Displaced Rohingya have appealed for a return to their homeland before Sergio Gor, the US special envoy for South and Central Asia, who visited Rohingya camps in Ukhiya, Cox’s Bazar, to see the humanitarian situation firsthand. As his convoy passed through the Ukhiya camps on Friday, Rohingya lined up and held up placards reading, “You have your home! We miss our home!” Through the placards, they demanded a safe, voluntary and dignified repatriation to Myanmar.
Witnesses said the Rohingya used the envoy’s visit to press their long-standing demand for repatriation peacefully. Many spoke of their wish to return to their own country and called for effective steps by the international community.
Abdur Rahim, a witness, said the Rohingya peacefully held up placards demanding a safe and dignified return to Myanmar. Many of them have been in Bangladesh for years and expressed a desire to go home, he said.
Rohingya leader Md Zubair said: “We have been living uncertain lives in the camps year after year. Our only wish is to return to our own country with citizenship rights, security and dignity assured. We no longer want to live as refugees.”
“The Rohingya are grateful to Bangladesh, but no one wants to live forever under another’s shelter, away from their own country. The international community must now take effective steps so that we can return safely to our homeland,” he said.
Sources connected to the camps said that during the visit, Gor observed the Rohingya’s living conditions, humanitarian aid activities, education and health services, and the overall situation in the camps. He also exchanged views with various international agencies and officials.
Gor, who is in Bangladesh on a three-day official visit, toured the Ukhiya camps as part of a review of the current state of the Rohingya crisis, humanitarian aid operations and repatriation-related issues.
বাংলায় মূল প্রতিবেদন পড়ুন · Read the original Bengali report