By Chloe Chan, Stanford undergraduate in the Human Biology program, and Gavin Nalu, Master of Arts Student in Earth Systems
In 2017, nearly one million Rohingya Muslims fled Myanmar amidst genocidal attacks and sought refuge in Cox’s Bazar, Bangladesh. Since then, our mentor Christopher LeBoa has worked closely with the refugee community, and his research showed that early aid efforts overlooked a critical need: cooking fuel. Without it, refugees were forced to gather firewood and burn plastic, clothing, and other waste to cook their food, leading to deforestation of the nearby Teknaf Forest and forcing many children to leave school to help collect fuel. However, when liquefied petroleum gas (LPG) was later distributed, these issues decreased significantly.
Our project focused on translating this research, in collaboration with our community partner, the Rohingya Green Nature Society, into a format that could raise awareness and help inform policy discussions in the United States, where public awareness of the Rohingya crisis remains very low. Working with Dr. Le Boa and Rohingya advocate Ajas Khan, we helped communicate why restoring LPG funding is critical not only for refugee well-being but also for protecting local ecosystems and preventing further instability in the camps. Our final output was an op-ed that combines scientific research, humanitarian evidence, and Ajas’s personal story as a Rohingya refugee. By grounding the science in lived experience, we aimed to make the issue more accessible and compelling for U.S. readers and policymakers.
Through our SWAP experience, working on this project showed us how powerful science communication can be in humanitarian contexts. Translating research about fuel access and environmental impacts into a clear public narrative helped us see how evidence can inform policy and amplify the voices of affected communities. It also reinforced the importance of collaboration between researchers, advocates, and students, in ensuring that critical but overlooked crises receive the attention they deserve.