| Azlan Othman |
WHILE at the refugee camp in Teknof, Bangladesh, Ashraf Ali had a curious observation which he thinks is a true reflection of the Rohingya crisis.
He could see very few young men at the camp which houses more than 4,000 Rohingyan families that have fled ethnic atrocities in Myanmar.
“Nearly 80 per cent of the refugees in the camp were children and mothers while young men were only a few to be seen – most of them presumably killed in the violence,” he said.
“Emotions were running high at the camp and we were all moved by the pathetic situation. Many a time we broke into tears. In short, the place looked like the Day of Judgement in the days of the hereafter or the day of Mahsyar,” Ashraf Ali said.
An Indian doing business in Brunei Darussalam, Ashraf Ali was part of a group of five Indian professionals and a Bangladeshi businessman working in the Sultanate that recently visited a remote Rohingya refugee camp in Bangladesh to distribute humanitarian aid to their Muslim brothers that have fled ethnic violence in Myanmar.
The team distributed around B$18,000 worth of essential items like food, medicines, cooking utensils, blankets, mosquito nets and clothing as well as made arrangements to install pipes for supplying clean water to the camp.
Hundreds of thousands of Rohingya refugees have crossed the border into Bangladesh in the past few weeks to escape violence in the Rakhine state of Myanmar.
“We were in the Rohingya camp which houses some 4,000 families from October 1 to 10,” Ashraf Ali, an Indian businessman in the group told the Bulletin recently.
“We bought clothing, cooking utensils and installed pipes and sanitation facilities for the refugees. We realised that currently, disease outbreak is a real danger for the camp dwellers and the host population, so we gave priority to set up sanitation systems there.
“Life is really hard out there. Food is inadequate and they use the coupon system to collect food packs that can only last for a week. We saw a family of 10 children, and for them, I doubt, this food would be enough.
“If Muslims want to donate, these are the people that one should give it to. Some 2,000 refugees are queuing up for their share of meal every day – and sometimes they get it and sometimes they don’t… it’s a heart-rending scene to witness.
“Even a little can go a long way. Local people also chipped in to ease the burden of the refugees seeing pleas spread through the social media. It comes as a heart-to-heart contribution for the Muslim Ummah,” the Indian businessman added.
Besides Ashraf Ali, the humanitarian assistance group included Mohammad Zafar, Maulana Shoeb, Nadeem, Mohd Sabih and Mohammed Mostafa.
“We departed from Bandar Seri Begawan to Kuala Lumpur and then to Dhaka, Chittagong. From there we took a four-hour drive to the settlement area of Bangladesh’s Cox Bazar district and then another two-hour drive before reaching Teknof where the refugee camp is located. It is about 170 kilometres from Chittagong to Cox Bazar and another 100 kilometres from Coz Bazar to the refugee camp,” Ashraf Ali noted.
“According to the refugees, the contribution from Brunei Darussalam is the biggest received by the refugee camp so far,” he added.
“The Bangladesh army is monitoring the area. The place looks awful with many without clothes and most people are malnourished.
“If there is budget, we plan to go there again along with our colleagues from Dubai and Saudi Arabia. I understand that a group of Bangladeshi professionals and businessmen working in Brunei will also go to the refugee camp in November to distribute aid. Goods are expensive in Cox Bazar as they are in short supply. We bought the stuff in Chittagong and transported them to Cox Bazar,” Ashraf Ali said.
The United Nations (UN) describes the Rohingya people as one of “the most persecuted people on Earth”. They are a minority group of Bengali Muslim ethnicity who are amongst the poorest of Myanmar. The long-standing Rohingya crisis has worsened so much since August 2017 and the UN reports that they are experiencing the last stages of genocide. “If you read or have read their accounts, your heart will also grieve for these poor people,” it said.
As of August 2017, about 600,000 Rohingya men, women and children have fled to Bangladesh with little else than the clothes on their back.
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