Story

Where the Rohingya Refugees Call Home

Rohingya refugees in squatter refugee camp. Image by Doug Bock Clark. Bangladesh, 2017. 

Rohingya refugees in squatter refugee camp. Image by Doug Bock Clark. Bangladesh, 2017. 

 Rohingya refugee displays her burn scars. Image by Doug Bock Clark. Bangladesh, 2017.

 Rohingya refugee displays her burn scars. Image by Doug Bock Clark. Bangladesh, 2017.

A boy carries his younger brother through the Kutapolong refugee camp. Image by Doug Bock Clark. Bangladesh, 2017. 

A boy carries his younger brother through the Kutapolong refugee camp. Image by Doug Bock Clark. Bangladesh, 2017. 

Kutapolong refugee camp. Image by Doug Bock Clark. Bangladesh, 2017. 

Kutapolong refugee camp. Image by Doug Bock Clark. Bangladesh, 2017. 

Rohingya girl in Kutapolong refugee camp. Image by Doug Bock Clark. Bangladesh, 2017. 

Rohingya girl in Kutapolong refugee camp. Image by Doug Bock Clark. Bangladesh, 2017. 

Rohingya girl fetching water at squatters refugee camp. Image by Doug Bock Clark. Bangladesh, 2017. 

Rohingya girl fetching water at squatters refugee camp. Image by Doug Bock Clark. Bangladesh, 2017. 

Rohingya refugee boy flying a kite. Image by Doug Bock Clark. Bangladesh, 2017. 

Rohingya refugee boy flying a kite. Image by Doug Bock Clark. Bangladesh, 2017. 

Rohingya refugee in Kutapolong refugee camp. Image by Doug Bock Clark. Bangladesh, 2017. 

Rohingya refugee in Kutapolong refugee camp. Image by Doug Bock Clark. Bangladesh, 2017. 

A woman picking fruit from trees in Kutapolong refugee camp. Image by Doug Bock Clark. Bangladesh, 2017. 

A woman picking fruit from trees in Kutapolong refugee camp. Image by Doug Bock Clark. Bangladesh, 2017. 

Boy getting haircut in Kutapolong refugee camp. Image by Doug Bock Clark. Bangladesh, 2017. 

Boy getting haircut in Kutapolong refugee camp. Image by Doug Bock Clark. Bangladesh, 2017. 

Rohingya children feed on the berries scavenged from the trees. Image by Doug Bock Clark. Bangladesh, 2017. 

Rohingya children feed on the berries scavenged from the trees. Image by Doug Bock Clark. Bangladesh, 2017. 

Storekeeper in Kutapolong refugee camp. Image by Doug Bock Clark. Bangladesh, 2017. 

Storekeeper in Kutapolong refugee camp. Image by Doug Bock Clark. Bangladesh, 2017. 

Women in burqas in Kutapolong refugee camp. Image by Doug Bock Clark. Bangladesh, 2017. 

Women in burqas in Kutapolong refugee camp. Image by Doug Bock Clark. Bangladesh, 2017. 

Rohingya girls at play in squatters refugee camp. Image by Doug Bock Clark. Bangladesh, 2017. 

Rohingya girls at play in squatters refugee camp. Image by Doug Bock Clark. Bangladesh, 2017. 

Half-built house in squatters refugee camp. Image by Doug Bock Clark. Bangladesh, 2017.

Half-built house in squatters refugee camp. Image by Doug Bock Clark. Bangladesh, 2017.

Half-built house in squatters refugee camp. Image by Doug Bock Clark. Bangladesh, 2017.

Half-built house in squatters refugee camp. Image by Doug Bock Clark. Bangladesh, 2017.

Newly-built squatters refugee camp. Image by Doug Bock Clark. Bangladesh, 2017.

Newly-built squatters refugee camp. Image by Doug Bock Clark. Bangladesh, 2017.

Girl in front of her leaf shelter in informal refugee camp. Image by Doug Bock Clark. Bangladesh, 2017.

Girl in front of her leaf shelter in informal refugee camp. Image by Doug Bock Clark. Bangladesh, 2017.

Rohingya refugee in partially-built house in squatter refugee camp. Image by Doug Bock Clark. Bangladesh, 2017.

Rohingya refugee in partially-built house in squatter refugee camp. Image by Doug Bock Clark. Bangladesh, 2017.

Rohingya refugee digging foundation for new house in squatter refugee camp. Image by Doug Bock Clark. Bangladesh, 2017.

Rohingya refugee digging foundation for new house in squatter refugee camp. Image by Doug Bock Clark. Bangladesh, 2017.

Rohingya girl fetches water in informal refugee camp. Image by Doug Bock Clark. Bangladesh, 2017.

Rohingya girl fetches water in informal refugee camp. Image by Doug Bock Clark. Bangladesh, 2017.

An improvised mosque in a squatter refugee camp. Image by Doug Bock Clark. Bangladesh, 2017.

An improvised mosque in a squatter refugee camp. Image by Doug Bock Clark. Bangladesh, 2017.

Improvised mosque in squatter refugee camp. Image by Doug Bock Clark. Bangladesh, 2017.

Improvised mosque in squatter refugee camp. Image by Doug Bock Clark. Bangladesh, 2017.

House built of leaves in informal refugee camp. Image by Doug Bock Clark. Bangladesh, 2017.

House built of leaves in informal refugee camp. Image by Doug Bock Clark. Bangladesh, 2017.

When over 70,000 Rohingya fled Myanmar after the military waged a brutal anti-insurgency campaign—including burning villages and massacring civilians—they poured over the border into Bangladesh. For decades, the United Nations has run several refugee camps for Rohingya there, including Kutapolong Refugee Camp. No one is sure exactly how many Rohingya currently live around Cox’s Bazaar, Bangladesh—though some estimates put it at around 400,000—but the UN camps accommodate only a small percentage of refugees in the region. The rest live in informal squatters camps, many on the fringes of the official camps, including rapidly expanding tent cities being carved out of the red clay hills to house the newcomers. This is a look at life in both Kutapolong and the informal camps outside it.