Economic Challenges and Coping Mechanisms in Protracted Displacement: A Case Study of the Rohingya Refugees in Bangladesh

Abstract

In protracted refugee situations, basic needs are increasingly deficient as humanitarian relief decreases over time. In response to unmet needs, refugees often seek opportunities for income generation to meet their basic needs. The objective of this qualitative study was to explore the desires and concerns of refugee populations surviving without adequate aid in order to explore risks associated with income-generating activities and the possibilities for livelihood support. The case study focused on the Rohingya refugees, an ethnic Muslim minority from Myanmar, residing in southern Bangladesh. This study, based on 127 interviews, showed that although there is no legal right to work for refugees in Bangladesh, nearly every refugee household was engaged in multiple forms of wage-earning employment as a coping mechanism to economic deprivations.