Seven years since the Rohingya refugee influx in Bangladesh, UNHCR reminds need for international solidarity

Seven years since the Rohingya refugee influx in Bangladesh, UNHCR reminds need for international solidarity

Photo credit: UNHCR/Roger Arnold. 26 October 2017

As we mark seven years since the large-scale Rohingya refugee arrival, UNHCR, the UN Refugee Agency, once again calls for sustained commitment from international partners to support the protection of nearly one million Rohingya hosted by Bangladesh, and to help secure solutions for a lasting end to their plight.

On 25 August 2017, some 700,000 Rohingya men, women and children were forced to flee Myanmar and seek protection in Bangladesh, joining those who had fled in previous years. The generosity by the Government and the people of Bangladesh in providing the Rohingya temporary refuge was supported by the international community and has been critical in meeting the refugees’ protection and basic needs, alongside assistance provided to local hosting communities. But in recent months security issues and funding uncertainties undermine all but the most critical and lifesaving assistance.

UNHCR welcomes Bangladesh’s renewed commitment to the refugees, set forth in Dhaka recently by Dr. Muhammad Yunus, Chief Advisor of Bangladesh’s Interim Government. We echo Dr. Yunus’s call for continued solidarity from the international community through consistent financial support and helping to ensure their “eventual repatriation to Myanmar, with safety, dignity and full rights.” Bangladesh’s humanitarian spirit, at a time of transition for the Bangladeshi people, deserves global appreciation.

In Myanmar’s Rakhine state, the escalated conflict has only worsened conditions for the Rohingya. Many remain stateless with limited access to higher education and jobs, and vulnerable to violence. Yet refugees in Bangladesh continue to say that they long to return to their homes and villages when it is safe to do so. A dignified and sustainable return to Myanmar remains the primary solution to this crisis. We call on the international community to demonstrate the political will to make this possible. We also call on the Bangladesh authorities to ensure that civilians fleeing the violence in Myanmar be allowed access to protection in Bangladesh.

Like all of us, the Rohingya aspire for better futures, not determined by religion, race, or the socio-economic conditions of their birth. In Cox’s Bazar and on Bhasan Char, 52 per cent of the refugee population are under 18 years old, many of them born in asylum or having spent their first years in refugee camps. With meaningful support and opportunities, they are capable of immense achievement. We must invest in Rohingya children, youth, women and girls, empowering them to lift their own communities. Through partnership and collective action, we can counter the harmful impacts of generations of violence and deprivation, including the harm caused by exploitative organized groups who prey on vulnerable youth in the camps.

Photo credit: UNHCR/Mosharaf Hossain. Aerial view of the refugee camp in July 2024

Already, thousands of Rohingya have taken positively to trainings and responsibilities to support critical services in the camps, including legal counseling, mental health, community health work, operation and maintenance of water and sanitation infrastructure, shelter repair, as well as serving as first responders to weather and fire incidents. Enhancing resilience through skills, education and livelihoods programmes is critical to helping the refugees to stand on their own feet and move beyond aid dependency. UNHCR calls on stakeholders to continue their support for refugees’ self-reliance.

In 2024, humanitarian agencies have appealed for $852 million to assist 1.35 million people, including Rohingya refugees and hosting Bangladeshi communities. We urge donors and private actors to step up their funding to the Rohingya response. The Rohingya people deserve our best, as do the generous people of Bangladesh who cannot be left to shoulder this crisis alone.

FOR MORE INFORMATION PLEASE CONTACT:

Shari Yasmin Nijman; [email protected]; +880 18 9480 2700

Monsoon Rains Trigger Deadly Flash Floods and Landslides in Cox’s Bazar Refugee Camps

Monsoon Rains Trigger Deadly Flash Floods and Landslides in Cox’s Bazar Refugee Camps

Joint Humanitarian Community Press Release

Photo ©️ Rohingya Refugee Volunteer

Cox’s Bazar, Bangladesh (19 June 2024): UN agencies and the entire humanitarian community are deeply saddened by the tragic deaths of 10 people, including at least seven Rohingya refugees, as heavy monsoon rains battered refugee camps in Bangladesh’s Cox’s Bazar on Tuesday, causing flash floods and landslides.

