Story by Rebecca Wright, CNN; Photos by Mirva Helenius,
IFRC
April 19, 2017
(CNN)They say they ran from murder and
persecution. They've ended up in mud huts on the Bay of Bengal.
And with the torrential rains of the monsoon season
approaching, along with the threat of cyclones and floods, the fate of tens of
thousands of Rohingya refugees living in overcrowded camps in Bangladesh looks
as precarious as their makeshift shelters.
"It's becoming a silent crisis which does not have
the international attention that it deserves, given the scale of the needs of
the people and the uncertain future they are facing," says Ezekiel
Simperingham, Asia Pacific Regional Migration Coordinator for the International
Federation of Red Cross (IFRC).
New photographs of the refugees show only the fortunate
have tarpaulins for a roof, the rest stretch black plastic over bamboo frames.
Mats on the hard ground are beds.
"Their shelters are not strong enough to withstand
these extreme weather patterns," Simperingham says.
The UN estimates that 74,000 Rohingyas have crossed the
border into Bangladesh since Myanmar began a military crackdown in northern
Rakhine State following attacks on border guards on
October 9 last year. http://www.cnn.com/2016/10/12/asia/myanmar-violence/index.html
Many of those fleeing have made allegations
of murder and rape by Myanmar's security forces inside Rakhine State. http://www.cnn.com/2016/11/24/asia/myanmar-rohingya-refugees-bangladesh/
Aung San Suu Kyi, Myanmar's State
Counselor and de-facto leader, denied any ethnic cleansing in an interview with
the BBC. http://www.cnn.com/2017/04/06/asia/myanmar-aung-san-suu-kyi/index.html
https://youtu.be/TzsLt-x4jDw
And while Bangladesh offers refuge, there is little else
available for the Rohingya.
Aid agencies have been distributing food, tarpaulins and
other essentials in the camps, but they are struggling to keep up with the
demand.
"We barely have enough food to survive,"
Mohsena, a 22-year-old Rohingya mother living in a makeshift shelter in
Bangladesh, said. "If we have a meal once, we don't know when we can have
the next one. Feeding my children is my main concern."
**
Dire needs
An estimated one million Muslim Rohingyas live in
Myanmar's northern Rakhine State, where they are a persecuted, stateless ethnic
minority in the Buddhist-majority country, analysts say.
Most of the new arrivals to Bangladesh are living in
makeshift shelters outside two United Nations-administered refugee camps, along
with hundreds of thousands of other Rohingyas who were already there after
fleeing previous spates of violence.
"We are hearing reports that 180 people are sharing
one latrine," says Simperingham.
**
The Rohingyas were in a desperate situation even before the most recent round of violence broke out. http://www.cnn.com/2016/10/12/asia/myanmar-violence/index.html
The IFRC says 150,000 people in northern Rakhine State
were receiving humanitarian support before October 9.
The aid group has now launched an urgent appeal for $3.2
million to help meet the needs of 25,000 of the most vulnerable people in the
Bangladesh camps over the next nine months.
"People don't have enough food, enough water,"
Mirva Helenius, a photographer for the IFRC, tells CNN. "These people are
living without any kind of status, and without any services."
Last week, Helenius traveled to refugee camps in and
around Cox's Bazar, Bangladesh, to take photographs of the living conditions
and gather testimonies from some of the families living there.
CNN cannot independently verify the stories of those who
have arrived in Bangladesh, as access to media in Rakhine State is heavily
restricted.
'Now, we have nothing'
Mohsena says she fled Myanmar, also known as Burma, three
months ago with her 4-year-old son and 3-year-old daughter after her husband
was killed.
Mohsena's son is disabled, which means she struggles to
earn any income.
"Because my son can't walk or sit or eat, I have to
stay close to him all the time," she says. "I got some money by
begging. I don't know how we will survive after that money is gone."
There are thousands of families in the camps with stories
just like Mohsena's, Helenius says.
Rabeya, 25, says she arrived in the Balukhali makeshift
camp four months ago, fleeing Myanmar with her husband and children after she
was attacked by a group of men.
 |
| Mohsena, 22, is seen in front of her shelter with her two children. |
"I lost consciousness because of the pain," she
says. "My neighbors found me on the ground and dragged me to the jungle. I
was bleeding a lot. All my clothes were torn."
Rabeya says she later miscarried a baby she was carrying.
She also heard that her mother and sister had been killed.
"We had a wealthy and happy life there before,"
she says. "Now, we have nothing. We have to worry about surviving. We
don't even have enough money for food."
 |
| People fetching water in the makeshift extension to Kutupalong camp in Ukhiya, Cox's Bazar district, south eastern Bangladesh on 9 April, 2017. |
In February, the United Nations released
a report that alleged widespread brutal killings and rapes taking place
inside Rakhine State, and in March, the UN Human Rights Council in Geneva
announced that an "urgent" fact-finding mission will be sent to
Myanmar to investigate the claims of human rights abuses. http://www.cnn.com/2017/02/03/asia/rohingya-united-nations-report/
Nobel Prize Winner Aung San Suu Kyi insisted that those
who fled Myanmar are "safe" to come back, adding that "we will
welcome them back."
But in Bangladesh, the future for the Rohingya refugees
is still looking increasingly uncertain.
 |
| Rabeya, 25, talking with the Bangladesh Red Crescent volunteer trained in psychosocial support in the makeshift Balukhali camp in Ukhiya, Cox's Bazar district, south eastern Bangladesh on 8 April, 2017. |
"My first priority is the safety of my family,"
Rabeya says. "If peace returns to our home, if it is safe for us to be
there, we want to go back. But if not, how can we survive here?"