Bangladesh refugee camp fire
Some witnesses have claimed that barbed wire fencing around the camp trapped many people, especially children and hurt many during the fire. This has led to International Humanitarian Agencies demanding its removal. The organization RefugeeOn Monday, 22nd March, a devastating fire ripped through a Rohingya refugee camp in Bangladesh. This disaster took place in the Kutupalong camp near the southeastern town of Cox's Bazar. Authorities in Bangladesh have confirmed 11 deaths so far. In contrast, our sources from Reuters News Agency, Dhaka and UN News have indicated 15 deaths, of which at least 3 were children. Five hundred fifty people were injured severely, and over 45,000 people displaced. At least 400 people are unaccounted for the same.
"It is massive. It is devastating. We still have 400 people unaccounted for, maybe somewhere in the rubble." Said UNHCR's Van Der Klaauw, who attended the Geneva Briefing Virtually from Dhaka, Bangladesh. The fire's cause is yet to be determined. The Bangladeshi officials have been carrying out an investigation on the matter alongside the emergency and aid workers, families and other officials who have been sifting through the rubble looking for further victims.
Aman Ullah, a Refugee from Balukhali camp, told reporters, "Everything has gone. Thousands are without homes, the fire was brought under control after 6 hours, but some parts of the camp could be seen smoking all night long." Property loss has also been massive: the secretary of the Ministry of Disaster Management and Relief, Mr Mohammad Mohsin, told reporters that around 40,000 huts in the region were burned down after visiting the camp. Two hospitals of the International Organisation for Migration and the Turkish government were also destroyed.
Sanjeev Kafley, the International Federation of Red Cross and Red Crescent Society's delegation head in Bangladesh, issued that more than 17,000 shelters had been destroyed and tens of thousands of people displaced. More than a thousand Red Cross staff and volunteers worked with fire services to extinguish the flames. The fire had spread over four sections of the camp that housed roughly 124,000 people, which formed close to 10% of the estimated 1 million refugees in the region.
"I have been in Cox's bazaar for three and a half years, and I have never seen such a fire," Kafley told reporters. "These people have been displaced two times. For many, there is nothing left."
The United Nations' top relief official released $14 million in emergency funding to provide life-saving assistance to the Rohingya Refugee families. The Twitter handle of the WFP has also issued that two WFP Nutrition centres burned down in the fire. Still, the UNICEF BD set up temporary structures to serve children, pregnant women and new mothers.
The UN OCHA has also issued that the money from the CERF (Central Emergency Relief Fund) will be used to rebuild shelters, provide food, water and sanitation services, mental and psychosocial health assistance and other emergency support.
s International estimated that 50,000 people had been displaced and said the extent of the damage might not be known for some time. They also issued a statement claiming, "Many children are missing, and some were unable to flee because of barbed wire set up in camps."
Sources;
NEWS, UN. “UN Emergency Fund Allocates $14 Million for Rohingya Refugees Left Homeless by Massive Fire | | UN News.” United Nations, United Nations, 2021, news.un.org/en/story/2021/03/1088222.
Paul, Ruma, and Emma Farge. “'Devastating' Fire at Rohingya Camp in Bangladesh Kills 15, Leaves 400 Missing - UN.” Reuters, Thomson Reuters, 23 Mar. 2021, mobile.reuters.com/article/amp/idUSKBN2BF15G.
Mahmud, Faisal. “'We Have Nothing': Refugee Camp Fire Devastates Rohingya, Again.” Human Rights News | Al Jazeera, Al Jazeera, 27 Mar. 2021, www.aljazeera.com/amp/news/2021/3/27/rebuilding-from-the-ashes-rohingya-a-year-after-deadly-blaze.
News, BBC. “Rohingya Refugee Camp Fire: Several Dead, Hundreds Missing and Thousands Homeless.” BBC News, BBC, 23 Mar. 2021, www.bbc.com/news/amp/world-asia-56493708.
Credit: Unni Krishnan