News & Media

Race against time for Rohingya refugees as monsoon rains, flooding and landslides continue

June 18, 2018

While 5000 Kiwis take part in Oxfam’s Ration Challenge in support of refugees this World Refugee Week, Rohingya refugees are facing life-threatening rains and disease as monsoon rains continue to lash the camps in Cox’s Bazar, Bangladesh.

There have been over 130 landslides, 3,300 damaged shelters and 28,000 Rohingya refugees affected as monsoon rains continue to fall, Oxfam said today.

A survey of Rohingya refugees in Bangladesh carried out by Oxfam before the start of the monsoon season found that more than half were almost completely unprepared for the floods, landslides and disease that accompany the monsoon weather, with women most at risk.

Gabriela Luz-Meillet, Oxfam’s Humanitarian Programme Coordinator in Bangladesh, said:

“The monsoon rains are causing flooding, landslides and disease outbreaks in the Rohingya refugee camps. Hundreds of thousands of people are living in temporary shelters, on hills of compacted mud which are completely shorn of protective trees and plants. Those hills could melt into the earth. There are refugees alive today who will not make it through to the end of the rainy season.

“Oxfam is working with the government of Bangladesh and the United Nations to relocate refugees to safer areas and to make the remaining areas as weather-proof as possible. It is a race against time. We are doing what we can but there aren’t enough safe areas for all the refugees who need to move, so it is vital those who remain in danger know what to do in an emergency.”

Luz-Meillet said refugees could anticipate and prepare for the severe impacts of a monsoon in their homes in Myanmar. However now they had fled to Bangladesh they were struggling to deal with the weather.

“Most of the refugees come from small villages where they know how to deal with extreme weather. But now they are living in a huge tent city, disorientated and scared, and they are telling us that they lack the knowledge and resources to survive in this strange new environment. Women are in greater danger than men. They are frequently confined to their homes and do not know how to find shelter or to get help.

“We need to ensure that refugees get the information and resources that they need so they can deal with the bad weather and its consequences. Everyone working on the response needs to consult refugees so they can feel in control of their own lives. Everyone working in the camps is doing their best but we need to make sure that this response meets both the needs of the Rohingya and international humanitarian standards. Work on the ground should be matched by diplomatic efforts by the governments of Bangladesh, Myanmar and others to find long-term solutions for the Rohingya people. We cannot allow these people to endure another monsoon in these dangerous conditions in the camp.”

Oxfam New Zealand’s executive director Rachael Le Mesurier said urgent help was needed to reach the most vulnerable people before the situation worsens. “It’s heart-breaking to see people who have already been through so much – fleeing terrible violence, losing their homes, seeing family members killed – now facing even further hardship as extreme weather threatens their lives, families and homes once again.

“There is a high chance that without urgent assistance, some of these vulnerable people will not survive the next few months.”

Oxfam surveyed residents of the refugee camps in Bangladesh and found that 59% of women and 53% of men do not know how to ensure the safety and security of their families during and after a disaster.

Only around a quarter of refugees surveyed know where the nearest shelter is in case of a cyclone warning, with two thirds of women unaware of its location. Amongst men, 38% of men do not know the whereabouts of a shelter and 34% say there is no shelter.

Oxfam also ran a series of focus groups. All the groups told researchers that their shelters will be unable to withstand the rains, were concerned they couldn’t stockpile food and firewood, and felt reliant on aid agencies. Many thought they would be cut off by the rains and unable to access help, and the female groups feared struggling to feed their families should this occur.

Since last August a camp the size of a small city has been created from scratch, and the scale of the crisis has meant that resources have been mostly focused on the day-to-day efforts needed to supply nearly a million people with food, water, shelter and other life-saving goods.

A total of 200,000 out of over 900,000 refugees are categorised as at risk from flooding and landslides, with around 24,000 of those considered at high risk. So far nearly 25,000 refugees have been relocated to freshly prepared, flattened ground that should be safe from landslides and flooding.

/ends

Notes to editors:

The figures for landslides, damaged shelters and refugees affected are correct as of 15 June 2018.

Oxfam surveyed 383 refugees and 482 households in in the two main refugee areas of Ukhia and Teknaf, giving a 5% margin of error. Oxfam ran a series of focus groups and key informant interviews in Unchiprang and Nayapara camps in April 2018, consulting 109 refugees, of which 46% were women.

