Implications of the Rohingya Relocation from Cox’s Bazar to Bhasan Char, Bangladesh

This IMR Dispatch attempts to elucidate the different concerns of human right groups and international communities over the relocation of the Rohingyas, a forcefully displaced ethnic minority of Myanmar, from the Cox's Bazar refugee camps, in mainland Bangladesh, to a newly developed island, Bhasan Char, in the Bay of Bengal. Of the nearly 1 million Rohingyas currently living in Cox's Bazar camps, the Bangladesh government has started relocating 100,000 Rohingyas to Bhasan Char. International organizations have expressed three concerns over this relocation strategy: first, that the Rohingyas have been relocated to Bhasan Char forcibly, second, that since Bhasan Char is a newly built island, there are potential environmental risks for the Rohingyas, and third, that this relocation does not ensure that the Rohingyas’ human rights will be respected on the island. The Bangladesh government, however, has dismissed these allegations, arguing that the relocation of 100,000 Rohingyas is voluntary and that the island provides them an opportunity for improved living. This IMR Dispatch reflects on those allegations concerning the relocation strategy, with the goal of drawing migration scholars’ attention to these developments. Since the Rohingyas are already a forcibly displaced community, migration scholars should pay close attention to this re-migration or onward migration of large numbers of Rohingyas to a new island and its implications for host-country approaches to forced migration.

The Impermanence of Moves: Return and Onward Migration

Several, independent data analyses demonstrate that neither rural-urban nor urban-rural migrations are as permanent as one normally assumes; return is common within a few years. Return from rural-urban migration is more prevalent among men and the less-well-educated and is strongly associated with rejoining a spouse. Age of return to a rural area is bimodal, peaking around age 20 and among children; no evidence of return upon retirement is apparent. Across countries, more than half return to a district other than their origin. Returned migrants’ rural incomes are greater than those of people who remained at home, both on average and among measurably equivalent groups. Upward mobility in income in towns is affirmed, particularly for the less-well-educated. Seasonal migration is more common among men and the better educated and by individuals, not joint families. Seasonal migration in India as well as step and onward migration elsewhere are not as common as is popularly claimed.

Italian-Bangladeshis in London: Onward Migration and Its Effects on Their Linguistic Repertoire

This article discussed language use and language maintenance among the Italian-Bangladeshi community in London, considering in particular the effects of onward migration on the reorganisation of their linguistic repertoire. Drawing on focus groups and interviews with the second-generation members of Italian-Bangladeshi families, initial findings revealed that Italian is maintained through communication with same-age friends and siblings, with older siblings acting as the main agents of language maintenance. English is considered the most important language and, together with a British education, functions as a pull-factor for onward migration to improve the second generation’s future prospects. Bengali, on the other hand, is spoken by parents among themselves and children are not always fluent in the language. Bengali also represents a marker of identity for the Italian-Bangladeshi community as opposed to the larger Sylheti-speaking British-Bangladeshi community.

Part VII The End of Refugeehood—Cessation and Durable Solutions, Ch.61 Onward Migration

This chapter examines an important question about the relationship between displacement and migration: how does ‘onward migration’, or ‘onward movement’, fit into existing frameworks for refugee protection? The chapter first explores how approaches to refugees’ onward movement are often heavily politicized: many States tend to view refugee movements as a problem because they threaten to undermine national control of immigration. By contrast, advocates of refugee mobility point to the important role that migration can play in helping refugees to secure effective protection. Next, the chapter considers the rights of asylum seekers and refugees to engage in onward migration as part of a search for effective, durable protection. It also addresses the potential challenges—both legal and political—that may be faced by refugees trying to use migration as a ‘fourth durable solution’. The chapter concludes by suggesting that debates about refugee movement reflect much broader unresolved tensions in a world of unequal bordered States and restricted immigration.

“Talk in Tamil!” – Does Sri Lankan Tamil onward migration from Europe influence Tamil language maintenance in the UK?

This article uses the “communicative repertoire” conceptual framework to investigate the evolving linguistic practices in the Sri Lankan Tamil (SLT) diaspora, looking specifically at how changing mobility patterns have had an influence on heritage language use. Drawing on fieldwork undertaken with 42 participants of diverse migration trajectories in London, the study finds that onward migration has important implications for Tamil language maintenance and use in the UK, and for the introduction of European languages into the community. It argues that Tamil practices can only be fully understood if we consider them within the context of participants' communicative repertoires. Further, the definition of Tamil needs to be expanded to include different varieties, registers and styles that have been shaped by onward migration. As the trend of multiple migrations is becoming increasingly common in globalization processes, studying the recent change in SLT migratory patterns is also crucial to gaining insight into the diversities and transnational links that exist within and across diaspora communities respectively.

The Role of Family and Friends in Return Migration and Its Labor Market Outcomes

Drawing on survey data on individuals’ motives for migration in Sweden (N = 2172), we examine the importance of family and friends for return versus onward migration, including their importance for different age groups and in different communities on the rural–urban spectrum. The results point to a significant relationship between the importance of family and return versus onward migration, with family importance decreasing with age among returning migrants. At the same time, the importance of friends for returning increases with age. The findings did not suggest a significant relationship between urbanicity and returning versus migration elsewhere. Based on a subset of respondents who were employed prior to migrating (n = 1056), we further examined labor market outcomes for onward versus returning migrants. The results broadly indicate that return migrations are linked to lower likelihoods of labor market deterioration and improvement, suggesting greater labor market stability for return vis-à-vis onward migrations. However, the importance of family for returning (versus moving elsewhere) is associated with higher likelihoods of labor market deterioration and improvement compared with staying the same, indicating greater volatility in labor market outcomes when the importance of family is considered.