Bangladesh: Thousands of Rohingya left homeless by fire in Cox's Bazar refugee camp

By Lisa Zengarini

Nearly 7,000 Rohingya refugees were left homeless by a large fire that devastated some 800 shelters in the Cox's Bazaar refugee camp in Bangladesh on Sunday. The fire broke out around 01:00 am in Camp 5, one of the 33 camps in the border district, and was brought under control after several hours.  

Investigation

Apart from homes, the blaze destroyed or damaged around 120 facilities, including learning centres, mosques, healthcare centres, toilets and bathing facilities, according to UNHCR, the United Nations Refugee Agency. Additionally, some 93 shelters were partially damaged.

The cause of the fire has yet to be determined and Bangladeshi authorities have assured that they will investigate the incident which could be intentional.

Fires often break out in Cox's Bazar refugee camps. A massive blaze in March 2021 killed at least 15 refugees and destroyed more than 10,000 homes. Last year about 12,000 were left homeless after nearly 2,800 shelters and more than 90 facilities including hospitals and learning centres were destroyed in a fire.

Persecuted minority

Over a million Rohingya live crammed in makeshift shelters in Cox Bazar making it the largest refugee camp in the world. Most of them fled there following the military crackdown carried out in 2016-2017 by Myanmar's security forces in Rakhine State, where the largely Muslim ethnic group has been living for centuries.

Rohingya, who have been denied citizenship in Myanmar since 1982, making them stateless, have been described as one of the most persecuted minorities in the world, and over the course of many decades have been fleeing to neighbouring countries either by land or boat. The military coup in Myanmar on 2 February 2021 has further increased their vulnerability.

Most of those living in Cox's Bazar don’t have the official status of "refugee", which would guarantee them specific rights and protections, and are designated officially in Bangladesh as "forcibly displaced Burmese citizens.”

Growing hostility from local residents

Over the past six years Rohingya have met growing hostility from the local population and several refugees have decided to move to other countries, including more recently Indonesia, where they are not welcome either. 

In  recent weeks hundreds arrived in the western region of the Indonesian Archipelago. According to media reports at least 1,800 Rohingya are now in the country, the largest number since the 2015 Asian boat people crisis that saw thousands of hungry and sick Rohingya and Bangladeshi people left adrift in the sea in abandoned traffickers’ boats.

The new wave of arrivals has triggered an unprecedented hate campaign on local social media, prompting the Indonesian government and media outlets to publish fact-checked articles.  

According to Uca News agency,  the  Ministry of Communication and Information has published at  least ten articles on its website  dispelling misconceptions and hoaxes about the Rohingya. On January 4, it dismissed an Instagram post that alleged the refugees “were deliberately sent to Indonesia so that Indonesia's attention would be diverted from the ongoing Israeli-Palestinian conflict."  Other articles refuted various allegations such as Rohingya demanding land rights from Malaysia, refugees being listed as voters in the 2024 elections, and UNHCR Indonesia pressing the government to give Rohingya houses, food and identity cards.

On December 27, a mob of students reportedly stormed the basement of a local community hall in the capital Banda Aceh, the capital city of Aceh province, and forced over 130 Rohingya, mostly women and children, to flee. The students were allegedly incited by fake news that the  refugees were taking their food and land, as well as indulging in sexual harassment and other bad behaviour.

The disinformation campaign vilifying Rohingya refugees has also been strongly condemned by NGOs and Church groups, including the Jesuit Refugee Service (JRS)

Church's support and Pope's appeal

In this context Church organizations along with humanitarian agencies NGOs in Bangladesh continue to carry out their humanitarian assistance projects and their advocacy work at a national and international level to give a home and dignity back to these people, as confirmed to L’Osservatore Romano by Father Terence Rodrigues, the Vicar General of the Archdiocese of Chattogram (formerly Chittagong).

“In recent years Caritas has helped an average of 300 thousand Rohingya every year,” he explained  remarking that  “The situation requires a long-term commitment from the international community to guarantee the Rohingya safety, dignity and future."

In his first General Audience this year, on January 3, Pope Francis who met a group of Rohingya refugees during his Apostolic Journey to Bangladesh in 2017 , invited the faithful “not to forget our Rohingya brothers and sisters, who are persecuted.”