SHAKEEL ANWAR, from Ukhia, Cox’s Bazar

In Cox’s Bazar’s Ukhia, one issue overshadows all others: the Rohingya refugee crisis. With refugees now outnumbering locals nearly three to one, it has become the defining political concern, shaping daily life, security, livelihoods, and how residents approach the ballot as the country heads towards election day.

Nearly nine years after hundreds of thousands fled Myanmar, the initial sympathy of the host community in Ukhia and neighbouring Teknaf, home to roughly 1.5 million Rohingyas, has now given way to anger, fear, and a growing sense of resignation.

These sentiments are most palpable in Lambashia village of Rajapalong union, adjacent to Kutupalong, the world’s largest and most densely populated refugee camp. Part of the village -- half a dozen households -- lies within the camp’s perimeter. Residents share roads with refugees; children from the camp play in their courtyards. To outsiders, it is often unclear where the camp ends and the village begins.

Reaching Lambashia requires passing through part of the camp and a security check. On the way in, my vehicle was stopped and checked twice by members of the Armed Police Battalion (APBn), responsible for security inside the camps. The checks, I was told, are routine.

There, Mofiz, an electrician, described what he called the slow collapse of a once-idyllic Living

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