Bangladesh

Massive fire in Bangladesh’s Rohingya refugee camps leaves 45,000 people displaced

March 25, 2021

Key Facts

Massive fires swept through the Cox’s Bazar Refugee Camps on March 22, 2021.
The damage is significant and still being assessed.
Preliminary reports say that 10,000 families (approximately 45,000 persons) were displaced.
At least 15 refugees were killed. Hundreds of others were injured.
Four camps have extensive damage. Thousands of shelters, offices, and other facilities were burned.
Oxfam’s Rapid Response Team has been deployed and worked through the night providing water to help extinguish the fire. The team also provided drinking water, hygiene kits, and emergency latrines.
Fencing around the camps impeded firefighting machinery and refugees attempts to escape the fire. • Humanitarians are urgently asking the authorities for: (1) improved phone/internet connectivity in camps, (2) to waive the restrictions on passes for NGO cars, (3) for access gates to be opened and fences taken down from roads.

A massive fire that swept through the refugee camps of Cox’s Bazar, Bangladesh, on Monday has left 10,000 families—roughly 45,000 people—displaced and in urgent need of food, water, and sanitation services, Oxfam warned today. The fire was yet another devastating blow to the Rohingya people who fled shocking violence and persecution in Myanmar.

The fire started on Monday at 4pm and spread rapidly for several hours in the densely populated camps, destroying thousands of bamboo and tarpaulin shelters, until government fire and rescue services managed to control the blaze. The damage is extensive and still being assessed, but early reports suggest that 15 people were killed, and at least 560 people were injured, while hundreds remain missing.

“The worst affected areas have been reduced to ash—the only things left standing are shelter foundations and bits of household metal like pots and sewing machines. The level of destruction is unlike anything our team has seen before,” said Enamul Hoque, who leads Oxfam’s Rapid Response Team.

“We are deeply concerned for the safety and wellbeing of the 10,000 families displaced by the fire. The blaze has destroyed critical infrastructure, including water stands and sanitation facilities. Refugee families are in urgent need of food, drinking water, and safe toilet facilities.”

Oxfam’s Rohingya volunteers were the first responders, followed by the multi-agency Rapid Response Team, which deployed immediately with water trucks—on standby for such emergencies—and rushed to the camps to help extinguish the blaze. The team also transported water in jerry cans to refugees in areas that the water trucks could not reach. Barbed wire fencing around the camps impeded both refugees’ ability to escape and the Oxfam response team’s ability to provide aid in time and at scale.

“The Rapid Response team worked through the night, setting up water tankers and installing tap stands to distribute emergency drinking water. The team also provided displaced refugees with hygiene kits and emergency latrines,” said Mr Hoque. “It will take time to repair water infrastructure systems, increasing the risk of sickness, particularly as the monsoon season approaches.”

Oxfam will also work with partners to distribute soap, food, and household essentials like solar lights.

The Cox’s Bazar camps are severely crowded with roughly 40,000 people per square kilometer. The 10,000 families displaced by the fire are now taking temporary refuge in other camps which are already densely populated, further heightening the risk of an outbreak of COVID-19.

In the wake of the fire, many families and children have been separated. A top priority in the coming days will be reuniting families and monitoring the safety conditions for those who have been displaced. As we know from past experience, women and girls bear the brunt of this type of crisis—often placing themselves at risk to find means to survive. Oxfam will continue to assess gendered needs and identify immediate solutions together with other humanitarian actors.

Notes to the Editor

The Rapid Response team works in coordination with Bangladesh’s Department of Public Health Engineering (DPHE), the UN, and the Cox’s Bazar WASH sector.
Oxfam New Zealand has been supporting women’s leadership and access to services in the camps since 2017, with funding from the New Zealand Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Trade.

Media Contact

Jo Spratt | Communications and Advocacy Director | Wellington, New Zealand | Joanna.spratt@oxfam.org.nz | 0210664210

Nesrine Aly | Oxfam News Manager | Cairo, Egypt | nesrine.aly@oxfam.org | +201222486964 / +447503989838

Lily Partland | Senior Media Coordinator | Melbourne, Australia | lilyp@oxfam.org.au | +61 418 118 687

Oxfam responds to devastation in the wake of Cyclone Amphan

May 25, 2020

Cyclone Amphan has left a trail of devastation throughout north-east India and the Bangladesh coast, with over 80 deaths reported so far, destroying homes, embankments and crops, and compounding the suffering in many communities already hit by coronavirus and the impact of the lockdown.

