Official estimates say over 400,000 Rohingya have fled to Bangladesh in the last one month. The unofficial accounts, however, put the number at much higher than that. What challenges does the country now face in supporting such a vast number of refugees?
In the last four weeks, Rohingya people fled to Bangladesh to escape a barbaric assault by their own government in their homeland, the Rakhine state in Myanmar. Many of them lost their family members in this horrifying campaign of atrocities. Some of them walked for days to cross over to Bangladesh.
These refugees are in distress and badly need assistance, and with the help of different non-government organisations, Bangladesh government has been able to meet some of their primary needs, such as shelter and food. Even the common Bangladeshis have extended a helping hand towards these refugees in their time of need, which is praiseworthy.
However, this is temporary and not sustainable. We need to devise a long-term plan to deal with the crisis and work in a coordinated manner, because winter is fast approaching and the refugees may need more assistance then.
We at Brac are working on how food and other relief items can be resourced in coming days.
Over half of the refugees who have arrived at the camps in Cox's Bazar are women and children. What are the major issues that they face at the moment?
Women and children are the vulnerable groups at the refugee camps. Most of the Rohingya children were ill with various diseases when they entered Bangladesh. Right now, most children are suffering from cold-related diseases and respiratory problems. We found that the refugees are sleeping on the cold, dirty floors of their tents at the camps. We are thinking of providing mats and plastic sheets to cover the tent floor so they can keep themselves warm.
The types of illness are changing as the crisis continues. At the beginning, most of the refugees needed medical attention because of their injuries and health issues due to physical weakness. Now, many of them are suffering from waterborne diseases due to lack of drinking water and sanitation facilities.
A huge number of children and their mothers are suffering from acute malnutrition. They need adequate amounts of food and care.
Setting up tube-wells at the refugee camps is our priority at the moment. As of Monday, we have set up 316 tube-wells.
We are also trying to provide medical services to expecting mothers since the new arrivals include around 70,000 pregnant Rohingya women, according to the latest estimates. To ensure safe delivery, we have already established 10 maternity service centres at the camps. Some of our partner organisations are taking care of the critical patients.
In addition, we are setting up some 60 childcare centres under the aegis of Unicef, where children with psychological trauma can be provided with counselling services.
What about the young girls?
Young girls are more vulnerable because they often fall prey to different forms of abuse in these circumstances. Those in charge of security measures at the camps must be careful so the Rohingya girls are protected from sexual or any other kind of abuse. We have to focus on raising awareness about their safety. NGOs should certainly be working towards that. Law enforcement agencies have a vital part to play as well.
Human trafficking is a huge problem in the Cox's Bazar region. Do you think the Rohingya refugees are at risk of falling prey to human traffickers?
Human trafficking has been going on unabated in the area for quite a long time. As a large number of refugees have taken shelter there, the situation is likely to get even worse.
We have to keep a watchful eye on traffickers and their activities. Security measures must be put in place to protect the vulnerable people from the traffickers. Law enforcement agencies cannot tackle the situation alone, so concerted efforts must come from all authorities concerned – the government, UN agencies and NGOs – to prevent trafficking.
What are the environmental impacts of such a massive influx of refugees?
There certainly are risks of the environment being badly affected. When a large number of people occupy an area like this, they become aggressive in their search for shelter and food. Ignoring all rules and regulations, they start felling trees and excavate land indiscriminately, thus causing serious damage to the environment. We need to take initiatives to mitigate such environmental losses.
As the government is thinking about settling them at a designated place, the settlement plan has to be well-devised so the environment is not affected by the settlers.
Is the aid that the refugees are being provided with sufficient?
Despite some coordination issues, Bangladesh government has done its best to support and protect the Rohingya refugees. However, Bangladesh's efforts alone is not sufficient. The onus to look after the Rohingya refugees does not lie only with our government, because the ongoing crisis is an international crisis; the international community must come forward to resolve it.
On September 8, the United Nations called for $77 million in urgent assistance for the Rohingya. I don't think the amount would be sufficient to meet their needs as the number of refugees keeps growing every day.
NGOs, including Brac, initially worked with their own funds. But now it has become almost impossible for them to continue relief and rehabilitation programmes with their own funding, with the crisis increasingly becoming worse. More support should come from the international community.
When Bangladesh itself is experiencing a food crisis, how can food supplies for the refugees be ensured?
I don't think Bangladesh should feed the refugees from its own food reserves. Food items for the refugees needs to be imported. We initially fed them on our own, but it should not continue. The international community should source food from other countries.
The responsibility to feed and look after the growing number of Rohingya refugees should be taken over by UN agencies like the World Food Programme.
Where should the money to provide for the Rohingya refugees come from?
That is also the international community's responsibility. They should mobilise the funds; Bangladesh should only play the managerial role in the distribution process.