AMURT: Since 25 August 2017, an intensification of targeted violence has seen over 626,000 Rohingya refugees driven out of Myanmar’s Rakhine state across the border into Bangladesh in what became the world’s fastest refugee influx in decades. They joined others who had earlier sought safety and protection from horrific violations of their human rights.
By December 2017, 832,000 refugees have entered Bangladesh, equivalent to a whole city’s population. 88% are now in makeshift camps, accommodating up to 95 thousand people per square kilometer. Bangladeshi authorities have responded admirably, complemented by the international humanitarian community. However, due to the overwhelming scope and scale of the influx, a lack of basic services and difficult living conditions leave these Rohingya vulnerable to malnutrition, health problems and exposed to major protection concerns.
Child Protection concerns
The vulnerability experienced in camps is extreme for children. Most of those arriving are minors: half a million innocent children who have become caught up in the crisis. Some are unaccompanied or became separated from their adult carers in the course of the perilous journey from Myanmar. They often lack safe places to stay and face an increased risk of abuse, neglect and exploitation, being trafficked, exposure to HIV/AIDS, child labor, lack of parental care, discrimination and recruitment into armed forces. Girls are particularly vulnerable. Rohingya women and girls are too often either survivors of, or witnesses to, multiple incidents of sexual assault, rape, or gang rape, both before and after their arrival. Fear and uncertainty prevalent among females in the camps also increase the likelihood of child marriage, given that arranged marriages were already common-place for under-18 Rohingya girls.
Emergency Response
Child-Friendly Spaces
Learning centers