The United States has said that the Rohingya tragedy cannot be overstated and that the world is on fire.  “We’re seeing right now a time in history where the world’s on fire and there are immediate, pressing humanitarian needs that we see right before us,” ambassador Mark Green, USAID administrator, told a special briefing on Thursday in New York organised to brief journalists about US’s humanitarian assistance for people of different countries including the Rohingyas that the world is on fire.

 “And I think the tragedy of what we’re seeing in Burma cannot be overstated and it’s happening before our eyes, so we’re making sure that we are carefully coordinated and doing what we need to do,” he said.

Asked about the humanitarian access to Rakhine, the administrator said, “I wish I could tell you that. I don’t know that to be the case. I think we have a ways to go. The fact that the Vice President spoke about it and the fact that we’ve heard from Secretary Tillerson talking about it means that it is obviously very high up on the priorities of this government in – diplomatically. And so we are pressing hard.”

He, however, said, “The good news is it has everyone’s attention and people are coming forward on the financial side to deal with the humanitarian needs. But I think we all recognise that we need to do more than the humanitarian needs. We need to prevent a further tragedy from happening.”

“I was in an intense session yesterday with our partners from the UN commissioner – high commissioner on refugees to some of our European partners. A number will be

going out almost immediately to look at the situation there, but also doing what we can to try to press both governments to provide humanitarian access, security, in a situation

that is rapidly changing and obviously very, very disturbing,” Mark Green said.

But, he said, “It is something that we’re trying to make sure that we’re very carefully coordinated with our partners here so that we’re not at cross-purposes. In an area like that, which is where the displaced individuals are, is a very small, tight area, and it’s difficult to access, and there are security issues. So we’re making sure that we’re working closely together, coordinated, not stepping on each other or unnecessarily taking energy away from where it needs to be, and that’s getting a diplomatic and – or a diplomatic solution.”