Border News Agency
Cox’s Bazar – June 21, 2025
Rohingya refugees living in camps in Cox’s Bazar are urgently appealing to the international community for help as graveyard space runs out in the overcrowded settlements.
Community members say they are facing a severe crisis when it comes to burying their loved ones. “When someone dies in the camp, we cannot keep the body in the shelter, nor can we throw it away, we must bury it according to our religious beliefs,” said one resident. “But the graveyards are full, and we often spend more than an hour just searching for an empty space.”
The situation has become so dire that in some cases, up to seven bodies are being buried in a single grave. Refugees say they sometimes begin digging only to discover an existing body in the same spot, forcing them to search again for a new place. Even distant graveyards are nearing capacity.
“There are simply no more available graveyards nearby. Even if we go far, we struggle to find a place. This has put us under immense mental and emotional pressure,” another refugee explained.
The community is now calling on the international community, humanitarian organizations, and the Bangladesh government to urgently arrange more burial grounds for the refugee population. “This support would mean a lot to us during these painful times,” said a community leader.
With more than a million Rohingya taking shelter in the camps since fleeing violence in Myanmar, space and resources are already stretched thin. The graveyard crisis highlights yet another layer of hardship faced by this persecuted community.