The low-lying coastal communities in both countries are amongst the worst hit by the strongest ever cyclone recorded over the Bay of Bengal, which swept through the region late Thursday.

Oxfam and its partners are helping provide food, shelter and clean water to communities and assessing the further support needed in many others.

Dipankar Datta, Country Director, Oxfam in Bangladesh said:

“The situation in the low-lying coastal districts is very grave. Many homes have been destroyed and the cyclone has washed in salty water, contaminating the land and water sources. Our partners are distributing food to the most vulnerable and preparing to distribute safe drinking water and other essential items. The extra hygiene precautions necessary to contain coronavirus are slowing the response but we know they are vital.”

While Cox’s Bazar in Bangladesh was spared the worst of the cyclone’s impact, flooding in the densely populated camps where almost one million Rohingya refugees live in muddy shelters on hill sides, has sparked fears of mudslides. There are also concerns about the growing number of coronavirus cases in the camps.  

Pankaj Anand, Director of Programs and Humanitarian response, Oxfam India said:

“It’s a triple crisis with the cyclone, coronavirus and economic devastation completely intertwined.

“The evacuation was successful in saving many lives – the challenge now is ensuring that people have the food and support they need to survive and get back on their feet as quickly as possible.

“Many people already had no savings left having lost their jobs or vital remittances due to lockdown. There are now no jobs in the cities and in the villages farms and crops have been destroyed due to the cyclone. People have nothing to fall back on.”

Oxfam and its partners have teams in the affected villages assessing where safe drinking water and food is most urgently needed. In some places the response has already started while in others distribution will start as soon as possible.

To prevent the spread of coronavirus during the cyclone response, Oxfam has helped distribute masks, provide handwashing facilities and disinfect cyclone shelters. 

In the low-lying coastal areas in Bangladesh, Oxfam has also prepared desalination plants to provide safe drinking water as the water sources have now been contaminated by the storm surge.  Salty water destroys crops and causes health problems.

Coronavirus continues to incite fear and threaten lives, and the risks of outbreaks of water-borne disease such as cholera also remain.

Aysha, a 55-year-old mother from a small coastal village in Barguna, Bangladesh spent the night in a cyclone shelter. She said:

“In the shelter, there were so many people and it was really hard to maintain social distance. I forgot about what might happen to me if my house was washed away by the tidal surge – I was more worried about the possibility of my family members getting infected by the virus.”

Notes to editors: 

Footage and photos available for Cox’s Bazar shot on 17-20 May including photos of rains in the camp, preparations including workers in PPE digging ditches and interviews with a female Rohingya refugee and Moury Rahman, Oxfam’s Senior Public Health Promotion in the camp as well as B roll of camp, people handwashing, social distancing, wearing masks.
In Bangladesh, Oxfam is providing water and sanitation and increasing hygiene awareness to 173,000 people in the Rohingya refugee camps in Cox’s Bazar and 9,000 people in the surrounding community. It also helping almost 400,000 people in the coastal districts. 
Oxfam India is working across 14 states to help five million people with hygiene training and over one million people with food during the coronavirus lockdown migration. 
There are over 135,000 Covid-19 reported cases in India and Bangladesh

‘Crisis on top of crisis’ as India and Bangladesh brace for super Cyclone Amphan – Oxfam

May 20, 2020

Cyclone Amphan, the strongest ever cyclone recorded over the Bay of Bengal, is expected to hit north-east India and Bangladesh tomorrow (Wednesday, 20 May) threatening millions of people in vulnerable communities already affected by Covid-19 outbreaks and lockdown.

Millions of people are being evacuated in India and 12,000 shelters have been prepared in Bangladesh to house nearly five million people in the expected path of the cyclone. Camps in Cox’s Bazar in Bangladesh, home to almost a million Rohingya refugees, are also likely to be hit and are especially vulnerable given the cramped conditions and an increasing number of coronavirus cases.

