
The Shadow City: Earth’s Largest Refugee Camp
From Rights & Wrongs by Human Rights Watch
April 13, 2026 · 33 min
About this episode
The episode explores life in the world's largest refugee camp through the experiences of Rohingya refugees and experts.
When Maung and his family, his neighbors, strangers, cross the border from Myanmar into Bangladesh, they are officially refugees. But there’s no rest for the weary, and the hundreds of thousands of Rohingya refugees escaping to Bangladesh have to build a refugee camp for themselves. As Maung helps his family assemble a temporary shelter, a sort of shadow city starts to rise up around them. Almost a decade later, Maung’s family is still in Cox's Bazar. This week, Maung, other refugees and experts take listeners through a tour of life in the world’s largest refugee camp and life as a refugee more broadly. Maung Sawyeddollah: Agent of Change, Rohingya Muslim Chinda Precious: Nigerian refugee Johannes van der Klaauw: Former representative at the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees Tamanna Tiku: Urban Designer Mausi Segun: Executive Director of the Africa Division at Human Rights Watch Nadia Hardman: Researcher, Refugee and Migrant Rights Division at Human Rights Watch Kyle Knight: Former Associate Director of the Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, and Transgender Rights Program at Human Rights Watch Belkis Wille: Associate Director of Crisis & Conflict division at Human Rights…
People in this episode
Guests: Maung Sawyeddollah, Chinda Precious, Johannes van der Klaauw, Tamanna Tiku, Mausi Segun, Nadia Hardman, Kyle Knight, Belkis Wille, Emina Ćerimović
Topics covered
- refugees
- Rohingya
- Cox's Bazar
- human rights
- urban design
- displacement
Keywords
- refugee camp
- Rohingya refugees
- Cox's Bazar
- human rights
- urban design
- displacement
- Bangladesh
- Myanmar
Mentioned in this episode
Organizations: Human Rights Watch
Places: Cox's Bazar, Bangladesh, Myanmar
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