Five years have passed since the Myanmar military crackdown in Rakhine has sent nearly a million Rohingyas fleeing across the border to Bangladesh.
With sharp decline in international funding and little prospect of repatriation anytime soon, Bangladesh continues to struggle to accommodate the million-strong refugees while fending off natural disasters, disease outbreaks, and food shortages.
Rohingyas walk on a road at a refugee camp in Cox's Bazar, Bangladesh, on Wednesday, August 11, 2021 Allison Joyce/Dhaka TribuneHere is a brief timeline of crisis:
Aug 25, 2017 – The Arakan Rohingya Salvation Army attacks over 20 Myanmar border police outposts, sparking a military crackdown in Rakhine state. Thousands of Rohingyas flee the atrocities and take refuge in Cox’s Bazar.
Aug 31, 2007 – Number of Rohingya refugees in Bangladesh crosses 27,000.
Sept 6, 2017 – UN Secretary General António Guterres expresses concern over the Rohingya crisis in a letter to the UN Security Council.
Sept 11, 2017 - UN human rights high commissioner calls the Myanmar military operation “a textbook example of ethnic cleansing”.
Sept 12, 2017 – Bangladesh Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina visits the Kutupalong refugee camp..
Sept. 19, 2017 - Myanmar leader Aung San Suu Kyi vows to punish the perpetrators of rights violations but does not address UN accusations of ethnic cleansing.
The remains of a burned Rohingya village are seen in this aerial photograph near Maungdaw, north of Rakhine State, Myanmar September 27, 2017 REUTERSSept 21, 2017- PM Sheikh Hasina places a five-point proposal, including calls for Myanmar to unconditionally stop violence and ethnic cleansing in Rakhine state, at the UN General Assembly in New York.
Sept 27, 2017 - The number of Rohingya refugees in Bangladesh crosses 500,000.
Oct 6, 2017 - UN Security Council issues statement demanding an end to the Rohingya crisis.
Oct 18, 2017 - China Foreign Minister Wang Yi visits Bangladesh, says Beijing is ready to support Dhaka in ensuring the safe return of the Rohingyas to Myanmar.
Oct 23, 2017 - Bangladesh and Myanmar sign an MoU on Rohingya repatriation, stating that the process would end within two years of commencement and Myanmar would take back 300 Rohingyas each day.
Rohingya youngsters learning at the centre Syed Zakir Hossain/Dhaka TribuneFeb 16, 2018- Bangladesh governments hands list of 8,000 Rohingya to Myanmar. Myanmar agrees to take only 374 people from the list.
Feb 23, 2018 - Myanmar bulldozes at least 55 Rohingya villages that were emptied during the violence.
Mar 12, 2018 - Myanmar military begins building bases where Rohingya homes and mosques once stood.
Apr 11, 2018 - Seven Myanmar soldiers sentenced to 10 years of hard labor for the Inn Din massacre.
Apr 29, 2018 - A group from the UN Security Council visits the Rohingya camps in Bangladesh.
July 2, 2018 - UN Secretary-General António Guterres and World Bank President Jim Yong Kim visit the Rohingya camps.
Sept 13, 2018 - Suu Kyi admits her government could have handled the situation in Rakhine better.
Nov 15, 2018 – First Rohingya refugee repatriation effort stalls amid protests in the camps.
July 27, 2019- High-level delegation from Myanmar visits Cox’s Bazar refugee camps.
Aug 22, 2019- Second Rohingya refugee repatriation effort fails.
Aug 25, 2019 –Rohingya refugees hold massive rally in Kutupalong camp, reiterate that they will not return until Myanmar meets their five-point demand, including citizenship.
Nov 11, 2019 –Gambia files genocide case against Myanmar at the International Court of Justice (ICJ).
Jan 23, 2020 –ICJ issues provisional measures against Myanmar to prevent any genocidal acts against the Rohingyas and to protect them.
May 25, 2020 - Myanmar files a report on its adherence to measures to protect the Rohingya to the ICJ. Details are not published.
Nov 18, 2020- UN adopts resolution that urges Myanmar to take specific actions for an urgent solution to the Rohingya crisis.
Dec 4, 2020- A batch of 1,642 Rohingyas arrive in Bhashan Char during the first phase of relocation.
July 13, 2021 - A resolution on the "Human Rights Situation of Rohingya Muslims and other Minorities in Myanmar" is unanimously adopted at the 47th session of the UN Human Rights Council in Geneva.
Oct 9, 2021- Bangladesh and the UN sign an MoU on UN engagement at Bhasan Char to support the Rohingyas.
May 21, 2022- Filippo Grandi, the UN high commissioner for refugees, arrives in Dhaka to discuss the needs of the Rohingyas in Cox's Bazar and Bhasan Char.
June 23, 2022Bangladesh Foreign Minister AK Abdul Momen seeks support for Rohingya repatriation during the Commonwealth Foreign Affairs Ministers Meeting in Rwanda.
July 22, 2022- ICJ rejects Myanmar’s preliminary objections to the case brought by Gambia.
