The Rohingya refugee crisis in Bangladesh: An analysis of the involvement of local humanitarian actors.

Abstract

Since August 2017, more than 700000 Rohingya seek refuge in Bangladesh from neighboring Myanmar that resulted in an unprecedented humanitarian crisis. A significant endeavor is taking place involving various humanitarian actors for the provision and overall management of the humanitarian activities in Rohingya refugee camps. The article studies the configuration and evolution of the humanitarian operations with the aim to identify the extent of localization, i.e. involvement of the Bangladeshi actors in the management of the camps in the early stage (1-2 years) of the crisis. It employs a quantitative method by analyzing the 4W data of the United Nations Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs. Segregation of humanitarian operators by National and International Non-Governmental Organizations and a network analysis suggest that the humanitarian operations are dominated by international actors and the localization has not been achieved at the early stage. Additionally, the article provides a profile of the humanitarian operation along with the context and background of the crisis, as such can be utilized by both academic and non-academic audiences.