Do not forget the Rohingya: UN urges global community for help

Pic/AFP

Dhaka (Bangladesh): The United Nations on Friday urged the international community not to forget the plight of Rohingya refugees in Bangladesh and called for global support to ensure their safe and voluntary return to Myanmar.

Shortly after visiting Rohingya refugee camps in Bangladesh's Cox's Bazar on Friday, Mark Lowcock, the United Nations under-secretary-general for humanitarian affairs, told reporters that the agency was seeking to raise money to help the refugees and their host community, Al Jazeera reported.

"Our main message is to the wider world: do not forget the Rohingya, do not forget the generosity of the people and institutions and government of Bangladesh, and be generous in supporting both the Rohingya and Bangladesh," Lowcock was quoted as saying.

More than 700,000 Rohingya refugees crossed the western border of Myanmar into Bangladesh in August last year following a crackdown by the Myanmar security forces.

More than 1.2 million now live in overcrowded and squalid refugee camps in southeastern Bangladesh. Lowcock said that the "great exodus" of Rohingya refugees arriving at Cox's Bazar "caused all sorts of issues".

A 20-member delegation of United Nations organizations - including United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNCHR) and International Organization for Migration (IOM) - visited Cox's Bazar, inspected different food distribution centres under World Food Program (WFP), and talked to the refugee women and children.

High Commissioner Filippo Grandi said the Rohingya refugee crisis should not turn into a "forgotten crisis". "This remains one of the world's biggest refugee crises. I saw a great deal of progress, but their situation, especially for women and children, remains fragile," Grandi noted.

In addition, the UN officials also highlighted the need for stronger infrastructure in the camps in the upcoming cyclone period. Meanwhile, Bangladesh's Foreign Minister AK Abdul Momen stressed that the government is planning to shift nearly 100,000 Rohingya refugees to the Bhasan Char Island.

"We have information that this year there may be more rain and that may cause landslides," Momen was quoted as saying. "Bhasan Char island is now prepared and we can start to relocate Rohingya before the monsoon to avert any casualties in the coming monsoon," he added.

However, some human rights groups have expressed concerns over that plan as the island is remote and prone to devastation from cyclones.

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