According to initial reports, some 7,794 refugees have been affected across the 33 camps in Cox’s Bazar, with an estimated 1,191 shelters damaged or destroyed. Critical infrastructure, such as learning centers, health facilities, mosques, latrines, water points and bathing cubicles have also been damaged by the rising water and mudslides.

Since early morning, partners and refugee volunteers have been helping families in affected areas relocate to safer shelters and communal facilities until the waters recede.

UN agencies together with humanitarian partners, in coordination with the Government of Bangladesh, started to provide hot meals, high energy biscuits and post-disaster kits to the refugees, paying special attention to extremely vulnerable individuals, including older people and those living with disabilities.

In the last 24 hours alone, due to the active monsoon, very heavy rainfall (≥ 89 mm) fell on camps in Cox’s Bazar hosting some 930,000 Rohingya refugees. It is expected that there will be more heavy downpours as the monsoon season stretches at least over the next three months.  As Bangladesh is currently still recovering from Cyclone Remal which, less than a month ago, displaced a large number of Bangladeshi, heavy rains in the past week has led to widespread inundation across the country.

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For more information, please contact:

Syed Md Tafhim, ISCG, [email protected] , +8801850018235

Shari Yasmin Nijman; UNHCR; [email protected]; +880 1894-802700

Tarek Mahmud, IOM; [email protected]; +880 1752-380240

ভারীবর্ষনে কক্সবাজারের শরণার্থী শিবিরে ভয়াবহ আকস্মিক বন্যা ও ভূমিধ্বস

কক্সবাজার, বাংলাদেশ (১৯ জুন ২০২৪):  গত মঙ্গলবার বাংলাদেশের কক্সবাজারে ভারী মৌসুমী বৃষ্টিপাতের ফলে আকস্মিক বন্যা ও ভূমিধ্বসে কমপক্ষে সাতজন রোহিঙ্গা শরণার্থীসহ ১০ জনের মর্মান্তিক মৃত্যুর ঘটনায় জাতিসংঘের বিভিন্ন সংস্থা এবং মানবিক সহায়তা প্রদানকারী সংস্থাগুলো গভীরভাবে শোকাহত।

প্রাথমিক প্রতিবেদন অনুযায়ী, কক্সবাজারের ৩৩টি শিবিরে প্রায় ৭ হাজার ৭৯৪ জন শরণার্থী ক্ষতিগ্রস্ত হয়েছেন, যার মধ্যে আনুমানিক ১ হাজার ১৯১টি আশ্রয়ণ ক্ষতিগ্রস্ত বা ধ্বংস হয়েছে। ক্রমবর্ধমান পানি ও ভূমিধসে শিক্ষা কেন্দ্র, স্বাস্থ্যসেবা কেন্দ্র, মসজিদ, ল্যাট্রিন, পানির উৎস এবং গোসলখানার মতো গুরুত্বপূর্ণ অবকাঠামোগুলো ক্ষতিগ্রস্থত হয়েছে।

সকাল থেকে মানবিক সহায়তা প্রদানকারী সংস্থাগুলো এবং শরণার্থী স্বেচ্ছাসেবীরা পানি না কমা পর্যন্ত ক্ষতিগ্রস্থ এলাকার পরিবারগুলিকে নিরাপদ আশ্রয় এবং বিভিন্ন সুবিধাপ্রদানকারী কেন্দ্রগুলোতে স্থানান্তরিত করতে সহায়তা করছেন।

