AMN / DHAKA:
Nearly 2,000 Rohingya people a day are still arriving in Cox’s Bazar settelements of Bangladesh, having fled violence in Myanmar’s North Rakhine State.
The new arrivals bring the total number of Rohingya to cross into Bangladesh since August 25 to an estimated 515,000, a press release of International Organization for Migration (IOM) said.
Observers believe that as many as 100,000 more people may be waiting to cross into Cox’s Bazar from North Rakhine’s Buthidaung Township.
Many of the Rohingyas arrive in Teknaf – Cox’s Bazar’s southernmost upazila – but then move north to Ukhiya and the vast, teeming makeshift settlements of Kutupalong, Balukhali and neighboring satellite sites.
They arrive exhausted, hungry and usually with nothing more than the clothes on their back, having walked for days and then braved a dangerous river or sea crossing. Many show signs of malnutrition.
‘On Thursday, Nunavet, 70, walked aimlessly through Kutupalong, tired and in desperation. The frail, skeletal old lady was hungry. Her face, etched with deep wrinkles, spoke not just of fatigue, but of a life of hardship endured over the years. Overcoming the language barrier, she mumbled through her ailments, pointing to her empty stomach, aching back and sore feet.
IOM, the UN Migration Agency, this week appealed to the international community for USD 120 million through March to provide desperately needed aid to Nunavet and other Rohingyas who have flooded into Cox’s Bazar over the past six weeks. It aims to target 450,000 individuals (90,000 households) over the next six months.
The IOM appeal is part of a broader humanitarian response plan seeking USD 434 million to help 1.2 million people, including the Bangladeshi host community.
At the request of the Government of Bangladesh, IOM is hosting the Inter Sector Coordination Group, which is coordinating the work of aid agencies responding to the humanitarian crisis triggered by the influx. It is also leading the coordination of three sectors – shelter and core relief items, displacement site management and communication with displaced and host communities.
IOM’s operations focus on six sectors: shelter and core relief items; site management; water, sanitation and hygiene (WASH); health; coordination; protection; and communication with communities.
Life-saving services delivered IOM and its partners include clean water and sanitation, shelter, food, security, health care, education, and psychological support for the most vulnerable individuals, many whom are suffering from acute mental trauma or are survivors of sexual violence.
In the settlements, people standing in line for aid snake around the various distribution points set up by aid organizations and local NGOs. As they wait for hours for rice, biscuits, plastic sheets, jerry cans and hygiene materials, the number of children stand out. An estimated 58 per cent of the Rohingya people are under the age of 18.
To date, IOM has distributed some 40,000 plastic tarpaulins to provide basic shelter for the Rohingyas since 25 August. These include some 4,000 shelter kits comprising two plastic sheets, two ropes, two blankets, and one sleeping mat per family, donated by the United Kingdom’s Department for International Development (DFID).
The sheer numbers of new arrivals have led to dangerous congestion in the existing settlements. On 14 September, the Bangladesh Government allocated 2,000 acres of forest land to set up a new camp adjacent to the existing Kutapalong makeshift settlement. Yesterday, it allocated another 1,000 acres of land to cope with the spiraling numbers.
Officials plan to use the vast site to accommodate all the Rohingyas in Cox’s Bazar – both new and old arrivals – in one settlement.
The challenges of establishing the camp on inaccessible, hilly terrain, are vast. The site is entirely undeveloped and will require planning and infrastructure investment for roads and bridges, the installation of drainage systems and soil protection earthworks to reduce the risk of landslides. It is currently accessible by just one road – the Cox’s Bazar-Teknaf Highway – which is already permanently congested by aid trucks and local traffic. additional inputs BSS