“Our Heart is Always in Burma”: Rohingya narratives of return amid ongoing genocide in Myanmar

Rohingyas are a predominantly Muslim stateless minority forcibly displaced from Myanmar to Bangladesh, Malaysia, India, and other countries in different cycles since the 1970s. Return has been the preferred solution to their protracted crisis. However, systematic oppression, genocidal violence, atrocities, and persecution in Myanmar forcibly displaced them again after their repatriation following the events of 1978 and 1991–1992. The literature recognises that return should be a voluntary decision of refugees. This paper contributes to previous studies on refugees’ return aspirations by analysing 259 micronarratives of Rohingyas living in Bangladesh, Malaysia, and India between 2019 and 2020. While most participants were willing to return, they demanded access to citizenship, various rights and services, and justice in Myanmar. This paper’s main contributions are linked to analysing Rohingyas living in different host countries that are not part of the 1951 Refugee Convention, their aspirations for return to their homeland, and how the ongoing genocide in Myanmar is hindering the process of peacebuilding and a sustainable solution to the protracted crisis.