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Refugees – 2007

The UN Permanent Forum on Indigenous Issues reported that 9,700 families were not able to reclaim their land or houses because the property was occupied by Bengali settlers or military personnel. We do not know exactly how many individuals this translates into. According to Begum (2004), the average family size in rural Bangladesh was 4.59 persons, which yields a rough estimate of 44,500 persons (9,700*4.59) falling in the semi-rehabilitated status.¹ According to the CHT Returnee Jumma Refugees’ Welfare Association (CHTRJRWA) and a PCJSS report, 12,222 families returned to the CHT and 9,780 families were not able to recover their lands and were living in camps on government food rations.²

1. UN Economic and Social Council (ECOSOC), Study on the status of implementation of the Chittagong Hill Tracts Accord of 1997.
2. “Report on the Status of Implementation of the CHT Accord,” PCJSS, 2011, accessed December 13, 2012.