বাংলাদেশ সরকারের সংশ্লিষ্ট কর্তৃপক্ষের সাথে সমন্বয় করে জাতিসংঘের সংস্থাগুলো মানবিক সহায়তা প্রদানকারী সংস্থাগুলোকে সঙ্গে নিয়ে শরণার্থীদের অধিক পুষ্টিসম্পন্ন বিস্কুট ও রান্না করা খাবার, দুর্যোগ পরবর্তী ব্যবহার্য গৃহস্থালী জিনিসপত্র সরবরাহ শুরু করেছে, বয়স্ক ও প্রতিবন্ধীসহ অত্যন্ত ঝুঁকিপূর্ণ ব্যক্তিদের প্রতিও বিশেষ মনোযোগ দেওয়া হচ্ছে।

গত ২৪ ঘণ্টায় অতি ভারী বর্ষণের কারণে ক্যাম্পে ৮৯ মিলিমিটারের বেশি বৃষ্টিপাত রেকর্ড হয়েছে এই ক্যাম্পগুলোতে প্রায় ৯ লাখ ৩০ হাজার রোহিঙ্গা শরণার্থী রয়েছেন। কমপক্ষে আগামী তিন মাস ধরে বর্ষা মৌসুম থাকায় আরও ভারী বৃষ্টিপাতের সম্ভাবনা রয়েছে। এক মাসেরও কম সময়ের মধ্যে ঘূর্ণিঝড় রিমালের আঘাতে বিপুলসংখ্যক বাংলাদেশি বাস্তুচ্যুত হয়েছেনে এবং সে পরিস্থিতি কাটিয়ে উঠার চেষ্টা চলছে। এরই মধ্যে গত এক সপ্তাহে সারাদেশে ব্যাপক বন্যা পরিস্তিতি দেখা দিয়েছে।

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বিস্তারিত তথ্যের জন্য, যোগাযোগ করুন:

সাইয়্যেদ মোঃ তাফহীম, আইএসসিজি, [email protected] , +88 01850 018 235

শারী ইয়াসমিন নিজমান; ইউএনএইচসিআর; [email protected];

তারেক মাহমুদ, আইওএম; [email protected]; +880 1752-380240

UNHCR, partners seek $876m for Rohingya refugees facing ‘chilling fog of uncertainty’ and for Bangladeshi hosts

UNHCR, partners seek $876m for Rohingya refugees facing ‘chilling fog of uncertainty’ and for Bangladeshi hosts

This is a summary of what was said by Johannes van der Klaauw, UNHCR Representative in Dhaka, Bangladesh – to whom quoted text may be attributed – at today’s press briefing at the Palais des Nations in Geneva.

Bangladesh. Bamboo forestry holds promise for Rohingya campsCaption: More funding is needed for skills training and livelihood projects like one that is supporting refugees and host communities to grow bamboo for building and stabilizing hillsides. © UNHCR/Kamrul Hasan

GENEVA, 7 March 2023 – UNHCR, the UN Refugee Agency, and partners are calling on the international community to redouble efforts for sustained financial support and solutions for Rohingya refugees and the Bangladeshi communities that are hosting them as the dire situation enters its sixth year.

Under the leadership of the Bangladeshi authorities, the 2023 Joint Response Plan for the Rohingya Humanitarian Crisis calls for $876 million to reach 1.47 million people. The Joint Response Plan brings together 116 partners, nearly half of them national organizations from Bangladesh.

The Plan, which was launched today, aims to help some 978,000 Rohingya refugees in Cox’s Bazar and on the island of Bhasan Char, and 495,000 Bangladeshis in neighbouring communities, with food, shelter, health care, access to drinkable water, protection services, education, as well as livelihood opportunities and skills development.

Every day, the nearly one million Rohingya women, children and men that fled from violence and persecution in Myanmar for Bangladesh wake up in a chilling fog of uncertainty about their futures. They are desperate to return to their homes in Myanmar, which are currently out of reach, and instead live in extremely overcrowded, and sometimes dangerous conditions in refugee camps, relying almost entirely on humanitarian assistance for their survival.

While the situation has become protracted, the needs of refugees remain urgent. Women and children, who make up more than 75 per cent of the targeted refugee population, face higher risks of abuse, exploitation, and gender-based violence. More than half of the refugees in the camps are under 18, their futures on hold.

