The area where the Rohingya live is already the least developed in Myanmar. The World Bank estimates its poverty rate is 78 per cent, as compared with 38 per cent in the rest of the country. Pictured, a boy outside his family hut in Basara camp for displaced persons on the outskirts of Sittwe in December 2013.
The latest round of violence, which broke out in Rakhine state on 25 August, reportedly includes the burning of villages, extrajudicial killings, rape and the laying of landmines. On 11 September, UN High Commissioner for Human Rights Zeid Ra’ad al-Hussein said the situation “seems a textbook example of ethnic cleansing.” Pictured, displaced persons near Sittwe in December 2013.
UN aid workers across the border say the people they speak with are very vulnerable and traumatized. There are “hundreds of people virtually camped out anywhere there is space. Any spare muddy piece of land or on hillside,” said IOM Asia-Pacific Spokesperson Chris Lom, speaking with UN News from Cox’s Bazar. Pictured, refugees waiting for boats to cross the border through the Naf River.
Life-saving aid such as food and water are the top priorities, along with shelter, for UN agencies and partners assisting those who are fleeing. The UN World Food Programme (WFP) is especially worried about women and children arriving hungry and malnourished.
Two flights carrying aid for the refugees arrived on 12 September in Bangladesh. The aid included shelter material, jerry cans, blankets, sleeping mats and other essential items for 25,000 refugees, according to the UN refugee agency (UNHCR). Pictured, refugees setting up temporary shelters among rice fields, after crossing the border.
UN and aid partners have launched an emergency appeal for Rohingya refugees, calling for $77 million to assist some 300,000 people over the next three months. The funding would help provide life-saving aid for new arrivals, camps and host communities.
UN Secretary-General António Guterres has urged all countries to assist the humanitarian aid effort. He also called on the Myanmar authorities to suspend military action, end the violence, uphold the rule of law, and recognize the right of return of all those who had to leave the country.