Currently Oxfam has provided vital aid to at least 240,000 people and is planning to reach 300,000. It has helped people stay healthy by installing water points, toilets and showers, distributing soap, and talking about good hygiene. Oxfam has installed a sewage facility for 50,000 people, which will rise to 100,000. To help local communities cope with water shortages, it is providing an average of 300,000 litres of chlorinated water daily in the Teknaf area.

Oxfam has provided 23,000 households with vouchers that can be exchanged at local markets for nutritious vegetables and ingredients to supplement their basic rations – including spinach, eggs, dried fish and spices.

Oxfam has a team of 125 staff and more than 1000 community-based volunteers in Cox’s Bazar working hard to provide emergency aid in a $25 million response. This is currently Oxfam’s third biggest humanitarian program, after Yemen and Ethiopia.

The Ration Challenge is a fundraising challenge that shows refugees Kiwis are with them, not against them, by living off the same food rations as a refugee would in Syria for one week. Participants fundraise and the money goes towards supporting those very refugees in Syria as well as Oxfam’s work around the world. It is occurring for the first time in New Zealand this World Refugee Week and so far over 5300 participants have raised almost $500,000.

Donations to Oxfam’s Rohingya refugee crisis appeal can be made at www.oxfam.org.nz.

Photo: Zaheda*, a Rohingya woman living in a Cox’s Bazar refugee camp, attempts to secure her home as well as possible against the extreme weather. Credit: Oxfam New Zealand

Hodeida offensive must be stopped to save lives and the chance for peace

June 12, 2018

The UN and NGOs received warnings over the weekend for staff to evacuate Hodeida by Tuesday ahead of the offensive, affirming the humanitarian community’s worst fears for Yemen.

The UN peace envoy for Yemen Martin Griffiths has already said that this attack would “take peace off the table in a single stroke,” and the UN has cited the worst case scenario: 250,000 dead, with hundreds of thousands more affected.

Oxfam’s Yemen Country Director Muhsin Siddiquey said, “It’s hard to imagine how life for the people of Yemen could get any more difficult, but an attack on Hodeida will bring more death, destruction and push vital resources like food, fuel and medicine even further out of reach. To avert catastrophe, we call on the international community, including the UN Security Council, to call for de-escalation and restraint, and to exert pressure and take action to ensure the parties keep Hodeida and Saleef ports open and uphold their obligation under international humanitarian law to protect civilians.”

The people of Yemen have already had the lifelines of food, fuel and medicine blocked for years, but the offensive on Hodeida will massively escalate this humanitarian crisis while millions already are on the brink of famine. Oxfam is hearing from local NGOs that there has been a dramatic increase in families forced to leave their homes in the last couple of days. Truck drivers are too frightened to enter Hodeida to move vital food and supplies, and businesses are closing, leaving civilians in the war path without basic supplies. The fact that this attack would happen during Ramadan makes it even more difficult for families to prepare.

Siddiquey said, “Even with these warnings, this assault and escalation of the conflict is not a foregone conclusion – there is time for all parties to navigate a path to peace and save countless lives, and the international community must continue to stand up for this peace and the lives of the Yemeni people.”

The US has recently stated it will not participate in the battle for Hodeida and that it opposes military activity that will exacerbate the humanitarian situation. This was a stance taken to wipe its hands clean of the death toll that will surely follow this offensive, but the US must publicly and explicitly warn against this attack, with clear consequences for the UAE if it goes forward. This is a moment that will show if the US will step up and use its influence to save lives in Yemen, and the world is watching.

Over 12,000 people evacuated in Guatemala, Oxfam provides humanitarian aid

June 8, 2018

More than 12,000 people have evacuated from their homes due to the eruption of Volcán de Fuego, which continues to spew fresh torrents of lava and rocks, thick ash and clouds of smoke.

