Dhaka, Mar 22 (Just News): UNHCR Goodwill Ambassador Cate Blanchett today warned of a “race against time” to protect Rohingya refugees from the worst impacts of the upcoming monsoon season in Bangladesh.
“The Rohingya refugees have already experienced targeted violence, human rights abuses and horrific journeys. They have shown unimaginable resilience and courage,” Blanchett said, speaking at the end of her visit to Kutupalong, Nyapara and Chakmarkul settlements.
Nearly 700,000 Rohingya children, women and men from Myanmar have fled violence in Myanmar since August last year and took shelter in squalid camps in Cox’s Bazar.
With wet season rains due next month, more than 150,000 refugees are at risk of landslides and floods, in what could become a disaster on top of the current emergency, said UNHCR in a statement.
“But now, as the monsoon season approaches, the government of Bangladesh, supported by UNHCR and its partners, are in a race against time to ensure the refugees are as safe as they can be to deal with potential floods and landslides,” said Cate Blanchett, an internationally acclaimed Australian actress and theatre director.
In Chakmarkul settlement she met with 28-year-old Jhura who fled Myanmar with her two children when her village was attacked six months ago. She now lives in a bamboo shelter built on the side of a steep hill.
“The monsoon is coming and I’m scared that the wind will blow away the roof. There are shelters above mine that would fall on us if there is a landslide. The ground will be slippery and I worry that it will be difficult to get about,” says Jhura, who became separated from her husband, whom she fears may have been killed.
“In Myanmar I was in a better house but I was still in fear of the monsoon - the roof would sometimes fly away and my children would sometimes get sick,” Jhura told Blanchett.
Blanchett met with other refugees at a transit centre supported by UNHCR, the UN Refugee Agency, as well as a temporary learning centre, an integrated women’s centre, a community kitchen and a livelihoods training centre.
She said UNHCR and its partners are working flat out to avoid an emergency within an emergency.
“But more is urgently needed to ensure refugees stay safe,” Blanchett said, calling for the international community to show solidarity and share the responsibility of the crisis with the government and people of Bangladesh.
(Justnews/ys/2330hr)
