Dhaka, March 8. About a million Rohinyá refugees in Bangladesh luchan por subsistir debido al recorte de los fondos de ayuda, dejándoles apenas 10 dólares al mes para alimentos, mientras tratan de sobreponerse a un incendio que ha arrasado su campo de refugees, uno de los más grandes of the world.
Difficulties are mounting for the Rohingya, a Muslim minority in Burma whose citizenship is not recognized by the Buddhist-majority country, leading to their exodus to neighboring Bangladesh, some 774,000 of whom fled in 2017 following a military campaign Burma described as possible genocide by the UN.
In Bangladesh, at least 12,000 Rohingyas are now in total destitution, after a fire ravaged a third of the settlements in Cox’s Bazar, one of the largest refugee camps in the world, on Sunday.
The fire worsens the already dire situation for the Rohingyas: the UN requested this week $876 million to deal with the migration crisis, less than the previous year, despite the growth of the Rohingya population in the Cox camps , with Myanmar embroiled in conflict following the February 1, 2021 coup and rising global food prices.
“Somehow before we could manage with the little money we had, but now we can’t even get it,” Mohammad Hasim told EFE.
He and his family of six received 6,120 takas, or $10 per person, in food aid this month, whereas previously they received the equivalent of 7,200 Bangladeshi takas, or $72 in total per month. .
Y es que el Programa Mundial de Alimentos de la ONU (PMA) anunció el mes pasado que reduction su asistencia a los camps de Bangladesh de 12 a 10 dólares por persona al mes del del 1 de marzo, citando un deficit de fondos de 125 millions of dollars.
The aid is delivered in the form of coupons which can be displayed at the points of sale in the camp. According to the WFP, they can choose from more than 40 dry and fresh foods such as rice, lentils, garlic, onions, salt, eggs and chillies.
UNEMPLOYMENT AND ILLNESS
Most of the refugees, who are unemployed, sell their voucher to others for cash, which they need to meet other demands, such as paying phone bills or buying fish or meat, rare in points of sale.
According to the WFP, “about 40% of children are stunted and 40% of pregnant and lactating women are anemic, all before the coupons are cut”.
“The coupon cut shocked us. It will affect us a lot and we are worried for all members of the community,” refugee Sowdul Amin, who has a shop in the camp, told EFE.
The decrease in humanitarian aid also causes refugees working for NGOs to lose their jobs, several refugees told EFE, forced to choose between a roof or a job, while many already depend almost exclusively on humanitarian aid, such as their families. Hasim, who is unemployed.
“Recently, they asked me to go to a remote area because there was no work near my camp. So I had to stop working,” a former worker told EFE. a learning center run by a local NGO, Maung Maung Sa.
Rohingya volunteers working for different aid agencies receive between 250 and 350 Bangladeshi taka a day, or about $2.5 to $3.5 for their services, the refugees say.
With less help, the situation is more complex, especially for large families, leading some to flee or even engage in criminal activities and smuggling to survive.
OTHER EMERGENCIES IN OTHER LOCATIONS
The situation shows no signs of improving. The representative of the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) in Bangladesh, Johannes van der Klaauw, expects a decrease in donor aid due to other emergencies around the world.
“The Rohingya situation has entered its sixth year, following the last large influx in 2017. It is now a protracted crisis and is no longer considered an emergency,” he told EFE.
“Now we must redouble our efforts to mobilize resources and, in particular, funds for development,” he urged.
Bangladesh is home to more than 925,000 Rohingya refugees who have fled neighboring Myanmar, including 774,000 who fled in 2017, and aid is crucial to provide food, shelter, medical care, clean water, protection and education for 1.47 million people, including 495,000 Bangladeshis. affected by the migration crisis.
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