{"id":930,"date":"2021-04-12T15:24:00","date_gmt":"2021-04-12T15:24:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/cordaid.org\/en\/?p=930"},"modified":"2022-08-31T16:05:27","modified_gmt":"2022-08-31T16:05:27","slug":"reaching-out-to-rohingya-refugees-in-coxs-bazar","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.cordaid.org\/en\/news\/reaching-out-to-rohingya-refugees-in-coxs-bazar\/","title":{"rendered":"Reaching out to Rohingya refugees in Cox\u2019s Bazar"},"content":{"rendered":"
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\u201cWe started responding the day Rohingya refugees crossed the border. We will stand by their side until this crisis lasts,\u201d says Shakeb Nabi. He and his team in Cox\u2019s Bazar, Bangladesh, just won a second innovation award for their \u2018turning waste into resources\u2019 project. And the community kitchen they support serves thousands of meals a day to survivors of the recent blaze that devastated part of the refugee camps.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"Cox's
April 2021, Cox’s Bazar, Bangladesh. First step in the Turning waste into resources project in Cox’s Bazar: collecting plastic waste in the refugee settlement. Image: FrameIn and Garbageman<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

Humanitarian work in one of the world\u2019s largest refugee settlement areas means dealing with a thousand challenges at the same time. At the exact moment that we establish an online connection with Shakeb, who is Cordaid\/ICCO\u2019s country representative in Bangladesh, COVID-19 messages of a mobile awareness-raising unit flood the streets and totally blur our conversation.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cThey are just announcing that we\u2019re going in total lockdown. People are told to stay inside\u201d, Shakeb still manages to explain and then begs to call back later, when the megaphones will have ebbed away.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"Cox's
‘Street view’ in one of the Rohingya refugee campsites in Cox’s Bazar. Image: Cordaid<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

A city cracking at the seams<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

In Cox\u2019s Bazar, COVID is just an extra challenge on top of many others. In August 2017, the lush coastal area comprising of two sub-districts with a population of 300.000, saw the start of what grew to become the influx of one million Rohingya refugees fleeing Myanmar. Settling spontaneously, cutting trees, and clearing patches of land on the Chittagong rain forest hills. Building makeshift homes with next to nothing, overlooking the touristy Bengal Bay beaches.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cThey were welcomed by the government and by citizens,\u201d Shakeb explains. But nobody foresaw the scale of disruption and tension the refugee crisis would cause in Cox\u2019s Bazar. Existing public services and facilities were completely overstretched. There was a run on resources like fuelwood, on food. Society cracked at the seams. Markets went berserk.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cPrices of food and commodities went up fourfold and labour wages dropped dramatically. This was equally hard for the host community. And don\u2019t forget, Bangladesh is one of the most densely populated parts of the world. Land, to live on and to cultivate, is a rare commodity,\u201d Shakeb continues.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Crisis containment<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

One way of dealing with the crisis, even literally containing it, was the government\u2019s decision to appoint two sub-districts for refugee settlement, Teknaf, and Ukhiya. Refugees from the Muslim Rohingya minority are not allowed to move beyond these sub-district borders. Recently, an island in the Bay of Bengal was added to the list of settlement areas.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

“We work for Rohingya refugees, but even more with them, proud to stand side by side.”<\/p><\/blockquote>\n\n\n\n

COVID-19 restrictions only compounded the plight of the Rohingya, who are one of the most persecuted minorities in the world. And on March 22nd<\/sup>, when a massive fire<\/a> devastated parts of Kutupalong-Balukhali camps, Rohingya refugees took yet another blow.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The inferno of March 22<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

According to Shakeb, the blaze destroyed shelters of 25.000 households. Once again, a cruel twist of fate in the lives of the displaced Rohingya people. It killed more than a dozen refugees. \u201cJust imagine, this was an inferno in a cramped and confined setting,\u201d says Shakeb. \u201cThe refugees have settled in an extremely fragile ecosystem. It is prone to floodings, landslides, and other weather-related adversities. And to fire. In no way are they equipped to adequately deal with that.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Safety, security, and dignity<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

So, how are we reaching out to those who face this multitude of challenges? \u201cOur job is to increase the safety, security and above all the dignity of the forcibly displaced Rohingya community\u201d, Shakeb firmly maintains.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cRight from the start, in August 2017, we gathered a team of responders who joined hands with the Rohingya community and with the World Food Programme. Today that team consists of a hundred aid workers, here in Cox\u2019s Bazar.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Myanmar\u2019s current tense political limbo and the state of emergency are only adding to the insecurity of the displaced Rohingya community.<\/p><\/blockquote>\n\n\n\n

In everything we do, the Rohingya are at the centre. They are not the recipients of aid, they are the driving force of our responses, from start to finish. In Shakeb\u2019s words: \u201cWe work for them, but even more with them, proud to stand side by side.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Keep it local, make it circular<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

Ecology and circularity are key elements of Cordaid\/ICCO\u2019s humanitarian work in Cox\u2019s Bazar. It focuses a lot on upcycling, especially waste material. It promotes the use of local products, boosts local production, and local consumption.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

And lastly, we focus a lot on skills training. People we work with can learn new trades, develop new talents and increase income-generating skills. This breaks the hopelessness and immobility of camp life. \u201cAnd newly learned skills can be useful in the long run when Rohingya refugees will be able to go back home,\u201d says Shakeb.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cWhenever that will be\u201d, he adds rather gloomily. Myanmar\u2019s current tense political limbo and the state of emergency following the military takeover and the ensuing popular protests are not helping. In fact, they are only adding to the insecurity of the displaced Rohingya community.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

In the myriad of Cordaid\/ICCO relief activities in Cox\u2019s Bazar, two initiatives stand out.  One of them is the award-winning turning-waste-into-resources project.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Addressing pollution and joblessness at the same time<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

This is a project that addresses pollution, ecological degradation, lack of income and employment, and lack of training all at the same time. \u201cThe amount of plastic waste in major humanitarian response sites, such as the one in Cox\u2019s Bazar, is massive. It clogs drainage systems, creates severe health risks, and simply adds to the overall bad living conditions of displaced persons,\u201d Shakeb explains.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

This Cordaid video shows the Turning waste into resources project in Cox’s Bazar. <\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

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