Rain puts Rohingya lives in peril

The Daily Star on June 14 published a story titled “Rain brings miseries to Rohingyas.” Cox's Bazar is very close to the Bay of Bengal and the rainy season has already begun in that area. Landslides and heavy downpours in the area are high-risk factors and make survival difficult in this rainy season. The Rohingya refugees suffered greatly during the last rainy season, as we have seen in the media. They suffered a lot during the torrential rain, and that suffering has started again.

International bodies, including the UNHCR and IOM, had expressed their deep concern over the issue a few months ago and they requested the government to shift the refugee camps quickly to another suitable place. There is also a serious threat of contagious water-borne diseases spreading in the rainy season. The government is shifting the makeshift camps at a slow pace but this needs speedy implementation. Bangladesh has already earned praise across the world by sheltering the Rohingyas fleeing ethnic cleaning. Our government should take a quick decision and start shifting the risky makeshift Rohingya camps to a suitable and safe place so that the rains cannot cause further havoc to them.

Md. Zillur Rahaman by email