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Over the past few weeks, groups of young Rohingya refugees have gathered in Cox’s Bazar camps to demand justice, accountability and security. Organised under the banner of Rohingya Gen Z, the demonstrations are remarkable not only for their emphasis on rising violence in the camps, but also because they foreground something rarely acknowledged in global conversations surrounding refugee crises: political agency.

Refugees are often viewed through the lens of either humanitarian suffering or border security and sovereign control. The emergence of a Rohingya Gen Z-led movement unsettles these framings.

A catalyst and its costs

Approximately 250 Rohingya refugees and Bangladeshi nationals are feared dead or missing after an overcrowded boat bound for Malaysia capsized in the Andaman Sea on April 9. Among the victims was a prominent Rohingya activist who had endured persistent harassment and intimidation, even seeking protection from the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR), before being compelled to leave for Malaysia. Facing unrelenting insecurity with no viable alternative, he set forth for the journey. Apart from being an unfortunate tragedy, his death evidences what systemic failure looks like at its endpoint. For many young Rohingya, the shipwreck became a catalyst for political organising.

A poster demanding justice for Ullah who was a prominent camp leader and spokesperson for Rohingya worldwide, Photo: By arrangement.

The protests quickly unfolded into an expression of mounting frustration........

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