Assist Rohingya Refugees in Bangladesh

Dear Supporter,

Thanks to your generous contributions, Concern Worldwide continues to provide assistance to vulnerable Rohingya refugees in Bangladesh. 

An estimated 582,000 Rohingya have fled Rhakine state in Myanmar and crossed the border to Bangladesh since the latest outbreak of violence at the end of August. This brings the total number of Rohingya refugees in Bangladesh to an estimated 882,000. Concern has been working in Bangladesh since 1972 and we have swiftly ramped up our response to meet the needs of recent Rohingya arrivals. We’re targeting four camps in the Bay of Bengal, and focusing initially on providing food and emergency nutrition to children and pregnant or breastfeeding women.  

I want to now take the time to share with you a few stories about the beneficiaries whom your donations are helping: 

Shaju

Thirty year old Shaju gave birth to her eight child, Noor, just after she arrived in Cox’s Bazar. Violence forced Shaju and her husband to flee their village, despite the fact that she was heavily pregnant. “My brother in law was ahead of us when they caught him.” She says. “He was brutally killed- we found his body.” 

It took them three days to reach the Hakim Para settlement where her family now stays. Open defecation is common here, malnutrition levels are high, and the water and sanitation facilities are under pressure. But Shaju says there is nothing to go back home to. “Everything has been burned.” She explains. 

Despite the hardship she’s facing, Shaju is grateful her family found safety. “Now I am at peace,” she says. “There was killing and fighting over there- here we have peace.”  

Rama

Rama and her husband, Abu Sayed, reached Cox’s Bazar with their son Habiron after making a nearly 30-mile journey to Bangladesh on foot.

The family ran for their lives after witnessing intense violence in their home village in Myanmar.

“They were shooting at us and dropping bombs from a helicopter,” says Rama. “People were beheaded.” Her mother suffered a bullet wound in her arm. As they fled, they saw their village burning behind them.

Though Rama and her family arrived safely in Bangladesh, they have nothing but the clothes they are wearing, a few phones, and a small amount of cash. A local landowner agreed to let them use a small patch of land and helped them build a crude shelter from bamboo and black plastic. Inside, the temperature reaches well over one hundred degrees.

Rama says the Bangladeshis have been very generous, and she has received gifts of clothes, cash, and food. But the family is struggling and Rama is forced to beg for money on the side of the road. 

Food is also extremely limited. “At home we would eat three meals a day — here, we have a very small amount twice a day.”

Despite all they’ve experienced, Rama and Abu Sayed hope they can one day return home — “as long as we can be left in peace.”

Concern plans to continue to scale up our response in Bangladesh in order to reach as many beneficiaries as possible for as long as the refugee crisis continues. On behalf of Concern and the people we serve, we thank you for your generous support, which helps to allow people like Shaju and Rama to sleep at night without fear.