Nowhere To Go: Rohingya refugees struggle after huge fire destroys their camp in Bangladesh
A blaze ripped through one of the 32 camps in Cox’s Bazar where Rohingya refugees, who fled the military crackdown in Myanmar, reside. The fire destroyed 2,000 shelters, leaving around 12,000 of them homeless
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Rohingya refugees at Bangladesh's Camp 11 in Cox’s Bazar have been left homeless once again after a huge blaze raced through the crammed space, destroying everything in its path. The fire, which broke out on Sunday, burned down or damaged at least 2,000 huts, said officials from the Balukhali fire department. AFP
The fire rapidly engulfed the bamboo-and-tarpaulin shelters, leaving about 12,000 forcibly displaced Myanmar nationals shelterless. Rafiqul Islam, additional police superintendent at Cox’s Bazar, was quoted as saying that there were no casualties in the incident. AFP
The cause of the fire is not yet clear. But a probe has been set up to investigate the matter. Besides the houses, at least 35 mosques and 21 learning centres for the refugees were also destroyed. AP
The region where the fire broke out is quite hilly, making it difficult for rescue teams to reach and for families to escape. Moreover, the health facilities in the are are very rudimentary to have a fast response. AFP
For those residing at the camp, this is another huge loss for them. Refugee Selim Ullah, a father of six children, said he “couldn’t save anything”. “When we were in Myanmar we faced lots of problems... our houses were burned down, he said. “Now it has happened again.” AP
UNHCR in Bangladesh said in a tweet that Rohingya refugee volunteers were responding to the fire with the agency and its partners providing support. AP
Such blazes at the refugee camps in Cox’s Bazar is quite common. A Bangladesh defence ministry report last month said that between January 2021 and December 2022, there were 222 fire incidents in the Rohingya camps - including 60 cases of arson. AP
More than one million Rohingya refugees have fled to Bangladesh from Myanmar over several decades, including about 740,000 who crossed the border starting in August 2017, when the Myanmar military launched a brutal crackdown. AP