Open all regional borders to save refugees: UNHCR

The UN Refugee Agency yesterday reiterated that Rohingya refugees have been fleeing violence in Myanmar at a staggering rate calling for stronger international protection and humanitarian assistance.

“They walk for days through jungles and mountains, or brave dangerous sea voyages across the Bay of Bengal. They arrive exhausted, hungry and sick -- in need of international protection and humanitarian assistance,” the UNHCR said.

As new arrivals top half a million in Bangladesh, the agency, in massive efforts, has started distributing plastic sheeting and essential relief items to the refugees in Cox's Bazar.

The latest estimate of the number of Rohingyas who have arrived in Bangladesh since violence erupted in Myanmar has crossed the half million mark, at 501,000 as of September 29.

UNHCR spokesperson Andrej Mahecic, at a press briefing in Geneva, yesterday said teams of UNHCR's partner are also scouting crossing points on the border with Myanmar to see where plastic sheets, pots and pans, jerry cans, plastic mats and solar lamps can be handed to the refugees as soon as they enter Bangladesh.

Meanwhile, as Bangladesh shoulders the full extent of the refugee crisis, UNHCR calls on all countries in the region to show solidarity and do their part in keeping their borders open and protecting refugees who are fleeing discrimination, persecution and violence in Myanmar.

URGENT ACTION NEEDED

It said UNHCR urgently requires an estimated US$30 million to respond to the ongoing emergency in Bangladesh, which was already coping with devastating floods before the refugee influx. Of this amount, US$6 million is immediately needed for shelter and core relief items for Rohingya refugees. Much more needs to be done to meet the acute needs of children, women and men fleeing conflict.

UN Deputy Spokesman Farhan Haq told reporters in New York that aid agencies are working with the government to improve road access to refugee camps and to facilitate humanitarian aid deliveries.

He said as of Thursday, humanitarian partners have received just $36.4 million of the $77 million the UN called for in early September. Haq said the scale of the emergency has soared and the appeal will be increased.

ROLE OF UNICEF

Unicef said yesterday that it is planning to establish more than 1,300 new learning centres for Rohingya children who have fled Myanmar to neighbouring Bangladesh.

“It is critical that these children, who have suffered so much in this crisis, should have access to education in a safe and nurturing environment,” said Edouard Beigbeder, Unicef Representative in Bangladesh. “This is critical not just to provide them with a much-needed sense of normalcy now, but so that they can build a future to look forward to.”

Unicef is currently running 182 learning centres in Rohingya camps and makeshift settlements in Cox's Bazar, and has enrolled 15,000 children. It plans to increase the number of learning centres to 1,500 to reach 200,000 children over the next year.

The centres provide early education to children aged 4-6, as well as non-formal basic education to children from ages 6-14.

Children learn Bengali, English, Math, Burmese, Science, Arts and Anthems in the learning centres. Children also receive psychosocial counselling, and are taught hygiene and life skills. Over a quarter of a million Rohingya children have fled Myanmar into Cox's Bazar since August 25.