Publication

17 December 2019

"Before you were born, your mother ran": Displacement and disillusion in south-east Myanmar

"Before you were born, your mother ran": Displacement and disillusion in south-east Myanmar

Myanmar has been making headlines for its apparent campaign of ethnic cleansing against the country’s Rohingya. Violent attacks against civilians have forced over 745,000 people to flee into Bangladesh since August 2017. Given the scale of the Rohingya crisis, the rest of the country is receiving little attention.

This study – part of the our Invisible Majority thematic series – seeks to analyse the relationship between internal displacement, cross-border movements and durable solutions in south-east Myanmar. Based on 163 interviews with internally displaced people (IDPs), returning refugees and refugees conducted by the Border Consortium, the report examines drivers of displacement, priorities and preconditions for voluntary return, and obstacles and opportunities for durable solutions.