Since the onset of this humanitarian crisis in 2017, the Government of Bangladesh and local communities, with aid agencies, have been quick to respond to arriving refugees in what remains the world’s largest refugee camp. However, as global displacement continues to rise, so does the risk that the needs of Rohingya refugees and surrounding host communities will be forgotten.

With decreased funding, refugees stand to face even more challenges in their daily lives in terms of proper nutrition, shelter materials, sanitation facilities and livelihood opportunities.

The lack of funds has already forced the World Food Programme to cut its lifesaving food assistance to all Rohingya living in the camps; despite concerted humanitarian efforts, 45 per cent of Rohingya families are not eating a sufficiently healthy diet and malnutrition is widespread. These ration cuts are likely to result in higher malnutrition rates, deteriorating health, school dropouts, increased incidents of child marriage, child labour and gender-based violence.

It is therefore vital to ensure continued funding and support to be able to deliver life-saving and life-sustaining assistance to the camp population while also investing in education, skills training and livelihood opportunities, allowing refugees to partially fulfil their basic needs with their own means. The relocation of some 30,000 Rohingya to the island of Bhasan Char needs to be complemented by significant investment in communal livelihood initiatives as a prerequisite for the viability and sustainability of the project.

The combination of prolonged displacement and deteriorating camp conditions has prompted an increasing number of refugees to resort to dangerous boat journeys to seek a better future. Last year alone, more than 3,500 Rohingya attempted high-risk boat journeys across the Andaman Sea and Bay of Bengal. Sadly, 10 per cent lost their lives or went missing.

The solutions to the Rohingya crisis ultimately lie within Myanmar. Many Rohingya refugees continue to express their desire to return home when conditions allow, yet currently there is no prospect for a safe, dignified and sustainable return in the immediate future. Hence, steadfast support from the international community remains crucial to support efforts by Myanmar to develop conditions conducive for return and to uphold the Rohingya right to return, while also supporting delivery of life-saving assistance and effective protection to refugees in the camps until they can return, with their rights ensured.

Given its geography, annual cycles of heavy monsoon rains and cyclones pose substantial risks to refugees in camps and host communities. Among the objectives of the Joint Response Plan, in coordination with the Government of Bangladesh, will be to strengthen disaster risk management and combat the effects of climate change through reforestation and promoting the use of renewable and cleaner energy sources. The provision of cooking gas, which has significantly eased pressure on the environment, requires significant funding.

B-ROLL: 
https://media.unhcr.org/Share/372v31o3e0y4nb04x2216gsjy86x2y3d
Link to photos: https://media.unhcr.org/Share/q5xv8lsd31c2u7f08pwifguln084lk43

For more information on this topic, please contact:

> In Bangladesh, Regina de la Portilla, [email protected], +88 01847 327 279
> In Bangkok, Babar Baloch, [email protected], +66 80 086 5611
> In Geneva, Matthew Saltmarsh, [email protected] +41 79 967 99 36

    Young Rohingya refugees are helping to turn world’s largest camp green

    Young Rohingya refugees are helping to turn world’s largest camp green

    Author: UNHCR By Kristy Siegfried in Cox’s Bazar, Bangladesh

    Samia has spent five of her 14 years living in Kutupalong – the largest and most densely populated refugee settlement in the world


    The series of camps that make up the settlement were carved out of the forest in southern Bangladesh in 2017 to shelter hundreds of thousands of Rohingya refugees fleeing violence in western Myanmar’s Rakhine State. Nearly one million people are now crammed into an area of just 17 square kilometres. Bamboo shelters throng the hillsides and narrow roads teem with pedestrians, rickshaws, humanitarian vehicles and traders. It is no wonder that Samia looks skyward for a sense of peace.

    “When I see a flock of birds flying nearby, I feel good,” she says. “I like the sound of the birds.”

    After arriving in Bangladesh, following a traumatic journey from Myanmar, Samia was dismayed to see the forest being destroyed as trees were cleared to make way for shelters.

    “When I first came here, I saw people kill wild animals when they entered the camps. They cut the trees and threw them away to cultivate the land. And people used to litter everywhere.”

