As the first monsoon rains cause flooding in overcrowded Rohingya refugee camps in Bangladesh, a serious and depressing realization is likely to be felt for the exiles.

The Rohingya crisis may continue to grab headlines, but it has been largely sidelined by the post-coup crisis in Myanmar and headline-grabbing global issues such as the war in Ukraine. , struggling supply chains and health issues, such as the extinction of the COVID-19 pandemic and the general economic downturn.

All over the world, conflicts and humanitarian crises are covered by the media, but all momentum with the Rohingya crisis and the possibility of a return of refugees to Myanmar seems to have been suspended.

This has been clear for a number of years, although there was an initial movement in the last years of Aung San Suu Kyi’s government, during which construction work was launched on detention camps. built for returnees.

It all depends on the image and position of the Rohingyas.

On the face of it, there appears to have been a reassessment and acceptance by some political actors in Myanmar that the Rohingya crisis exists and can no longer be swept under the rug. Even the National Unity Government (NUG) – the civilian representatives of the people of Myanmar – now uses the word ‘Rohingya’ and has allied itself with Rohingya NGO groups. In addition, the campaign by the international tribunal in The Hague continues to try to get the Burmese army to pursue charges of “genocide” and war crimes.

That said, Myanmar’s predominantly Buddhist population tends to be set in its ways, with anti-Muslim racism still deep-rooted among some members of the population.

The Rohingya are often described as one of the most persecuted minorities on the planet. Mainly confined to Rakhine State and refugee camps in Bangladesh, and to a much lesser extent in Indian communities, the Rohingya have faced discrimination since independence from Burma in 1948. They are denied citizenship under the Myanmar Nationality Act 1982 and face restrictions on their freedom. movement, access to public education and public service jobs. The legal conditions facing the Rohingya in Myanmar have been compared to apartheid by some scholars, analysts and political figures, including the late Nobel Laureate Bishop Desmond Tutu, a South African anti-apartheid activist.

Repression against the community began in earnest after the 1962 military coup, with periodic purges that caused refugees to flee to Bangladesh or take refuge in camps for internally displaced persons (IDPs) in 1978, 1991-92 and 2012. However, it was Myanmar’s brutal military crackdown on the community in 2017, following attacks by militants under the banner of the Arakan Rohingya Salvation Army (ARSA) on targets military and border crossings, which caused a massive exodus of more than 700,000 people to Bangladesh.

This mass displacement of Rohingya led the International Criminal Court to investigate crimes against humanity and led the International Court of Justice to investigate alleged genocide.

At present, the Rohingya community is effectively divided between refugee camps in Bangladesh and IDP camps in Rakhine State. Periodically, boats laden with Rohingya migrants sail successfully or unsuccessfully for refuge in Indonesia and Malaysia, or wash up on the shores of southern Thailand.

But with Myanmar’s focus on the post-coup crisis and global attention elsewhere, the Rohingya crisis tends to get little attention.

That was the message from the UNHCR chief who spent five days in Bangladesh in May to assess the problem.

“The world must remember the crisis that Rohingya refugees and their hosts have been facing for the past five years,” said Filippo Grandi after visiting refugee camps in Cox’s Bazar and Bhasan Char Island in the Bay. of Bengal, according to UN News.

Mr. Grandi hailed the leadership of the Government of Bangladesh for making significant progress in the refugee response. “Bangladesh, which has assisted nearly one million refugees, remains a priority partner for UNHCR, but continued international support is crucial to provide lifesaving assistance and inspire hope,” he said.

The UN High Commissioner noted that refugees’ lives depended on “how the international community responds to care for them” and that international support was vital, “including flexible funding to protect Rohingya refugees. until they can return home safely”. The Rohingya crisis should not be forgotten.

As Bangladesh’s Foreign Minister Mohammad Shahriar Alam recently said in a public meeting, the crisis should be seen as a global and collective problem rather than a local one.

“Bangladesh alone cannot care for more than a million Myanmar nationals. This is why foreign support is crucial and necessary,” he said in a video message at a recent book unveiling ceremony.