Sourav Dev |
The Eid they dreamed of celebrating beyond barbed wire will once again be spent under tin and tarpaulin roofs in refugee camps. Muhammad Yunus’s time is up, but the Rohingyas’ wait is not.
After taking charge as chief adviser, Muhammad Yunus struck a hopeful tone on resolving the Rohingya crisis. His international standing, Nobel laureate status and diplomatic reach raised fresh expectations in the camps of Ukhiya and Teknaf. The most visible symbol of that hope was his statement: “The next Eid will be in Myanmar.”
But time passed. The national election is scheduled for February 12. Eid is approaching. And the Rohingyas remain exactly where they were—inside the hill-ringed camps of Cox’s Bazar.
Another year of waiting for the ‘promised Eid’
Abdus Salam, 45, a resident of Kutupalong camp in Ukhiya, said, “We were truly preparing ourselves. It felt like this time it might really happen. Now we understand it was just words.”
Eid in the camps is not a celebration but a renewed reminder of another lost year. On Eid morning, limited rations are cooked in bamboo-and-tarpaulin shelters. There is no festivity, no joy of meeting relatives back home.
A Rohingya teenage girl captures the generational crisis: “I grew up in Bangladesh. But Bangladesh is not my country, and Myanmar no longer recognises me.”
The Yunus chapter ends, the issue remains
With the February 12 election, the Yunus chapter is closing. But observers say the Rohingya crisis has once again slipped down the list of priorities.
Human rights activist Kalim Ullah said, “The Rohingyas are now geopolitical orphans. Everyone speaks of sympathy, but no one wants responsibility.”
Nearly one million Rohingyas who fled Myanmar’s Rakhine State in 2017 have seen no visible progress towards repatriation even after eight years. According to UNHCR, about 1.1 million Rohingyas live in Bangladesh, while unofficial estimates put the figure close to 1.5 million.
No national policy, no representation
Syed Ullah, president of the United Council for Rohingya, said, “There is still no national policy for 1.3 million Rohingyas in Bangladesh. Without representative inclusion, this crisis cannot be resolved.”
He said they had pinned hopes on Yunus.
“Without political and economic stability, nothing is possible. We pray to Allah that stability returns to Bangladesh,” he added.
‘We want to return with dignity’
Mohammad Arafat, operations manager of the Rohingya Art Club and a painter, said, “We want to return with dignity and security. Any decision taken by the UN and the Bangladesh government must ensure the safety of our community.”
Yunus’s statement: emotion or strategy?
Researchers are divided on whether Muhammad Yunus’s promise on Rohingya repatriation was an emotional remark or a strategic message.
Professor Rahman Nasir Uddin of Chittagong University’s anthropology department, who has worked on the Rohingya issue for years, said Yunus’s statement should not be taken lightly.
He recalled that on March 14, 2025, Yunus had said, “Next year you will celebrate Eid in your own land,” adding that such a statement could not have been made casually.
“Given his position as head of an interim government and a Nobel laureate, this was not something he would say out of sheer emotion,” the professor said.
He suggested two possible explanations. “One is that he genuinely wanted to initiate a solution, at least to kick-start the repatriation process and send a strong message to the international community.”v
The other possibility, he said, was creating media sensation and seeking cheap popularity. “An image was built that a Nobel laureate would fix everything in a year. But the reality is, this was not realistic.”
Government’s stance: ‘Expectation, not a promise’
The government has described Yunus’s remark not as a promise but as an expression of hope.
Refugee Relief and Repatriation Commissioner Mohammad Mizanur Rahman said the statement reflected the region’s social and religious context around Eid.
“In this region, Eid means going back to villages, visiting parents and ancestors’ graves. Rohingyas have been stuck here for eight years. From that human emotion came the wish that next Eid they would go home,” he said.
It was a wish, not a commitment.
