Over 90,000 Muslim Rohingya, an ethnic minority in predominantly Buddhist Burma, have been displaced in recent weeks after sectarian violence broke out in Burma's Rakhine State.
Many of the Rohingya are fleeing to neighbouring Bangladesh in search of medical aid, food and shelter, but the Bangladeshi government has so far refused to let them in. Instead, thousands have been pushed back to Burma, where the Rohingya population has been persecuted for over 30 years.
On June 13, Bangladeshi Foreign Minister Dipu Moni said Bangladesh was not willing to take in the Rohingyas, despite international calls and the UNHCR appealing to Bangladesh to let them in.
“We’re already burdened with thousands of Rohingya refugees staying in Bangladesh and we don’t want anymore,” said the foreign minister.
The reason for not taking the Rohingya in, according to the Bangladesh government, is that the country does not have the resources to take in any more refugees.
Over 200,000 Rohingya refugees are already believed to be living in Bangladesh.
Misha Hussain is a journalist covering aid, development and human rights. Click here to follow him on Twitter.
