The sufferings of Rohingyas, who have taken shelter at different makeshift camps in Cox’s Bazar being driven away by Myanmar military, have increased due to cold wind now blowing in this winter season.
The chilly weather becomes stronger after the sunset. It forces most of the refugees, staying in the makeshift houses, to face a difficult situation while many of them do not have enough clothes to protect themselves from the cold.
On the other hand, the cold wave has also increased the risk of illnesses such as phenomena, cough and fever. Particularly, the condition of Rohingya children – who are about 60 per cent of the 700,000 Rohingyas who have fled Myanmar since August 25 – is worst due to harsh and insanitary conditions in the makeshift camps.
UNHCR feared of a potential outbreak of the fatal disease Cholera in the winter. It also warned that cholera can spread easily among the hundreds of thousands of Rohingyas who are living in overcrowded, unsanitary conditions.
Officials of Department of Meteorology on Sunday cautioned that the there may be a couple of cold waves in December and January next where temperature may decrease to 4 degree Celsius in some parts of the country.
Meanwhile, some foreign and local aid workers distributed blankets to Rohingya refugees. But the supply is not enough in comparison with the large demand. In the previous months, the incessant rains had hit hard the country, causing flooding and interruption of transportation and relief service to the refugees.
“We had distributed around 12,000 blankets among 6,000 Rohingya families at Jamtoli Camp and Burmapara in November,” Project Coordinator of Christian Aid Md Monir Uddin said.
According to local sources, around 150,000 Rohingya live in Balukhali camp where most of them have no winter clothes. The situation in almost same at Kutupalong camp where more than 300,000 Rohingyas are suffering the adverse effects of the cold.
Officials of said local administration and NGOs said about 1.2 million Rohingyas, old and new, are staying at different makeshift camps made of tarpaulins and bamboo at Ukhiya upazila and other parts of Cox’s Bazar.
National Communication Officer of the International Organisation for Migration [IOM] Shirin Akhter said they’re planning to procure warm clothes for the Rohingyas.
Meanwhile, there is widespread speculation that the ‘prolonged repatriation process’ of Rohingyas will deteriorate the overall situation in the future.
Aid agencies are scaling up efforts to contain an outbreak of diarrhoeal diseases that could have serious health consequences for many of the refugees. Besides, the UNHCR, Public Health Department and other parties are collaborating on several fronts to prevent the outbreak of diarrheal diseases from getting out of control.
UNHCR spokesman Andrej Mahecic said recently there are no firm statistics yet on cases of acute watery diarrhoea among the newly arrived refugees.
“We are taking action to try to prevent severe illness and deaths. We have seen an increasing trend of diarrhoeal disease cases, including cases of diarrhoea with severe dehydration. So far, refugees with these conditions have been treated at clinics run by UNHCR and other agencies, and at local public health facilities.” Andrej Mahecic said.
