The\u00a0Rohingya people<\/a>\u00a0are a stateless Muslim minority in the western Myanmar state of Rakhine. They have been forced out of Myanmar (also known as Burma) by violence and racism for more than 20 years. Myanmar\u2019s government refuses to recognize the Rohingya people as one of the 135 official minority groups in the country,\u00a0denying them citizenship<\/a>\u00a0as long as they identify as Rohingya. The most recent crisis began in August 2017 when\u00a0hundreds of thousands<\/a>\u00a0of Rohingya people \u2014 more than half of whom were children \u2014fled violence against them by seeking refuge in neighboring Bangladesh.<\/p>\n Currently estimated<\/a>\u00a0to include a million people, most of these refugees have settled in the Cox\u2019s Bazar region of Bangladesh, living in sprawling refugee camps. The largest camp houses as many people as the City of Baltimore but in a space that is only five square miles (13 square kilometers).<\/p>\n On Monday, March 22, 2021, a large fire swept through the\u00a0Balukhali camp<\/a>\u00a0before spreading to two other camps, consuming 500 acres and destroying 10,000 encampments. At least 45,000 people are homeless and as many as 400 are missing, along with nearly 600 injured and\u00a015 killed<\/a>. Aid workers and refugees alike\u00a0blame barbed wire in the camps<\/a>\u00a0for preventing people from fleeing quickly.<\/p>\n This was the latest in a series of fires that have swept the camps, leading to fears that the government is trying to push residents to leave. A\u00a0fire on Jan. 14, 2021<\/a>\u00a0gutted the Nayapara refugee camp in Cox\u2019s Bazar, destroying 550 shelters and 150 shops and leaving\u00a0approximately 3,500<\/a>\u00a0people homeless. The Bangladeshi government is trying to get\u00a0refugees to move to a remote island<\/a>\u00a0in the Bay of Bengal. Bangladesh developed the island specifically for the purpose of helping to resettle Rohingya Refugees and move them out of temporary refugee camps in the Cox\u2019s Bazar region. On Sept. 12, 2020, Bangladeshi officials took a group of 47 Rohingya leaders to assess the suitability of a site for the planned relocation of up to 100,000 Rohingya refugees. By the end of March 2021, more than 13,000 Rohingya had been moved to the island of Bhasan Char. Although they have been promised safe and secure shelter, along with access to other supports including food and health services, aid workers say the island is in the path of cyclones. Despite an improvement in living conditions, the Rohingya on Bhasan Char are prisoners, unable to leave the island without permission from the government of Bangladesh.<\/p>\n These temporary settlements in\u00a0Cox\u2019s Bazar were put up very quickly, leading to concerns about\u00a0WASH (Water, Sanitation and Hygiene)<\/a>,\u00a0shelter<\/a>\u00a0and safety for\u00a0women and girls<\/a>. On Aug. 24, 2020, Save the Children released a statement that estimated more\u00a0than 100,000 babies<\/a>\u00a0have been born in refugee camps in Bangladesh and Myanmar. As a result, these children are at higher risk for malnutrition, health problems and missing important educational opportunities.\u00a0As of Oct. 31, 2020, the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR)\u00a0was tracking<\/a>\u00a0just over 850,000 Rohingya in the refugee camps, of which 570,000 have received direct support from WFP.<\/p>\n The summer\u00a0seasonal monsoons<\/a>\u00a0brought\u00a0flash floods and soil erosion that made the living conditions in refugee camps more precarious. It caused significant damage to shelters and infrastructure in refugee camps that affected more than 4,500 people. The response and reconstruction were handled by refugees in the camps with support from UNHCR and other partners. Refugee volunteers were empowered to take the lead in the emergency response, performing water rescues and evacuating people from affected structures.<\/p>\n The arrival of COVID-19 in the Cox\u2019s Bazar area\u00a0raised concerns<\/a>\u00a0about the health of the Rohingya refugees occupying the settlements. The tight spaces, accompanied by the lack of access to basic services, especially healthcare, leave those residing in Cox\u2019s Bazar especially vulnerable to the virus.\u00a0As a result of these concerns, Bangladesh imposed a\u00a0complete lockdown<\/a>\u00a0on Cox\u2019s Bazar with only critical aid and healthcare staff being allowed to enter and exit the area. Aid agencies working in Cox\u2019s Bazar have\u00a0mobilized Rohingya volunteers<\/a>\u00a0to\u00a0support hygiene<\/a>\u00a0and prevention messaging in order to avoid the spread of COVID-19. As they work to limit the spread within the camps, relief and response workers have started transitioning away from collective points of distribution into\u00a0delivering supplies<\/a>\u00a0directly to the households of people at high-risk of COVID-19.<\/p>\n The first case of COVID-19 in Cox\u2019s Bazar was confirmed on May 15, 2020, with the\u00a0first death<\/a>\u00a0confirmed on May 30, 2020. Despite the close quarters and conditions in the camps, there have been only 10 deaths and 400 COVID-19 cases since the pandemic started, out of 30,000 tests conducted. In addition to the toll COVID-19 is taking on the physical health of Rohingya refugees, the increased restrictions on aid and aid workers have also\u00a0reduced the amount<\/a>\u00a0of mental health support available to these displaced people.<\/p>\n Hopes for the repatriation of the Rohingya to their traditional lands have risen with\u00a0the re-election<\/a>\u00a0of the National League for Democracy during November 2020 elections. Many countries and organizations around the world, including China, the U.S., the European Union and the United Nations are pushing Myanmar President\u00a0Aung Suu Kyi<\/a>\u00a0to repatriate the Rohingya\u00a0in circumstances<\/a>\u00a0that will allow them to thrive.<\/p>\n If you are a responding NGO or a donor, please send updates on how you are working in this crisis to \u202ftanya.gulliver-garcia@disasterphilanthropy.org.<\/a><\/p>\n If you are a donor looking for recommendations on how to help in this crisis, please email\u00a0regine.webster@disasterphilanthropy.org<\/a>.<\/p>\nCritical Needs<\/h4>\n
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