There is no questioning the fact that when Dr Yunus became the head of the interim government of Bangladesh, he began this journey with a long list of unfinished tasks left by the ousted authoritarian regime in August 2024.
Among these, many were riddled with structural and policy flaws. The failure of Rohingya repatriation was one of them.
Dr Yunus’s government started to deal with the Rohingya crisis with compassion. For instance, his statement in 2025 to arrange the Rohingya’s return to their own country by Eid 2026 was quite a powerful expression of his compassionate commitment.
Yet, with Eid 2026 now well in the past, the failure to repatriate even a single Rohingya raises questions: Was this overly idealistic, a symbolic approach, or just a politically-inspired impractical assurance?
Was it assumed that, following the national elections and handing over the state responsibilities, his words would fade from public memory? Or does it follow the same old pattern in which vulnerable people are treated as subject to unfulfilled promises?
Perhaps the answer is available in a combination of all these factors.
Dr Yunus’s early statements and steps on the Rohingya issue reflected his conscious position -- he was careful and optimistic. The actions of his government on the Rohingya issue seemed leading towards positive developments.
Dr Yunus established a position of a High Representative (HR) for the Rohingya and other pressing national issues. Prior to 2024, the previous regime largely resorted to temporary and ad hoc steps, simply applying ineffective provisional solutions to a deep-rooted and politically-complicated crisis until 2024.
Cox’s Bazar -- a major tourist destination -- continues hosting the Rohingya population with hospitality and solidarity. Sadly, this tourist town has been transformed into a popular hub of domestic and international organizations’ presence, with their infrastructures occupying significant portions of this town in the name of rendering humanitarian services.
To some observers, this may be better described as “refugee tourism,” just like other forms of tourism such as sports or adventure tourism, particularly because of the town’s location by the world’s longest uninterrupted sandy beach.
A brief look at the statistics highlights the magnitude of the Rohingya crisis. According to the UNHCR data, the number of the Rohingya was approximately 200,000 in 1978, increasing to 300,000 in 1998. In 2017 alone, an additional 723,000 Rohingya entered Bangladesh because of genocide and ethnic cleansing in their country.
Sporadic exodus of the Rohingya to Bangladesh continued because of the constant persecution in Myanmar. By 2024, the total number officially stood at 994,124, though most believe the number to exceed a million. In 2025, a further 113,000 Rohingya arrived in Cox’s Bazar.
All these resulted in a remarkable demographic imbalance between the Rohingya population and the host community. In 2024, the host population was 597,023, compared to about a million Rohingya in Cox’s Bazar. Don’t such figures appear alarming from a security perspective?
It is important to note that the Rohingya community has expressed their gratitude toward Bangladesh for saving their life, reducing the possibilities of direct conflict initiated by the Rohingya.
Going back to the initiatives of the interim government, the appointment of an HR with an impressive profile -- a Bangladeshi diplomat, economist, and former UN official -- initially ignited hope between both the host community and the Rohingya.
However, over time, it was found that having expertise in general diplomacy does not necessarily help an individual to understand a five-decade-old geopolitical problem.
In March 2025, Dr Yunus, accompanied by UN Secretary-General António Guterres, attended an iftar with approximately 100,000 Rohingya refugees in Ukhiya, Cox’s Bazar. Shortly after that, in early April 2025, during the 6th BIMSTEC meeting, Bangladesh secured a verbal assurance from Myanmar’s deputy PM regarding the repatriation of 180,000 Rohingya.
While this announcement instantly sparked a positive ray of hope, it ultimately went to hibernation, not just because of internal conflict inside Myanmar but also a lack of pressure and follow up from Bangladesh.
Another noteworthy initiative was bringing the Rohingya issue to the international conference at the UN Headquarters in September 2025. The conference aimed to focus on state accountability, humanitarian assistance, and the importance of safe, voluntary, and dignified repatriation.
While participating, states mainly stressed the importance of generating funding for the Rohingya instead of ensuring their repatriation. Although financial assistance is vital for managing the camps, it has very little to do with the issue of repatriation.
No state-representative addressed the critical issue of Myanmar needing to take its people back. We must also keep in mind that global attention has been gradually shifting toward war and conflicts in different parts of the world, which is ultimately going to negatively impact the donor's focus on the Rohingya crisis.
In the meantime, the socio-economic, environmental, and the law and order situation of Cox’s Bazar have worsened to a great extent. The initial hospitality of the host community has slowly turned into hostility.
Simultaneously, the Rohingya continue facing insurmountable problems such as an absence of formal identity, extremely limited access to education and employment, and an uncertain future -- elements contributing to deepening their frustration.
Did the interim government take a look at empirical evidence that supports the deteriorating situation? A 2025 study published in Quarterly on Refugee Problems indicates that economic adversity among the host community increased from 13% in 2017 to 30% in 2023, while among the Rohingya it went up from 57% to 86% during the same period.
The unemployment rate among the host population also increased from 7% in 2022 to 16% in 2023. These trends confirm a growing pressure on local labour markets, declining daily wages, rising costs of everyday supplies, closure of local small businesses, and increased involvement of both host and refugee populations in unlawful activities such as drug trafficking and smuggling.
Questions remain unanswered. What did the Rohingya gain from the promises, diplomatic assurances, and international engagements made by the interim government? Will returning home by another Eid be always a dream? Will prolonged refugeeness with uncertainty of repatriation be the only reality for the Rohingya?
Dr Ishrat Zakia Sultana is an Associate Professor of Sociology, North South University, Bangladesh. Email: [email protected].
