Professor Kate Williams and Professor Ali Wardak recently returned from their research fieldwork in Bangladesh where they interviewed people living and working in Rohingyas refugee camps as well as local people living near the camps.
"Whilst we documented the extreme violence the Rohingya refugees experienced in Myanmar and their pathways to the camps, the focus of this research is their dignity and safety in the camps and their futures. In particular, we are searching for pathways out of their present predicament which offer more constructive and positive futures," said Professor Wardak.
The USW professors also conducted interviews with senior officials from international organisations working with refuges (e.g. United Nations and World Food Programme) as well as with senior Bangladeshi government officials.
This research fieldwork is part of a more extensive data collection process concerning both Rohingya refuges in Bangladesh and Internally Displace Persons in Afghanistan.
This research project is funded by the British Academy and conducted with Dr Palash Kamruzzaman from the Centre for Social Policy.
The main policy aim is to suggest recommendations for durable and sustainable solutions to displacement in Bangladesh and Afghanistan.