The official death toll stands at 99, but at least 197 people remain unaccounted for. Ana María Méndez, Oxfam in Guatemala Country Director, said: “Volcán de Fuego is still erupting and we don’t know when it will stop. The area around the volcano is not safe, and it has been too dangerous and too hot to reach most of the communities located downslope from the volcano. We know that two villages were engulfed by pyroclastic flows, a mixture of lava blocks and gases that can reach temperatures up to 700°C. People are working under very harsh conditions and rescue efforts are being severely hampered by the lack of adequate equipment, poor visibility and roads closed due to the ash, lava flows and mudslides. A planned humanitarian assessment had to be postponed due to perilous conditions. More than 1.7 million people, mainly indigenous communities, have been affected by the eruption, including electricity cuts, collapsed homes and bridges, no access to clean water, ruined crops and areas cut off from main roads. The ash and lava flows are also cutting off the supply of food to the communities surrounding the volcano.” Oxfam is working with the National Coordinator for Disaster Reduction in Guatemala (Conred) and local partner organizations to provide water filters, essential hygiene items and other vital aid to people who have fled or have been evacuated. We are also equipping emergency shelters with industrial kitchens, propane gas cylinders and cooking utensils. Yesterday an Oxfam team in the affected area was stranded in the community of La Trinidad after streams of scorching water coming down from the volcano cut off roads. Oxfam and partner organization staff were forced to spend the night in La Trinidad. Iván Aguilar, Oxfam in Guatemala Humanitarian Coordinator, said: “The number of people in emergency shelters doubled from less than 2,000 to 4,000 over the past three days. People in several communities are waiting for heavy machinery to open roads to reach the shelters. People are afraid, very afraid. Some even had to be evacuated from an emergency shelter when the volcano unexpectedly unleashed fast-moving pyroclastic flows in the area. Right now rainfall is intense, and this could trigger lahars, a powerful type of mudslide formed from volcanic ash and debris, which can reach areas that were not originally affected by the eruption itself.” Oxfam will continue to focus on delivering safe drinking water and improving hygiene and sanitation conditions for people in emergency shelters. Even though Guatemalan authorities report more than 12,000 evacuees, only 4,000 are currently housed in emergency shelters. Many people have sought shelter with family and friends, but the evacuee-to-sheltered ratio raises great concern, as many people may not have access to basic living conditions. Besides losing all their belongings, and in many cases family members, communities face great uncertainty about the future. The eruption and mudslides have destroyed homes, infrastructure and farms. Oxfam’s response will include supporting those affected to rebuild their livelihoods, through a comprehensive humanitarian response that advances women’s rights and empowerment, delivered in collaboration with its partner organizations in the country.

Education and employment for Ni-Vanuatu

May 22, 2018

Photo: Glen Pakoa/Oxfam in Vanuatu

The youth population in Vanuatu is booming – and our local partner, Youth Challenge Vanuatu (YCV), specialises in offering these young people employment and enterprise training courses.

Aimed at those without school qualifications, YCV’s courses, which include life skills, internships and counselling, smooth their pathway into employment, enterprise or further study.

Ni-Vanuatu youth have to navigate hard realities – few jobs, a low-wage economy for unskilled jobs, and a high cost of urban living. Limited schooling opportunities mean that most young people don’t finish secondary school – in fact, only 32% even enrol. After leaving school, most have only two options: return to the family farm, or move to urban areas looking for work – areas where 35% of people are unemployed.

These challenges are particularly acute for disadvantaged youth – early school leavers, adolescent mothers and youth with disabilities.

Oxfam works through partnerships with local organisations on the ground, because who knows the community better than the ones living in it?

We’ve partnered with YCV to help them grow and develop their organisation so more young women and men will be able to thrive as employees and entrepreneurs, and engage as active citizens around the issues that are important to them. Most of YCV’s staff have come through the programme themselves, so they know the challenges these young people face – and the life-changing difference YCV’s support can make. Take a look at the stories of some of YCV’s graduates.

Vanuatu’s young people are the country’s biggest resource – with the right opportunities, these young people will be the leaders of Vanuatu’s social and economic development.

Together with YCV, you, and Oxfam, this is what the programme will achieve:

Over 2000 young women and men develop their knowledge, skills and confidence to pursue their chosen career path.
More young women and men are in employment, self-employment or further study, and are advocating around youth issues.
Youth will access innovative, effective courses that give them the skills employers are looking for, as well as complementary services like internships, enterprise incubators, career and enterprise counselling, an electronic resource library, and careers events.
YCV will develop a new course in social enterprise, giving youth the opportunity to learn the ropes of running a business while keeping the social purpose at the forefront.
YCV will be a stronger organisation, able to demonstrate the high quality of their services, and with a range of income streams that allow them to continue to serve underprivileged youth.

Want to be a part of supporting awesome programmes like this? The best way to do so is to give a regular gift – long-term programmes rely on long-term support.

