prohibited from providing Rohingya children with formal, accredited education.49 Rohingya children were also prevented from learning Bangla (Bangladesh’s national language).50 Temporary learning centers and madrassas only offer informal educational services, catering to primary school-aged children. RYA members have overwhelmingly reported that there are virtually no educational opportunities for them in the camps. The youth activists we spoke to are fearful that lack of educational opportunities in Bangladesh could mean “a lost generation” upon their return to Myanmar. Current Situation The massive influx of Rohingya refugees has no doubt put tremendous pressure on local host communities and the government of Bangladesh.51 The latter has made it clear that local integration is not to be a durable solution for the Rohingya refugees. In fact, the government refers to them as “Forcibly Displaced Myanmar Nationals,” perhaps signaling that these people are ultimately Myanmar’s responsibility. It is worth noting that the 2017 exodus isn’t the first time Rohingya refugees have fled to Bangladesh. In 1978, the Myanmar military’s Operation Naga Min (“king dragon”) scrutinizing individuals and identifying them as either citizens or “illegal immigrants”, led to widespread violence and human rights abuses against the Rohingya, causing many to flee into Bangladesh. 52 A bilateral agreement with Bangladesh a year later led to the repatriation of 180,000 Rohingya.53 250,000 Rohingya would return to Bangladesh in 1991 as a result of Operation Pyi Thaya (“beautiful country”) which displaced Rohingya villages and settled Buddhists in their place.54 The Government of Myanmar and Bangladesh signed an MOU in November 2017 and finalized yet another bilateral agreement in January 201855 with the goal of repatriation of all Rohingya refugees within two years. Myanmar stated that all returning Rohingya refugees would have to undergo a “verification” process in its “reception centers” at Nga Khu Ya and Taung Pyo Letwe in Rakhine State. These “reception centers,” surrounded by barbed-wire perimeter fences and security posts, resemble the IDP camps that were established to contain the Rohingya following 49 Human Rights Watch, “Are We Not Human?” 50 Human Rights Watch, “Are We Not Human?” 51 United Nations Development Programme, “Impacts of the Rohingya Refugee Influx.” 52 Peter Gutter and B.K. Sen, Burma’s State Protection Law: An Analysis of the Broadest Law in the World (Bangkok: Burma Lawyer’s Council, 2001), 22. 53 Mark Cutts, The State of the World’s Refugees, 2000: Fifty Years of Humanitarian Action (Oxford: Oxford University Press, 2000), 75. 54 Eileen Pittaway, Protracted Displacement in Asia: No Place to Call Home, (Hampshire: Ashgate, 2008), 87. 55 Oliver Homes, “Myanmar signs pact with Bangladesh over Rohingya repatriation,” The Guardian, November 23, 2017, https://www.theguardian.com/world/2017/nov/23/myanmar-signs-pact-withbangladesh-over-rohingya-repatriation. 14