentry and electrical work. They really do not want to rely on aid. They want opportunities. With each opportunity, they can get market-based skills and access to higher education. Every one of them could become valuable contributors to the host country, to their future homes or one day, to a peaceful Myanmar.
But all of this is now under massive threat.
Since January, funding has dropped dramatically. Basic sectors such as food, water, health and shelter are being prioritised and rightly so. But, Rohingya refugees deserve more than just survival. They deserve dignity.
Funding cuts will also hurt the host communities, who already share limited resources. This, if left unaddressed, will increase tension. We must support both the Rohingya and Bangladeshi host communities so that everyone can live with dignity and hope and secure a better future
This week, the world marks World Refugee Day. This is a moment to honour the strength and resilience of people forced to flee their homes. But, behind the words and events lies a harsh truth: more than 120 million people are displaced globally. Among them, more than one million Rohingya refugees continue to live in the world鈥檚 largest and most overcrowded refugee camps in Cox鈥檚 Bazar.
Their crisis is one of the most neglected and forgotten. Many have spent nearly eight years in a limbo, without citizenship, the freedom of movement or access to basic rights.
The global community should not look away. Refugees must not be remembered only once a year. They deserve attention and action every single day.
Recently, we came across a powerful poem by a Rohingya youth named Jaber, titled 鈥榃e Are Not Your Headlines.鈥� The first four lines read:
You take our pain; wrap it in newsprint,
Filter it through sympathy and sell it by the hour鈥�
And it ends with a call:
We don鈥檛 need pity;
We need justice written not in ink;
But in immediate action.
The Rohingya people deserve action. Not just sympathy.
That is why, on this World Refugee Day and every day, we urge governments, donors and international actors to stand with the Rohingya people not just in words but also in action. They deserve more than survival. They deserve a life of dignity, safety and hope.
We must invest in their future through education, skills and protection for both Rohingya and Bangladeshi youth, women and families who continue to carry the weight of this prolonged crisis. We must not allow more lives to be uprooted. No one should ever be forced to flee again. And, we must ensure that no one remains stateless or forgotten.
Every refugee carries a story of loss, resilience and longing. Every voice matters. Let us not look away.
The time to act is now before hope fades completely.
听
Hasina Rahman, is country director and Shabira Nupur is head of advocacy and communication of the International Rescue Committee.