Listening before helping: Why community involvement is essential for peace in Cox’s Bazar, Bangladesh

March 31, 2026

Over one million Rohingya refugees have settled in Bangladesh's Cox's Bazar district since 2017, creating significant tensions with host communities over rising costs, diminishing employment opportunities, and perceived unequal aid distribution. Local volunteers like Abdur Rahim have initiated community dialogue sessions that gradually build understanding and practical compromises between refugee and host populations, though these grassroots peacebuilding efforts face substantial challenges. While international organizations provide crucial funding and technical support for youth programs and mediation training, their rigid planning structures, short funding cycles, and distant decision-making processes often fail to align with local realities and the slow pace of trust-building.

Who is affected

More than 1 million Rohingya refugees living in camps in Cox's Bazar district
Host communities in Cox's Bazar district, particularly in Teknaf municipality
Local residents experiencing pressure on livelihoods and social relations
More than 20,500 adolescents and youth from both Rohingya and host communities participating in peacebuilding programs
Local community volunteers and organizers like Abdur Rahim
Youth facilitators such as Rahima Akter and Jaber Ali
Host community vendors and refugee traders competing for market access
Local mediators who lose support when project funding ends
Community elders involved in defusing tensions

What action is being taken

Informal dialogue meetings between refugee and host community representatives are continuing (started December 2025 and ongoing)
UNICEF and European Union-funded peacebuilding programs are supporting adolescents and youth through training, dialogue activities, and youth social hubs
Save the Children is implementing youth resilience and social cohesion programs with structured engagement and community-level interventions
Local organizations are navigating accountability to both donor reporting requirements and community expectations
Community mediation meetings are being conducted in Teknaf

Why it matters

The situation matters because it reveals critical gaps between international humanitarian responses and local peacebuilding needs that determine long-term social stability. While international aid successfully delivered life-saving assistance to over 900,000 refugees, the focus on immediate humanitarian needs overlooked growing tensions with host communities experiencing economic pressures and resource competition. The effectiveness of peacebuilding depends on trust-building processes that require years to develop, yet most funding operates on two-to-three-year cycles that end just as relationships begin to improve. The challenges demonstrate that lasting peace cannot be imposed through standardized frameworks designed in distant headquarters but must emerge from community-led initiatives grounded in local knowledge of political rivalries, land disputes, and social hierarchies. Without addressing these structural imbalances in humanitarian governance—including rigid planning requirements, short funding cycles, and insufficient local participation in decision-making—carefully cultivated networks weaken and underlying tensions remain unresolved even after significant investment.

What's next

Local peacebuilders are calling for:
Deeper collaboration through co-designed processes involving community actors before project proposals are finalized
Longer-term funding cycles that allow adaptation over time
Reduced reporting requirements for smaller grants to allow community organizations to focus on engagement rather than administrative compliance
International partners to engage in genuine partnership characterized by humility and listening before acting

Read full article from source: Global Voices