Rohingya refugees: Finding hope amongst the hopelessness

May 22, 2018

Life in the Rohingya Refugee Camps.

The impending monsoon rains are bearing down on the Rohingya refugee camps in Bangladesh and there’s no getting around it – it’s going to be a really tough time.

I’ve just finished three weeks working for Oxfam’s Rohingya crisis response team in Cox’s Bazar and can remember one moment, standing in the pouring rain in the Rohingya refugee ‘mega-camp’. Everywhere I looked, ramshackle shelters made of bamboo and tarpaulins stretched into the distance.

People old and young were trying to find shelter from the downpour, and large puddles were quickly forming across the narrow brick road, with water running down sandy hillside paths.

As I was trying to take photos of a deep tube well Oxfam was drilling to provide clean water, numerous Rohingya refugees offered to take me into their shelters to stay dry, or brought me umbrellas. Such was the kindness of people who had endured unspeakable horrors that forced them from Myanmar into neighbouring Bangladesh.

[arve url=”https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6SrGDqWBDA8″ /]

The camps are experiencing what they call the ‘pre-monsoon rains’ at the moment, where every couple of days a ferocious storm will hit for an hour or so. This rain is nothing like I’m used to.

The falling water has an almost physical quality, beating down on you, and the rain can be so heavy you struggle to see the other side of a road.

Trees are often blown over in the wind, and almost immediately, huge puddles form everywhere, slowing cars and trucks on the sandy, brick roads and draining into refugees’ flimsy shelters.

[arve url=”https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ay6yK3rgjV4″ /]

It’s estimated that more than 600,000 people are living in the Rohingya refugee mega-camp alone – a population almost the size of Wellington, Dunedin and Hamilton combined.

The impact of the full monsoon on this many people in such desperate living conditions is what’s top of mind for aid workers. Yet despite this, I was struck by the way in which Rohingya refugees could find hope in what appeared to be a hopeless situation. They are denied citizenship in their country – they feel they have nowhere they belong and have nowhere to call home right now. No-one knows what their future holds.

They’re awaiting monsoon rains likely to bring floods, landslides and potentially deadly water-borne diseases. The United Nations (UN) estimates up to 200,000 people are living in at-risk areas of the camps.

[arve url=”https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=T-j2PmmDt-A” /]

As much as 2.5 metres of rain could fall on the camps over the next three months. But, the refugees I met certainly weren’t hopeless or despairing.

Parents were working hard to strengthen their shelters or volunteering for charities like Oxfam as community health trainers or with the UN as camp labourers helping prepare the camps for the coming heavy rain.

Among them was a young woman I met called Ayesha*, who was 18 years old. She fled to Bangladesh with her mother and three siblings after their father was killed in the violence in Myanmar.

It took them nearly 5 days to get to Bangladesh by boat and foot; others weren’t so lucky and drowned when their boats sank.

Life is tough in the camps without a father or husband – women can get missed or sidelined at aid distributions, and culturally, young women are not supposed to go out alone.

But none of this had dampened Ayesha’s spirit. She put up her hand to volunteer and now runs community health training sessions with her neighbours and other women.

She told me, “Now I work as an Oxfam volunteer, I teach people how to maintain good hygiene and I tell people what to do to have a good life. I feel good about it”.

As for the children, they played football wherever they could find space, and ran through the camps in happy bunches and practised English with aid workers – “goodbye, how are you, I am fine.”

*name changed to protect identity

Written by Dylan Quinnell, Senior Media Coordinator at Oxfam Australia.

After the earthquake: Nepal three years on

April 24, 2018

Three years on, we’re excited to introduce you to three women who were empowered by your support.

In April 2015, a magnitude 7.6 earthquake struck Nepal, killing over 9,000 people and destroying or damaging over 850,000 homes. Three years on, we’re excited to introduce you to three women, Muna, Tirsana and Til, from Sindhupalchowk, Nepal, who were empowered by your support following that devastating day.

Meet Muna

“I cannot even imagine myself being able to live here if the tap hadn’t been rehabilitated. Life would have been really hard… You supported us when we were in such a dire situation. You helped us and I would like to thank you for that.”

Muna Tamang Giri and her children. Photo: Abbie Trayler-Smith/Oxfam AUS

Muna is one of almost half a million people that Oxfam reached during the year following the earthquake in Nepal three years ago.

She was nine months pregnant when the earthquake struck, and was in hospital giving birth when the second big quake shook the country.

