Voices of the Burmese Rohingya refugees: everyday politics of survival in refugee camps in Bangladesh

Many of the displaced ethnic Rohingya minority from Myanmar living in Bangladesh for more than two decades are as documented and undocumented refugees. Those living in two registered refugee camps are documented refugees, located in secluded areas, maintaining a safe distance from the locals and monitored by the appointed authority. How is life like for the refugees at these camps? How do the young refugees envision their present and future within the given environment? This paper examines the young Rohingya refugees\u27 everyday politics of survival at one of the registered refugee camps, i.e. Nayapara, located in the Teknaf sub-district of Cox\u27s Bazar district of Bangladesh, in an effort to understand their interactions with the host state local society and international agencies within the framework of state-imposed boundaries. The paper takes people\u27s perspective and the agency\u27s approach and frames the refugee society as a political community. The ethnographic data for this research came from 30 respondents using qualitative methods of in-depth interviews, group discussion and participant observation. The paper argues that the critical voices of camp-based refugees often articulate narratives of dispossession and marginalisation that can, in one way or another, be explained as the outcome or consequence of their forced migrationhowever, notwithstanding adversity, the refugees learn to live and find ways to make a life, within the given situation, navigating through a complex process of contestation, negotiation, adjustment and manipulation. Some of the activities such as taking on the role of brokers between agencies and refugees, and seasonal work outside the camp boundary indicate refugees\u27 delicate negotiation with their situation and individuals\u27 aspirations to defy the imagined boundary of camps. This paper shows the dynamics of contestation and collaboration within the camp situation and criticises encampment as a strategy of refugee protection