Oxfam, working with partners, is preparing life-saving assistance including safety equipment, clean water, sanitation, food and shelter for people in the cyclone’s path.

Pankaj Anand, Director of Programs and Humanitarian response, Oxfam India said:

“Cyclone Amphan is a crisis on top of a crisis. Many of the cyclone evacuation shelters are already being used as coronavirus quarantine centres or housing migrants who have returned to their coastal communities because of lockdown. People are worried there won’t be enough space in the shelters and that they might catch coronavirus in them.”

Dipankar Datta, Country Director, Oxfam Bangladesh said:

“It is already a huge challenge to contain the spread of coronavirus amongst the Rohingya refugees living in over-crowded camps, sharing water and toilet facilities. Cyclone Amphan is also a major threat to the millions of vulnerable Bangladeshis living in low-lying flood prone coastal areas.” 

Without assistance, people will be at risk not only to water-borne and other infections rampant during inclement weather, but also coronavirus, with their immunity compromised. Between the two countries, there are nearly 130,000 Covid-19 reported cases, including an increasing number of cases in Rohingya refugee camps in Cox’s Bazar.

In Bangladesh, there are fears that up 1.4 million people may be displaced due to the cyclone and 600,000 homes could be destroyed. Oxfam is working with partner organisations to help evacuate people to cyclone shelters, provide safe drinking water and dry food. To prevent the spread of coronavirus, it is distributing masks, providing handwashing facilities and helping disinfect cyclone shelters.

In the low-lying coastal areas, Oxfam is also preparing de-salination plants to provide safe drinking water because when the areas flood the salty water is undrinkable.

Parul Begum is a community leader in a small vulnerable coastal village in Bangladesh and supported by Oxfam partner, Society for Development Initiatives. She said that people are more concerned about coronavirus than going to the shelters for safety:

“This cyclone is one of the most powerful ones we have faced so far but people are really worried about how they will maintain social distancing in the cyclone shelters. We do not go to the shelters alone but also take our cattle with us. People are unsure about the hygiene and safety arrangements. Also, the cyclone shelters do not have adequate facilities for expectant and lactating mothers or sufficient privacy for women and girls.”

In India, Oxfam is working with local partners in communities in Odisha and West Bengal pre-positioning emergency supplies such as shelter material (tarpaulins, ground sheets, blankets), clean water, sanitation, hygiene kits, solar lantern and dignity kits for women and girls. It is also providing training to ensure that the cyclone response is carried out in a safe way to prevent coronavirus spreading further in the community.

Notes to editors:

· VNR available of Cox’s Bazar – footage shot Sunday 17 and Monday 18 May 2020. Contains interviews with a female Rohingya refugee and Moury Rahman, Oxfam’s Senior Public Health Promotion in the camp as well as B roll of camp, people handwashing, social distancing, wearing masks.

More footage and photographs from Cox’s Bazar will be available from Wednesday.

· In Bangladesh, Oxfam is providing water and sanitation and increasing hygiene awareness to 173,000 people in the Rohingya refugee camps in Cox’s Bazar and 9,000 people in the surrounding community. It also helping almost 400,000 people in the coastal districts.

· Oxfam India is working across 14 states to help five million people with hygiene training and over one million people with food during the coronavirus lockdown migration.

Spokespeople:

· India – Pankaj Anand, Oxfam India Director of Programs and Humanitarian response, can explain the current situation and plans for Oxfam’s response in Odisha and West Bengal.

· Bangladesh – Dipankar Datta, Country Director, Oxfam in Bangladesh, can explain the current situation and plans for Oxfam’s response in Cox’s Bazar and low-lying coastal areas.

· Atwar Rahman, Acting Humanitarian Programme Manager

· Cox’s Bazar – Moury Rahman, Senior Public Health Promotion Officer

Cyclone threatens world’s largest refugee camp as first Covid-19 cases are confirmed.

May 18, 2020

Almost one million Rohingya people in the world’s largest refugee camp are facing the added threat of a cyclone as the first cases of Covid-19 are confirmed, Oxfam warned today. The cyclone, which looks likely to form off the coast over the weekend, could bring further suffering and destruction to the camps on top of a potentially devastating health crisis.

