Warning: The magic method Vc_Manager::__wakeup() must have public visibility in /customers/d/b/2/rohingyapost.com/httpd.www/wp-content/plugins/js_composer/include/classes/core/class-vc-manager.php on line 203 Deprecated: Required parameter $width follows optional parameter $attach_id in /customers/d/b/2/rohingyapost.com/httpd.www/wp-content/plugins/js_composer/include/helpers/helpers.php on line 366 Deprecated: Required parameter $height follows optional parameter $attach_id in /customers/d/b/2/rohingyapost.com/httpd.www/wp-content/plugins/js_composer/include/helpers/helpers.php on line 366 {"id":25322,"date":"2020-03-29T20:50:16","date_gmt":"2020-03-29T19:50:16","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.rohingyapost.com\/?p=25322"},"modified":"2020-03-29T20:51:07","modified_gmt":"2020-03-29T19:51:07","slug":"rohingya-refugees-and-coronavirus-a-disaster-waiting-to-happen","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.rohingyapost.com\/rohingya-refugees-and-coronavirus-a-disaster-waiting-to-happen\/","title":{"rendered":"Rohingya refugees and coronavirus: A disaster waiting to happen?"},"content":{"rendered":"

By John Pennington, ASEAN Today<\/a><\/p>\n

The first confirmed case of the COVID-19 coronavirus in Cox\u2019s Bazar has heightened concerns the outbreak will devastate the Rohingya community in nearby camps.<\/em><\/p>\n

The arrival of COVID-19\u00a0in Bangladesh<\/a>\u00a0could spell disaster for the Rohingya community. Huge numbers of Rohingya refugees are marooned in refugee camps near Cox\u2019s Bazar, where one of the country\u2019s first fatalities occurred.<\/p>\n

Hundreds of thousands<\/a>\u00a0of Rohingya Muslims fled Myanmar following a military crackdown in 2017. The persecuted community now faces a new invisible threat. With limited access to information, sanitisation and medical assistance, if the virus reaches the camps it could have terrible consequences.<\/p>\n

Conditions in Bangladesh leave refugees vulnerable<\/strong><\/h3>\nThere are an estimated\u00a0 1.1 million<\/a>\u00a0Rohingya in Bangladesh with\u00a0 630,000<\/a>\u00a0in one camp in Kutupalong, near Cox\u2019s Bazar. Social distancing is impossible with so many people crammed into small spaces. \u201cWe spend every waking and sleeping moment of our lives gathered with each other,\u201d Mohammad Arfaat\u00a0 explained<\/a>. \u201cOur shelters are too close to each other. Dozens of people share each toilet and water well.\u201d<\/p>\n
Furthermore, Rohingya are\u00a0 not allowed<\/a>\u00a0to use telephones or access the internet. That has led to rumours spreading and prevented the dissemination of vital protective information. While a few have managed to establish contact with the outside world, they cannot pass on information to the whole camp. The communication ban means they cannot even follow the World Health Organisation (WHO) guidelines and phone for help if they need medical advice.<\/p>\n
Things could be about to get a lot worse for the Rohingya<\/strong><\/h3>\nThe Rohingya are highly exposed to infectious diseases, let alone one as contagious as COVID-19. In Bangladesh, the Rohingya have no access to face masks or hand sanitiser. They say all they have\u00a0 received<\/a>\u00a0is soap and instructions to wash their hands.<\/p>\n
The monsoon season is around the corner, which will worsen conditions and make keeping clean even more challenging. Those in high-risk groups, including the elderly and those with existing conditions, even more vulnerable. People have reportedly left the camp and returned\u00a0 without being screened<\/a>\u00a0or tested for the disease. COVID-19 could already be among the Rohingya.<\/p>\n
The refugee camps are often far away from urban areas and movement is limited. This has sheltered the camps from the disease so far. However, with confirmed cases of COVID-19 now less than 40 kilometres away, all it will take is one person to unknowingly enter the camp carrying the disease to infect thousands of others.<\/p>\n
Their survival will depend on access to healthcare professionals, proper sanitisation and medicine\u2014none of which are\u00a0 readily available<\/a>.<\/p>\n
Are there any lessons to be learned from elsewhere?<\/strong><\/h3>\nUnfortunately, those in refugee camps the world over are facing similar conditions and prospects. Humanitarian agencies warn it may be\u00a0 impossible<\/a>\u00a0to stop the virus spreading once it arrives, leaving the refugees to fend for themselves. Refugee camps are often\u00a0 omitted<\/a>\u00a0from disaster planning and can be hard to reach.<\/p>\n
Elsewhere, governments in\u00a0 France<\/a>\u00a0and\u00a0 G<\/a>reece<\/a>\u00a0have come under pressure to help those in refugee camps, but they are dealing with people inside their borders.<\/p>\n
While Myanmar\u2019s government reportedly\u00a0 has a plan<\/a>\u00a0to assist internally displaced people within Myanmar, that does not extend to its refugees overseas. It leaves the Rohingya relying on the Bangladeshi government and aid agencies, which are doing\u00a0 all they can<\/a>\u00a0to spread information and offer medical assistance.<\/p>\n
COVID-19 could have painful long-term consequences<\/strong><\/h3>\n
There is little optimism about the Rohingya\u2019s current or future plight. \u201cThe coronavirus is a risk to everyone\u2014but the greatest risks are to refugee communities like ours,\u201d Arfaat added. \u201cWe hear the coronavirus has already reached Bangladesh, so it may only be a matter of time.\u201d<\/p>\n
Referring to those returning to the camp, Mojib Ullah, an activist based in Australia, painted an even more gloomy picture. \u201cIf they carry the virus and mingle with crowds, it would be another massacre, much bigger than what happened in 2017,\u201d\u00a0 he said<\/a>, referring to the crackdown that forced the Rohingya out of Myanmar.<\/p>\n
The outbreak further reduces the Rohingya\u2019s chances of being repatriated or relocated. Myanmar will not welcome them back and with borders closed and movement suppressed, and they cannot\u2014or should not\u2014move within Bangladesh. Their lives will remain on hold for some time to come.<\/p>\n
There is a horrible sense that for now, they can do little more than wait for the inevitable and hope for the best. \u201cIt\u2019s just a matter of time until the virus reaches the vulnerable population living in cramped conditions in the largest refugee settlement on Earth,\u201d\u00a0 predicted<\/a>\u00a0Athena Rayburn, Save The Children\u2019s head of advocacy in Cox\u2019s Bazar. \u201cThousands of people could die.\u201d<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
By John Pennington, ASEAN Today The first confirmed case of the COVID-19 coronavirus in Cox\u2019s Bazar has heightened concerns the outbreak will devastate the Rohingya community in nearby camps. The arrival of COVID-19\u00a0in Bangladesh\u00a0could spell disaster for the Rohingya community. Huge numbers of Rohingya refugees are marooned in refugee camps near Cox\u2019s Bazar, where one […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":25324,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_oct_exclude_from_cache":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[241,203],"tags":[238,750,752,215],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rohingyapost.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/25322"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rohingyapost.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rohingyapost.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rohingyapost.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rohingyapost.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=25322"}],"version-history":[{"count":2,"href":"https:\/\/www.rohingyapost.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/25322\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":25326,"href":"https:\/\/www.rohingyapost.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/25322\/revisions\/25326"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rohingyapost.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/25324"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rohingyapost.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=25322"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rohingyapost.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=25322"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rohingyapost.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=25322"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}