Rohingyas face triple threat: IOM

The chief of the International Organisation for Migration, the United Nations migration agency, has asked the international community to remain focused on the Rohingya crisis to avert tragic outcomes for nearly one million persecuted people.

Almost a million Rohingya refugees in Bangladesh face a triple threat of extreme weather, funding shortfalls and uncertainty about their future, said an IOM press release on Tuesday quoting its director general William Lacy Swing, who visited Bangladesh from July 14 to 16.

He said it was crucial for the world to remain focused on the crisis, as a "failure to do so would have tragic outcomes for the nearly a million Rohingya refugees sheltering in Bangladesh."

"The Rohingya in Cox’s Bazar are in danger of becoming the wretched of the earth, homeless and without a future," Swing said, adding, "The world must rally to support them."

"The wellbeing of the Rohingyas is our concern while they are here (in Cox’s Bazar, Bangladesh)," he said quoting prime minister Sheikh Hasina.

Hasina also underscored the enormity of the impact that so many refugees are having on the local population and the need for global solidarity to find a solution to their plight and humanitarian aid to support them and the surrounding host communities.

Swing previously visited Cox’s Bazar in October 2017, less than three months into a violent crisis which has sent more than 700,000 people fleeing over the border from Myanmar since late August 2017.

The Rohingya now live in desperately cramped conditions on bare sandy slopes, with only bamboo and tarpaulin shelters to protect them from the elements. All this in an area that suffers two cyclone seasons yearly and some of the heaviest monsoon conditions in the world.

The director general noted the major improvements to the camps’ management and infrastructure carried out by the IOM, and an entire spectrum of other UN agencies, NGOs as well as other organisations and the government, including access ways, bridges, drainage, sanitation and improved shelters.

However, as monsoon rains turned many hillsides to mud, Swing warned that with just one quarter of joint funding appeal for the entire response met so far, much of the progress made in recent months was at serious risk of collapsing. That, he said, would create yet another life-threatening disaster for the Rohingya community.

The IOM chief, who met young mothers from the refugee and local Bangladeshi host community who had recently given birth at an IOM medical facility in the heart of the sprawling mega-camp, stressed the vital role that such health services played for people in Cox’s Bazar whether refugee or local residents.

“Everyone must recognise, in addition to the refugees’ needs, the tremendous impact this crisis is having on the host community,” he said.

“The world must recognise the hugely generous support that the Bangladesh government and host community here in Cox’s Bazar has offered these refugees who arrived in such desperate conditions with nothing,” he added.

Rohingyas face triple threat: IOM

The chief of the International Organisation for Migration, the United Nations migration agency, has asked the international community to remain focused on the Rohingya crisis to avert tragic outcomes for nearly one million persecuted people. Almost a million Rohingya refugees in Bangladesh face a triple threat of extreme weather, funding shortfalls and uncertainty about their future, said an IOM press release on Tuesday quoting its director general William Lacy Swing, who visited Bangladesh from July 14 to 16. He said it was crucial for the world to remain focused on the crisis, as a failure to do so would have tragic outcomes for the nearly a million Rohingya refugees sheltering in Bangladesh. The Rohingya in Coxs Bazar are in danger of becoming the wretched of the earth, homeless and without a future, Swing said, adding, The world must rally to support them. The wellbeing of the Rohingyas is our concern while they are here (in Coxs Bazar, Bangladesh), he said quoting prime minister Sheikh Hasina. Hasina also underscored the enormity of the impact that so many refugees are having on the local population and the need for global solidarity to find a solution to their plight and humanitarian aid to support them and the surrounding host communities. Swing previously visited Coxs Bazar in October 2017, less than three months into a violent crisis which has sent more than 700,000 people fleeing over the border from Myanmar since late August 2017. The Rohingya now live in desperately cramped conditions on bare sandy slopes, with only bamboo and tarpaulin shelters to protect them from the elements. All this in an area that suffers two cyclone seasons yearly and some of the heaviest monsoon conditions in the world. The director general noted the major improvements to the camps management and infrastructure carried out by the IOM, and an entire spectrum of other UN agencies, NGOs as well as other organisations and the government, including access ways, bridges, drainage, sanitation and improved shelters. However, as monsoon rains turned many hillsides to mud, Swing warned that with just one quarter of joint funding appeal for the entire response met so far, much of the progress made in recent months was at serious risk of collapsing. That, he said, would create yet another life-threatening disaster for the Rohingya community. The IOM chief, who met young mothers from the refugee and local Bangladeshi host community who had recently given birth at an IOM medical facility in the heart of the sprawling mega-camp, stressed the vital role that such health services played for people in Coxs Bazar whether refugee or local residents. Everyone must recognise, in addition to the refugees needs, the tremendous impact this crisis is having on the host community, he said. The world must recognise the hugely generous support that the Bangladesh government and host community here in Coxs Bazar has offered these refugees who arrived in such desperate conditions with nothing, he added.