Before, Muna used to have to spend five hours a day collecting water from the nearest source. But after the earthquake, even that dried up.

“Finding water was really difficult. We had to go downhill to get water. If we could fill our pot as soon as reaching there, then we could be back home in 40 to 45 minutes. But if we had to wait in the queue, then it would take one to one-and-a-half hours to get back.

“Altogether we had to make four to five trips a day.”

Because of the donations from Kiwis and others around the world, we were able to rehabilitate a water supply system near Muna’s home.

Muna tending to her garden near her home in Sindhupalchowk, Nepal. Photo: Abbie Trayler-Smith/Oxfam AUS

“From the time of the earthquake until this tap was installed, it was really difficult to find water.

“Now, that time is saved. We don’t need to make those trips. Moreover, we can grow our own vegetables. Because of the clean water, I think my son will not get waterborne diseases like diarrhoea, pneumonia or others.”

Meet Tirsana

“All the water was muddy after the earthquake. It was dirty. Due to constant quakes, the earth was shaking and all the water was muddy and dirty.”

Tirsana and her son Aman. Photo: Abbie Trayler-Smith/Oxfam AUS

Tirsana was making four two-hour trips each day to fetch water before the earthquake, but thanks to Oxfam supporters, all of this has changed and she now has an extra eight hours a day to spend with her children.

“After the earthquake, Oxfam constructed this new water supply system and tank, which is nearby. I don’t have to spend time on collecting water. I can spend more time with my children, look after them, send them to school on time. I can keep my children clean.

“We have a water source so near… I don’t need to stand in a queue for water. Water comes to our house.

“Thank you for giving us water.”

Meet Til

“From that far away, although they did not see with their eyes, they saw with their hearts and sent support.”

Til collecting water from the new tap by her home. Photo: Abbie Trayler-Smith/Oxfam AUS

The water source in Til’s village in Sindhupalchowk, Nepal, was left completely damaged after the earthquake.

“Water was scarce. Water would be collected the whole night in a tank and would be opened through a tap in the morning and then closed again after everyone filled their pots. That’s how we were managing.

“Oxfam came and provided some support. Oxfam gave us materials and then we could bring the tap nearby – after that it has become comfortable and it is good.

“If it was not fixed we would have faced a hard time. We would not have had enough water. Having this is like a godsend for us women.”

Til really enjoyed Oxfam’s visit, and loved the opportunity to be part of such an incredible story of success!

“Earlier, having my photo taken and being filmed, it was like a film on TV. You should have seen! I carried water, put a pot on the stove, made a fire and what not. We all laughed. At 60 I became the heroine of a movie.”

What we’ve achieved, thanks to our supporters, since the earthquake in Nepal is something we can be proud of – but there is still much more work to do. Many more people across the country are still without access to safe water, like Hira, who makes seven or eight 30 minute trips to get water each day, carrying 40 to 50 litres each time. “The water is very cold, and my back and whole body are in so much pain from carrying it back in the night. It makes me feel really sick.” To support people around the world like Hira, please think about making a donation today.

The earthquake in April 2015 – centred between two major cities, Kathmandu and Pokhara – left nearly 9,000 people dead and destroyed or damaged more than 850,000 homes.

Many of the affected people have received some support from the Government of Nepal and aid organisations, but others are still waiting for assistance. The government’s response has been beset by delays, and for the past several months the country has been in the grip of a fuel crisis.

As well as destroying and damaging homes, the earthquake also severely impacted employment. Many are still struggling to find work, while those who do often report that their incomes are below pre-earthquake levels.

Women, children, the elderly, ethnic minorities, those disadvantaged by the caste system and people living with disabilities have all been disproportionately affected by the earthquake and its aftermath. The problem of landlessness, widespread before the quake, has also worsened.

Oxfam was one of the international non-government organisations in Nepal to immediately respond to the 25 April earthquake. It has been working in seven of the 14 most affected districts: Gorkha, Nuwakot, Dhading, Sindhupalchowk, Kathmandu, Lalitpur and Bhaktapur. In the first three months, or the emergency period, we provided emergency food, water, shelter, latrines and awareness surrounding hygiene and sanitation to more than 400,000 people across these districts.

In the early recovery phase, Oxfam worked to prioritise providing improved temporary shelters, winterisation kits, income-generating opportunities for skilled and unskilled labour, and sustainable livelihoods support.