UN Seeks Over $850 Million Donation To Support Rohingya Refugees, Bangladeshi Hosts

On Wednesday, the United Nations and other humanitarian allies called on the international community for more donations for Rohingya refugees living in camps in Bangladesh.

The UN requested $852.4 million for food and other relief for the Muslim Rohingya refugees and their host communities in its annual response plan to the crisis.

UN Seeks Additional Support for Rohingya Refugees

Rohingya refugees look through the debris of their houses charred by a devastating fire at the Ukhia camp, Cox's Bazaar in the early hours of January 7, 2024. Some 4,000 Rohingya refugees in Bangladesh have been left without shelter after a suspected arson attack ripped through their camp burning nearly 800 homes, an official said on January 7.
(Photo : -/AFP via Getty Images)

Bangladesh has welcomed more than a million members of the predominantly stateless minority, many of whom escaped a military crackdown in 2017 in Myanmar, where conflict continues to escalate.

The Office of the UN High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) said in a statement on Wednesday that about 95% of the Rohingya population in Bangladesh is still in need of humanitarian assistance. It said that international solidarity with Bangladesh and refugee protection is needed more than ever as the conflict in Myanmar escalates.

The UN made similar appeals last year when it requested $876 million from countries to help the Rohingya, but only $440 million was granted. Despite the humanitarian crisis being largely out of the international spotlight, the UNHCR has warned that significant funding shortfalls in recent years have had "serious implications."

The agency stressed that "sustained assistance is critically and urgently needed" as many refugees struggle to meet necessities. Furthermore, it stated that 75% of the refugees receiving aid are women and children and that they are particularly vulnerable to abuse, exploitation, and gender-based violence.

"More than half of the refugees in the camps are under 18, languishing amidst limited opportunities for education, skills-building, and livelihoods," the UNHCR said.

According to the organization, the donations will cover the costs of shelter, food, medical treatment, access to drinking water, protective services, education, and other relief. Many Rohingya have attempted dangerous, often deadly, boat trips to Malaysia and Indonesia to flee the conditions in the camps.

Meanwhile, there is little progress towards restoring the refugees to Myanmar, which is under investigation by the UN for genocide over the 2017 crackdown.

Nobel Peace Prize laureate Aung San Suu Ky lost her democratically elected administration in Myanmar in 2021 after the military took control of the country. UN rights chief Volker Turk told UNHCR this month that the human rights situation in Myanmar has morphed into a never-ending nightmare away from the spotlight of global politics.

Traffickers Hold Fleeing Rohingya to Ransom

The traffickers who used boats to transport hundreds of Rohingya away from refugee camps in Bangladesh thrust phones into their hands and demanded money from their relatives.

The relatives of 28-year-old Rehana Begum finally decided to proceed with the journey after they had paid the traffickers over $2,000. However, she passed away from dehydration a few days later while still aboard the boat.

A rising network of human traffickers offers boat excursions that frequently include assault, torture, and death. They provide a way out of the worsening circumstances in Bangladesh's camps, where hundreds of thousands of Rohingya were forced to flee after being expelled from Myanmar.

Rohingya trafficking victims and their families have told The Guardian that they are detained at sea or in jungles until their families pay thousands of dollars.

The traffickers can demand ransoms of up to $3,000 once refugees leave Bangladesh for Southeast Asia, where they think they will have more freedom to live and work than in the camps.