The settlements in Cox’s Bazar are waiting and preparing to the best of their ability for the arrival of thousands of unwanted babies, result of rape of Rohingya women by the Myanmar security forces, local Buddhist bobs and people from different ethnic groups in Rakhine, according to officials of the government and international organisations.

In coming days and weeks, they said that many babies are expected to be born in a situation that is not desired by any mother in the worst possible nightmare.

As the recent exodus of Rohingyas has started since August 25, this month will be the ninth month for those who were raped prior to that time, they added.

A senior UN official, meanwhile, demanded justice for the raped women and girls.

The agencies serving mothers and children in the settlements including that of the government will find it extremely difficult to provide adequate services to the mothers and newborns due to various practical reasons, especially poor housing condition, said the officials.

And, they added that the upcoming monsoon season is going to make the things much worse for the mothers and newborn babies. It is extremely difficult to determine the exact numbers of rape victims as due to social taboo many Rohingya women are reluctant to admit that they had been raped, said the officials, adding that the number is ‘huge’.

There is also a dispute between the government and the United Nations in terms of number of pregnant women in the Rohingya settlements. The government is saying that the number is nearly 18,000 while the UN is putting this number at about 40,000.

“According to our family planning department, there are 18,000 pregnant women most of whom are cruel victims of rape in Rakhine state.

And, we are expecting a huge number of new arrivals soon,” Kamal Hossain, deputy commissioner of Cox’s Bazar, told The Independent yesterday.

“We know things are not as ideal as it should be. But, the government, with the support of international organisations, is doing it’s best to ensure the safety of the mothers and expected babies,” he said.

To a question, the chief of the district administration said, “Currently, on average, 12 to 15 babies are born in the Rohingya camps.”

There are an estimated 40,000 pregnant women, many of whom are expected to give birth in coming weeks, according to an article

posted on the website of UN News dated May 11. Quoting aid officials, it said that an unknown but significant share of these pregnancies is resulted from rapes committed by members of the Myanmar army and allied militants.

Now, a surge in births among these women is imminent and in possibly thousands of cases the pregnancies resulted from rape — a source of silent anguish among the mothers and likely stigma for the newborns. With the monsoon season fast approaching in Bangladesh, the UN agencies and their partners are struggling to protect nearly 700,000 Rohingya refugees from disaster and disease.

Providing proper medical care in the camps is a severe challenge at best, and one made more difficult by the wrenching legacy of sexual violence.

Late last year, as violent repression in Myanmar sent Rohingyas fleeing to safety in Bangladesh, women from the mainly Muslim minority were subjected to what a UN official called “a frenzy of sexual violence. They can just see from the faces of the girls who are pregnant that something terrible happened,” said Andrew Gilmour, UN assistant secretary-general.

Pregnancies resulting from “what we believe could have been a frenzy of sexual violence in August and September last year could come to terms very soon”, he said, adding that “So, we are expecting a surge of births.” Women and girls who have been raped also need to see that justice is served, said Gilmour.