Rohingya voice missing from global summit, refugees call it ‘a play without a lead’

A landmark international conference on the Rohingya issue will take place at the United Nations headquarters in New York on Sept 30, yet no representatives from the refugee community have been invited. The exclusion has drawn criticism from Rohingya refugees living in camps in Bangladesh, who say a conference about their future without their presence is both “disappointing and symbolic of their ongoing marginalisation”. “They’re organising a global conference on us, without us. It feels like a play without a lead,” said Rohingya community leader Syed Ullah, speaking to bdnews24.com from Cox’s Bazar. When asked about the absence of any Rohingya participation, Abu Saleh Mohammad Obaidullah, additional secretary of the Refugee Relief and Repatriation Commissioner’s Office, said: “This is a...