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Photo by Ro Miyanot Ullah

Dear friends,

I feel bad, knowing that I am letting down my personal contacts with the Rohingya refugees by not helping them with the many financial needs they have asked me for—noticing that their contact with me has dropped. They have lost faith in my ability to truly help them.

While I keep sending LinkedIn posts to give spiritual support, I’m feeling deeply burdened by their situation and how stuck they are in a form of prison in Bangladesh. I’ve been hoping they could one day be more self reliant. They themselves say how they don’t need aid; they need dignity.

But I received the following information from a person connected with the UNHCR, the UN Refugee Agency in Bangladesh:

Major obstacles to prevent Rohingya from becoming more self-reliant and helping themselves:

  1. Refugees are not legally allowed to work in Bangladesh
  2. Have restricted access to formal education – Only recently has the Myanmar Curriculum Pilot (MCP) been allowed for higher-grade students, but its implementation is still extremely limited (for ~10,000+ students out of over 400,000 school-age children). It’s not recognized by any host-country authority.
  3. Rohingya are confined to the camps with barbed wire and cannot move freely outside without special permission. This blocks access to hospitals, higher education, job markets.
  4. Restrictions on organizing and leading NGOs. Rohingya cannot legally register NGOs or community-based organizations (CBOs). This means they can’t receive or manage funds directly from donors like UNHCR. They depend on external gatekeepers to access even the most basic support. Even successful examples like the Rohingya Youth Empowerment Program can’t fully formalize, scale, or fundraise on their own.
  5. Bangladesh has made it clear that the Rohingya presence is temporary. Any policy or language that suggests “local integration” is politically toxic—so the government resists any initiatives that may seem permanent or state-like.
    This includes funding Rohingya-led bodies or allowing centralized education systems.

The UNHCR reports:

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Wes and I have decided to donate to the UNHCR, the UN Refugee Agency because they are the most up on what is needed and best equipped to distribute to the Rohingya.

My refugee friend tells me that what is most needed are the basics for survival: food, water, medicine, clothing and shelter.

If you feel moved to donate to this very important cause, go to https://give.unhcr.ca/page/61435/donate/1

Please pray for the Rohingya.

marja