Rohingya refugee Yasin Arfat, 6, who suffers from diphtheria, lays on a
bed at a Medecins Sans Frontieres (MSF) clinic near Cox's Bazar,
Bangladesh, on Dec 18, 2017. Source: Reuters/Alkis Konstantinidis
THOUSANDS of children are at risk of contracting diphtheria in refugee
camps in Cox’s Bazar, Bangladesh, say humanitarian agencies, as the UN
Rights Chief has again warned “shockingly brutal attacks” against
Rohingya Muslims in Burma (Myanmar) could amount to genocide.
Since the first cases of diphtheria were detected on Nov 8, some 1,326 suspected cases have been detected in the refugee camps. This number is significant, given only 4,500 cases were reported globally by the World Health Organisation (WHO) in 2015.
Diphtheria is a potentially deadly, airborne disease which causes
glandular swelling and severe respiratory problems. It is significantly
more likely to affect children than adults. In Cox’s Bazar, 76 percent
of cases are under 15 years old. At least 19 people have died.
Unicef and WHO last week launched a major vaccination campaign against
diphtheria and other preventable diseases for all Rohingya children aged
six weeks to six years in Bangladesh camps – an estimated 255,000
people.
Rohingya refugees, who suffer from diphtheria, are being treated at a
Medecins Sans Frontieres (MSF) clinic near Cox’s Bazar, Bangladesh, on
Dec 18, 2017. Source: Reuters/Alkis Konstantinidis
“Diphtheria usually appears among vulnerable populations that have not
received routine vaccinations, such as the Rohingyas,” Unicef
Representative to Bangladesh Edouard Beigbeder said. “The outbreak shows
a steep rise in cases, an indicator of the extreme vulnerability of
children in the Rohingya camps and settlements.”
Health problems are expected to worsen as Bangladesh enters its winter
months. Humanitarian agencies are issuing shelter, clothing and other
relief items to the affected population.
“Children, who are 55 percent of the Rohingya refugee population, are
particularly vulnerable. So are women, and they represent more than half
of all refugees in Bangladesh,” UN High Commissioner for Refugees
(UNHCR) spokesman Babar Baloch said last Friday.
“An estimated 10 percent are either disabled, have serious medical conditions, or are older persons at risk.”
A Rohingya refugee boy makes his way in the Balukhali refugee camp near
Cox’s Bazar, Bangladesh, on Dec 17, 2017. Source: Reuters/Alkis
Konstantinidis
Mounting evidence of atrocities
As humanitarian agencies work to provide shelter, food and healthcare
for the displaced, rights groups are increasingly presenting evidence of
mass atrocities in Burma’s Rakhine State.
Médecins Sans Frontières (MSF) said last week that surveys conducted in
Bangladeshi refugee camps revealed “at least 6,700 Rohingya, in the most
conservative estimations, are estimated to have been killed, including
at least 730 children below the age of five years.”
UN High Commissioner for Human Rights Zeid Ra’ad Al Hussein told theBBC in
an interview over the weekend that “on the basis of what we see” it
“wouldn’t surprise” him if an international criminal court would find
genocide to have taken place in Burma.
Zeid arrives at the 36th Session of the Human Rights Council at the
United Nations in Geneva, Switzerland, on Sept 11, 2017. Source:
Reuters/Denis Balibouse
According to the International Organization for Migration, at least
655,000 new arrivals have entered Bangladesh since violence broke out on
Aug 25, when the Tatmadaw army of Burma launched “clearing operations”
in response to attacks by the Arakan Rohingya Salvation Army on security
force outposts.
The military has now been accused of committing atrocities, deemed by
some as crimes against humanity, including arson, rape, and
extrajudicial killings.
As a result of mass exodus, Bangladeshi immigration officials have
recorded a total of more than 844,000 people residing in refugee camps
within the poor South Asian country’s borders.
Human Rights Watch (HRW) revealed new satellite imagery on Sunday which
showed 40 Rohingya villages had been destroyed in Rakhine State since
October – contrary to Aung San Suu Kyi’s government’s claim that
violence had ceased in the region.
An updated map of destruction of Rohingya villages in northern Rakhine
State during October and November 2017. Source: Human Rights Watch
The rights watchdog claimed that “dozens of buldings were burned” in the
same week that the Burmese government signed a Memorandum of
Understanding on Nov 23 to begin returning refugees from Bangladesh
within two months.
“The satellite imagery shows what the Burmese army denies: that Rohingya
villages continue to be destroyed. Burmese government pledges to ensure
the safety of returning Rohingya cannot be taken seriously,” said Brad
Adams, Asia director at HRW.
HRW said that of 354 villages affected by burning, at least 118 had been
partially or completely destroyed after Sep 5 – the date Suu Kyi
claimed “clearance operations” had ceased.
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