    “Climate change means it’s too hot during the summer and too rainy during the monsoon.”

    Thanks, in part, to her efforts and those of other young Rohingya refugees in Kutupalong, attitudes towards wildlife and the surrounding forest are starting to change.

    Samia belongs to one of five youth groups in the camps that, along with five similar groups in the surrounding host community, have received training on environmental issues from UNHCR, the UN Refugee Agency, and its partner organization, the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN). They have learned about the links between destroying trees and vegetation and the climate crisis that increasingly impacts their daily lives.

    “Climate change means it’s too hot during the summer and too rainy during the monsoon,” says Samia. “I’ve seen with my own eyes shelters being broken by landslides and people being injured.”

    Last year, the youth groups were asked to identify environmental issues affecting their section of the camp and to come up with their own solutions to them. Samia jumped on the opportunity to educate her family, friends and neighbours about the importance of protecting trees and local wildlife that wanders into the camp. She and the rest of her group run awareness-raising sessions with children, adults and local leaders like imams.

    “I tell them, ‘If you let the trees grow, you will get shade and sit peacefully under them.’ I tell them not to kill the animals because they benefit us.”

    Bangladesh. Young Rohingya refugees champion environmental action in camps

    Young group members have made waste bins from bamboo and placed them around the camp. © UNHCR/Kamrul Hasan

    Bangladesh. Young Rohingya refugees champion environmental action in camps

    Members of one of the youth groups use posters to explain to other refugees how to properly dispose of their waste. © UNHCR/Kamrul Hasan

    Bangladesh. Young Rohingya refugees champion environmental action in camps

    Mohammed Rofique (centre) and other members of his youth group are trying to improve waste management in their community through awareness raising. © UNHCR/Kamrul Hasan

    Southern Bangladesh is extremely vulnerable to the impacts of climate change. The refugees’ makeshift shelters, many of them built on deforested, unstable hillsides, provide little defense against tropical storms of increasing intensity. Last year alone, flooding and landslides forced some 24,000 refugees to abandon their homes and belongings and 10 refugees died during heavy monsoon rains. 

    “We are witnessing climate change every day,” says Mohammed Rofique, 18, who belongs to another youth group. “But the big countries are not seeing it; they are the ones who need to be aware. They need to stop cutting trees. Here, we’re trying to save our trees and save nature.”

    Rofique’s group is trying to improve waste management and the shortage of bins in their part of the camp, to reduce pollution and the clogging of drains and canals. 

    “People used to throw their rubbish everywhere. It smelt really bad, and it was unsafe for the children,” he says. “Rubbish used to block waterways so when it rained, it flooded and spread waste around the camp.”

    As well as making and distributing bins made from bamboo, the group has planted gardens in open areas where people used to throw their rubbish.

    Besides the obvious environmental benefits, Ehsanul Hoque, who works with UNHCR’s environment unit, points out that the youth groups are equipping young people in the camps with problem-solving and leadership skills, and giving them a sense of purpose in a place where there are very few opportunities to access higher education or livelihoods. “We’re letting them know that they can [make a difference]. You can talk to your family, your neighbour, you can start with yourself.”

    UNHCR works with partners and refugee volunteers to regreen the camps and restore the ecosystem by planting thousands of trees, shrubs and grasses, restoring waterways, and distributing Liquefied Petroleum Gas (LPG) to all households as an alternative to firewood.

    •    See also: Rohingya refugees restore depleted forest in Bangladesh

    Samia says she has persuaded her younger brothers to stop throwing stones at birds and that other refugees are receptive to the group’s messages about protecting the environment.

    “Some people don’t want to listen to us, but I truly believe that, gradually, their viewpoint will change,” she says. “At the end of the day, I feel good thinking that I raised awareness in my community.”

    Recently, when a large snake was found in her block of the camp, some of her neighbours wanted to kill it, she says. “But others said, ‘We don’t need to, we can take it to the forest and release it’. So they put it in a big jute bag and carried it there.”