The strike by natural calamities has scared the refugees as they have been living in tiny shanties made of bamboo poles and tarpaulin in the Cox’s Bazar district’s Ukhia and Teknaf upazilas.
Over 1000,000 Rohingya refugees have arrived in Bangladesh from Myanmar, following a brutal military campaign of violence that saw villages razed to the ground, men killed and women sexually assaulted. Cox’s Bazar is now the home to the most densely populated refugee camp in the world. They are dwelling in shacks that are too weak to stand heavy rains and storm.
The monsoon will begin in full swing in this month, but before that there is a high risk of cyclone, which usually occurs in April-May and October-November, according to Uzzal Kanti Pal, in charge of Cox’s Bazar Met office. The Rohingya’s have more fear about their hut roof, made almost two years ago. Now it has become old and tore in many places. The Rohingyas fear when it will rain to submarge living spaces.
Saleay Ahamed, 45, Mazi of camp 7, said, in his area most of hut became old and its roof tarpaulin tore in various places. They are worried for rain.
Nur Jahan, 27, who fled from Maungdaw in Myanmar, said his home had already been damaged by the first rainfall. “It was really dangerous because there was also a strong wind blowing around the camp and dust was coming into our homes,” he said.
“I was really worried. I thought that my hut was going to be blown away by the wind. I was trying to save my ration cards because I thought if I lost those, we won’t be able to get our rations. The water was gathering on my roof and it almost caved in and at the same time I was worried of crash.”
Jahan added, “If the rains continue like this, then my house and others are going to be destroyed. I’m worried about my children. Where are they going to stay during the monsoon?”
Cox’s Bazar is known for having one of the highest rainfall totals in the country during monsoon season. Many of the overcrowded camps are also built on newly deforested hills, which are susceptible to mud landslides and flash flooding.
Bangladesh’s Refugee Relief and Rehabilitation Commissioner, Mohammad Abul Kalam, said they were trying to stabilise the slopes using sandbags and other techniques. “We have adopted elaborate plans to save the refugees from the risks of the natural disasters during the coming monsoon,” he said, adding that they hoped to relocate all those in high-risk areas within weeks.
“Around 200,000 of the refugees are living in very high-risk areas and we are planning to relocate them to safer areas on a priority basis. We are developing 700 to 800 acres of forest land on the west of Kutupalong camp, where they all will be relocated to a new, safer area.”
Of them, 25,000 face “extreme risk” of natural calamity, said a source at the Office of Refugee Relief and Repatriation Commission (RRRC) in Cox’s Bazar.
About 10,000 have so far been moved to safer places and aid agencies are working to move all the people who are living under threats of landslide and flood, said Shamsud Douza, additional commissioner of the RRRC office.
According to the UN Migration Agency, the cost of work to help protect almost a million refugees from the life-threatening dangers of cyclones, severe flooding, and landslides far exceeds current financial resources and pledges.
John McCue, IOM’s senior operations coordinator in Cox’s Bazar, said: “The arrival of the rains first marks the start of what is going to be an incredibly challenging period for the refugees and those working to support them, with the worst yet to come when cyclone and monsoon seasons hit in the coming weeks.”
“IOM and our partners are working flat out to do as much as possible to mitigate risks and prepare people for the dangers to come. But the grim reality is that most people are living under tarpaulins on highly unstable ground and are going to have to survive months of rain, floods, landslides and possible cyclones. They are in desperate need of support and protection and we simply do not have the funding we need to deliver a fraction of what is required.”
Agencies such as the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees, the IOM and the World Food Programme, in cooperation with some Bangladeshi government agencies, are working to make the camps as resilient against the impending rains as possible. Refugees have also been attempting to prepare for the floods over the past few weeks, though the prospect has left many terrified.
