DESPERATE living conditions and waterborne diseases are threatening more than 320,000 Rohingya children who have fled to Bangladesh since late August, says UNICEF. These children urgently need food, safe water, sanitation and vaccination to protect themselves from diseases that thrive in emergencies, as per reports of major local dailies.
According to the UNICEF, almost 60 percent of the latest Rohingya arrivals are children, crossing at a rate of between 1,200 and 1,800 a day. Most of the refugees are living in overcrowded and insanitary makeshift settlements. Despite an expanding international aid effort led by Bangladesh, the essential needs of many children are not being met.
High levels of severe acute malnutrition among young children have been found in the camps, and antenatal services to mothers and babies are lacking. Support for children traumatised by violence also needs to be expanded. UNICEF called for an end to the atrocities targeting civilians in Myanmar’s Rakhine State, and for humanitarian actors to be given immediate and unfettered access to all children affected by the violence there.
At present, UNICEF has no access to Rohingya children in northern Rakhine State. A long-term solution to the crisis in Rakhine State is needed, and the issues of statelessness and discrimination against the Rohingyas must be addressed as recommended by the Advisory Commission on Rakhine State.
At present, UNICEF has no access to Rohingya children in northern Rakhine State. A long-term solution to the crisis in Rakhine State is needed, and the issues of statelessness and discrimination against the Rohingyas must be addressed as recommended by the Advisory Commission on Rakhine State.
It called for $434 million, which includes $76.1 million to address the immediate needs of newly-arrived Rohingya children, as well as those who arrived before the recent influx, and children from vulnerable host communities. Expanding the provision of safe water, sanitation and improved hygiene for Rohingya children is the top priority of the appeal, amid concerns over a possible outbreak of diarrhoea and other waterborne diseases, said the UNICEF.
It is most strange but true that the Rohingya who are refugees living in Bangladesh are probably receiving better healthcare than the Rohingya living in Myanmar due to the callous indifference of the government of their own land. Aid agencies have much greater access to them here and consequently they are getting much better access to services such as immunization.
Most of them are also able to sleep properly for the first time in quite a long while – its not that they don’t have any threats to their security in Bangladesh – gangs of criminals are apparently roaming the camps trying to find out the helpless people who can be exploited – but its a far cry from Myanmar’s casual military cruelty to their own people which include the rape of women and killing of babies.
Despite knowing that the clearance operations mounted by the army started way before the so-called terrorist acts against the Myanmar police the international community – especially the regional powers like China and India can’t be counted on to ask Myanmar to stop their violent acts. Essentially none of our regional powers want to get involved with this problem.