Dipankar Datta, Oxfam Bangladesh Country Director said: “Our worst fears have been confirmed as the virus hits the overcrowded camps where many people are suffering from pre-existing health conditions.

“With 40,000 people crammed per square kilometre maintaining social distance is impossible. People share water and toilet facilities making it extremely challenging to maintain the strict hygiene needed. If a serious outbreak is to be avoided more prevention and containment measures – adapted to the needs of women and men – must be rapidly put in place.”

If the cyclone hits, the contamination of water sources caused by heavy rains and flooding could lead to a spike in illnesses. And any weakening of people’s immune systems will likely leave them even more vulnerable to the coronavirus.

Oxfam is providing humanitarian relief, including essential water and sanitation to the refugees and the local host community.

Datta said: “Every effort is being made to keep the people safe, but there are huge gaps. We need more funds to immediately ramp up hygiene, health, and protection facilities to save lives. All governments and international agencies must step in to make sure no one is left behind.

“Our frontline workers and partners are providing clean water and toilets in Cox’s Bazar, and supporting the local host community with food and hygiene kits. Since the pandemic began, Oxfam teams have been promoting awareness on hygiene, hand washing, and Covid-19 prevention practices.”

Last week, Oxfam installed an innovative new contactless hand washing station designed with community input to reduce the risks of Covid-19 transmission. In the coming weeks teams will install more facilities.

Oxfam aims to raise approximately $3m to be able to ramp up its response in the camps. To date, less than a fifth of the UN Joint Response Plan for the Rohingya refugees has been funded.

Datta said: “While nations around the world are understandably focused on containing the spread of the pandemic amongst their people, it is crucial that the international community does not turn its back on at-risk populations. Special attention needs to be paid to the particular risks faced by women and girls during the Covid-19 crisis.“

Notes to the editors

In Bangladesh, Oxfam has stepped up its work on hygiene promotion and water and sanitation facilities for the most vulnerable marginalized communities including in the Rohingya camps in Cox’s Bazar, where some 855,000 refugees currently live in extremely overcrowded conditions. With 23 local partners, Oxfam reached 106,050 people in 21 districts with food, hygiene promotion and protection materials in the country.
Oxfam is also providing hygiene promotion activities and essential water and sanitation to 173,000 Rohingya refugees in the camps and 9000 people in the host communities in Cox’s Bazar.
There are now roughly 19,000 confirmed cases in Bangladesh– and likely many more due to limited testing capacity.

Oxfam warns of flood risk to Rohingya refugees as further monsoon rain forecast

July 12, 2019

Oxfam is warning that thousands of Rohingya refugees in Bangladesh are in danger after almost a month’s worth of rain fell in just a week.

Cox’s Bazar is home to the world’s largest refugee camp where more than 900,000 refugees live in fragile homes built from bamboo and tarpaulin.

Elizabeth Hallinan, Oxfam’s advocacy manager in Cox’s Bazar, said: “Days of heavy rain and landslides have left homes teetering precariously on the brink of steep ravines. Roads have turned into rivers and streams run down the steep hillsides between people’s houses.

“Oxfam is rushing to reinforce and repair vital infrastructures like toilets and handpumps. Our teams of Rohingya volunteers are ensuring that the most vulnerable refugees who have been forced from their flooded homes have basic household items and are in touch with the camp authorities.”

Safwatul Haque Niloy, Oxfam’s head of public health, said: “The mega-camp is built on hilly terrain and sandy soil that cannot withstand days of heavy rain. Low-lying areas are completely waterlogged and the ground has been churned up.

“People are worried that their homes will collapse. Our immediate concern is for children, pregnant women, older people and those with disabilities who will struggle to leave their homes in these dangerous conditions.

“We have also started monitoring for outbreaks of diarrheal disease which is a risk when there is contaminated water caused by flooding.”

Notes:

According to the IOM, more than 45,000 people have been affected by weather-related incidents since the end of April, and 5,600 people have been displaced.

Bangladesh is near the beginning of monsoon season, which will last until September. Weather monitoring stations in Cox’s Bazar registered 700mm of rain in the week to Monday 8 July. Average rainfall for July in Chittagong, the province in which Cox’s Bazar is located, is 733mm.

