By Kathleen Felesina | Director, West Region - Concern Worldwide
Five years ago, on August 25, 2017, the latest outbreak of violence in Rakhine State, Myanmar, forced hundreds of thousands of Rohingya people to flee their homes. Since then over 1 million Rohingya have been forcibly displaced, with more than 914,000 are currently settled on a narrow strip of hilly land below the city of Cox’s Bazar, Bangladesh. Over half of the Rohingya refugees living in Cox’s Bazar are children. This year, as this humanitarian emergency turned five, the global pandemic further complicates an already-complex situation. As COVID-19 continues to spread, concern is growing around the potential impact of an outbreak among the 900,000 Rohingya refugees living in Bangladesh.
However, this isn’t just a crisis affecting the Rohingya. The Rohingya are a stateless, predominantly minority ethnic group, many of whom have lived in Myanmar’s Rakhine State for generations. Over time, many families migrated to Rakhine from Bengal, an area encompassing parts of India and all of Bangladesh. Without recognition as citizens or permanent residents of the country, the Rohingya have limited access to education, jobs, and health services, resulting in chronic poverty and marginalization. Violence targeting the Rohingya in Myanmar over the last several decades has driven hundreds of thousands to neighboring countries, most notably in 1978, 1991-92, and 2016. Some return, but many have lived for decades in areas like Cox’s Bazar, Bangladesh. An escalation in violence that began on August 25, 2017, however, became the starting point for the latest — and largest — crisis.
There are other factors also making the crisis complex – both for the refugees as well as their host communities. The Rohingya crisis has developed into a protracted emergency for both the Rohingya and Bangladeshis. Most of the camps that were set up for incoming Rohingya around Cox’s Bazar were built on uneven sandy hills that were rapidly cleared in response to the 2017 mass exodus. Since then, these informal settlements have faced the constant threats of flooding and landslides. All shelters are required to be built from bamboo and tarps, meaning that concrete and bricks can’t be used as added protection against the elements. Many have collapsed, leaving residents exposed to the elements.
Bangladesh’s main cyclone season begins in April, making this a time where Rohingya are most vulnerable. Beyond shelters facing destruction from high winds, these rainy seasons can also foster waterborne illnesses in crowded camps that don’t have proper water and sanitation facilities. This poses an especially risk to children and the elderly. The main cyclone season in Bangladesh begins in April, and previous years have shown us that this is one time in which the Rohingya are most vulnerable. Beyond shelters facing destruction from high winds, these rainy seasons can also foster waterborne illnesses in crowded camps that don’t have proper water and sanitation facilities — posing a particular risk to children and the elderly.
The realities of COVID-19 have further complicated matters. By May of 2020, the novel coronavirus had reached the refugee camp in Cox’s Bazar. Early lockdowns in Bangladesh meant that most local camp volunteers were forced to stay at home, leaving the camps with a reduced number of staff and resources. While lockdowns are no longer implemented during successive Covid waves, the pandemic nonetheless still affects operations and causes shortages in the camp.
Because we have been in Bangladesh for over 40 years, had former staff members in the area, and had worked on previous projects there (including with Rohingya refugees as early as 1991), we were one of the first organizations to respond to the crisis. Since then, we’ve maintained a combination of life-saving integrated nutrition support, livelihood development, disaster risk reduction, non-food item distributions, and home gardening initiatives. Three of our biggest focuses are nutrition, and safeguarding against weather-related disasters, and responding to COVID-19.
Thus, Concern is working with both the Rohingya and the host communities to help address the immediate needs of the current refugee crisis. With the Rohingya, we work with refugees in 5 camps and we will also be extending livelihood support to the host community.
Last year alone, our work included:
Often underreported in coverage of any refugee crisis is the host community’s efforts to maintain their own dignity and health in such difficult circumstances. The area surrounding Cox’s Bazar had already experienced weak service provision and is a very poor area of Bangladesh. Concern’s former Country Director in Bangladesh, A.K.M. Musha, pointed out that local lives have changed significantly since this massive population flow.
“There is huge socio-economic and environmental pressure resulting in increased tension between refugees and the host community,” he said. “The tensions will continue to increase unless the host communities are supported well. It’s a difficult situation for all.”
While the Bangladeshi government has gone to great lengths to accommodate the influx, the impact is being felt. As local resources go into the relief effort, prices of goods and services are driven up, and labor becomes cheaper.
Unfortunately, there’s no end in sight. “The Rohingya people don’t believe the situation in Myanmar is currently conducive to repatriation. It would be very difficult for people to go back to Myanmar unless the situation improves there,” adds Musha.
Concern plans to continue to stay and deliver our critical life-saving crisis response, health and sanitation, and livelihood programming. Our goal, along with many of our partners and humanitarian colleagues, is to help the Rohingya stay healthy, care for their families, and live with as much security and dignity as possible.
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