He stressed that the solution does not lie in Bangladesh’s hands alone. “This depends primarily on Myanmar and on ensuring Rohingyas’ safety and consent. Bangladesh is only one part of the equation. If it were solely in our hands, the crisis would not have dragged on for eight years.”
Interim government efforts: keeping the issue alive internationally
Mizanur Rahman said the interim government had tried to revive international attention to the crisis within its limited tenure.
“There was a special conference at the UN. A three-day international conference was held in Bangladesh. The issue was raised with the UN secretary-general. High-level international representatives visited,” he said.
According to him, the Rohingya issue had lost global focus.
We tried to bring it back to the table and maintain international pressure. This is a continuous process. If it continues, a solution may eventually emerge.
Repatriation and funding crisis: ‘We haven’t lost hope’
The commissioner said Bangladesh keeps raising the issue internationally for two reasons: repatriation and the welfare of the huge Rohingya population currently hosted.
“Funding is now a major challenge. International assistance is needed to ensure food, health and security,” he said, adding that Bangladesh remains hopeful as long as the issue stays alive globally.
No priority in political agendas
Professor Rahman Nasir Uddin noted that none of the major political parties likely to come to power have outlined a clear roadmap for resolving the Rohingya crisis in their election manifestos.
“This shows the crisis is not a priority agenda,” he said. “That is deeply concerning for the state, as this is a long-term challenge for Bangladesh’s security, economy and diplomacy.”
BNP-nominated candidate for the Ukhiya-Teknaf constituency Shahjahan Chowdhury echoed the political reality. “I can’t say what plan or intention Professor Yunus had. But the reality is that in such a short time, especially with elections ahead, a visible solution was impossible.”
This isn’t Aladdin’s lamp,” he said. “His time has ended, but the burden will remain on whoever comes next. If it isn’t handled seriously, it will only grow more complex.
‘No legitimate government in Rakhine’
Palongkhali Union Parishad Chairman Gafur Uddin Chowdhury said recent violence, conflict and Myanmar’s military coup have made effective communication extremely difficult.
“There is no legitimate, functional government in Rakhine now. In this situation, safe and dignified repatriation remains highly uncertain,” he said, adding that Yunus’s earlier comment may have been emotional or based on a different context.
State agreements outlast governments
Referring to the 2017 repatriation agreement between Bangladesh and Myanmar, Professor Rahman Nasir Uddin said, “This was a deal between two states, not two governments. Governments may change, but the responsibility to pursue the agreement remains.”
He said a new government could still prioritise repatriation using that framework.
UNHCR: conditions not conducive for return
Responding by email, UNHCR spokesperson Shari Nijman said conditions in Myanmar are still not conducive to safe, dignified and sustainable return.
Rohingyas, she said, consistently express willingness to return if conditions improve, but the fundamental requirements have not been met. These include access to original places of residence, freedom of movement, basic services, livelihoods, and a clear path to citizenship and legal identity.
UNHCR noted that these depend on Myanmar’s full political commitment, which is currently absent. Since early 2024, renewed conflict and persecution have forced an estimated 150,000 Rohingyas to seek refuge in Bangladesh, further complicating the situation.
The agency described the situation in Rakhine State as “extremely concerning,” citing widespread violence, intercommunal tensions and structural discrimination. About 536,000 stateless people there remain deprived of basic rights, including healthcare, education, livelihoods, freedom of movement and citizenship.
UNHCR stressed that a sustainable solution cannot be delivered by humanitarian agencies alone and requires sustained political engagement by the international community. It said it would continue supporting Bangladesh in humanitarian assistance and protection while backing initiatives that promote Rohingya self-reliance and preparedness for eventual return.
For the next government, the Rohingya crisis remains as daunting as ever. Without a national policy, diplomatic assertiveness and a multi-dimensional approach, analysts say, the crisis will persist.
For now, only one thing is certain: Yunus’s time has run out, but the Rohingyas’ journey home has not begun. Another Eid is coming, but the wait to go home feels endless.