Oxfam and its partners are providing vital aid including clean water and food to Rohingya refugees in Bangladesh. So far, we’ve helped more than 266,000 people. You can donate to Oxfam’s Rohingya Crisis appeal here.

Rohingya Refugee Crisis

Over 900,000 Rohingya people have fled violence in Myanmar to seek refuge across the border in Bangladesh.

Almost a quarter are pregnant women, new mothers, and children under five. Sixty percent are children under 18.

Crowded together in makeshift camps with little or no food, shelter and clean drinking water, the risk of waterborne diseases is alarmingly high. Women, girls and children are also particularly vulnerable to sexual violence.

Oxfam Aotearoa’s Kelsey Taylor visited the camps in March to help us understand the challenges Rohingya refugees are facing, and what Oxfam is doing to help.

And now, a crisis within a crisis pends as the approaching monsoon season threatens to wash away homes – as many as 150,000. The first of the monsoon rains have fallen – only puddles are left on the ground now, but once the monsoon season is in full swing – with a predicted 2.5 metres of rain in three months – those puddles will become floods.

Oxfam is responding. We’ve reached over 240,000 of the most vulnerable people with clean drinking water, portable toilets, sanitation facilities and other essential supplies. But we need your help to prevent the worst from happening.

The fastest-growing refugee crisis in the world

Over 700,000 Rohingya refugees have arrived from Myanmar’s Rakhine State in Bangladesh’s south-eastern districts since August 2017. Hundreds more are arriving every week. They join hundreds of thousands who are already living in refugee camps and with local communities. All of these people are squashed into an area far too small to safely accommodate them. The number of people per square kilometre is more than 1000 times what is recommended for refugee camps.

Many have arrived injured and deeply traumatised by their experiences, with just the clothes on their backs. They need food, clean water and shelter to survive, but above all they need to feel safe. People are living in makeshift tents in hugely overcrowded settlements. Conditions in the camps are woefully inadequate and unhealthy, with overflowing latrines and contaminated water. They’re largely unlit and dangerous at night – women, girls and children are particularly vulnerable to abuse, exploitation and trafficking.

Oxfam is responding

We are currently focusing on providing water and sanitation and adapting to better deal with the crowded conditions and sheer numbers of people. We’re helping families prepare themselves for the approaching monsoon season. Oxfam is:

Installing a sewage facility which will initially serve 50,000 people, which will rise to 100,000.
Drilling wells and installing water points, toilets and showers. To help local communities cope with water shortages, we are providing an average of 300,000 litres of chlorinated water daily in the Teknaf area.
Helping people stay healthy and hygienic by distributing soap and other essentials and working with community-based volunteers to emphasize the importance of clean water and good hygiene.
Providing 23,000 households with vouchers that can be exchanged at local markets for nutritious vegetables and ingredients to supplement their basic rations.

So far, we have reached at least 266,000 people. You can help us scale up our response to the Rohingya refugee crisis.

Hear from people we’ve reached

“We used to go far away around the bushes to the toilet. At night I went with my friends but I was scared. Now we have a clean latrine next to our house and I’m not scared anymore.” Abul*, 10, poses next to the Oxfam latrine that was built near his home in Balukhali Camp.

“The children haven’t seen water like this for a while so they are really excited. The water tastes good – tastes so much better. We are really thankful for this water.” Habiba can now easily access clean water from four handpumps installed near her home – funded by Oxfam supporters

“We used to dig holes in nearby places to go to the toilet. I felt sad, it was so heartbreaking for my teenage daughters to go to the toilet like that. It has now become so much easier to go to the bathroom as it is so close to our home, and it is so much more dignified for my daughters.” Nur’s* mother is delighted that her and her daughters can now use a latrine close to their home – a latrine that was made possible by Oxfam supporters.

Shim*, 12, holds an Oxfam food parcel she received from a distribution at Kutupalong Camp. The parcel contains 3kg of flattened rice, 1kg of biscuits, 1kg of sugar and 2 soaps.

*names have been changed.

Make a donation today to reach people just like Abul, Habiba, Nur and Shim.