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Rohingya refugees search for shelter in Bangladesh

As hundreds of thousands of refugees have entered Cox’s Bazar, the challenge of sheltering them has intensified.

Rohingya Shelters [Showkat Shafi/Al Jazeera]
Nearly 440,000 refugees have fled to Bangladesh since Myanmar’s army launched a military campaign in response to an attack by Rohingya fighters on dozens of police posts and an army base on August 25. [Showkat Shafi/Al Jazeera]
By Showkat Shafi
Published On 26 Sep 2017

Cox’s Bazar, Bangladesh – According to the UN, 436,000 Rohingya refugees have fled to Bangladesh since the latest round of violence against them began in neighbouring Myanmar’s Rakhine state a month ago.

Flimsy tents made of tattered tarpaulin and plastic sheets now cover much of the Bangladeshi port city of Cox’s Bazar.

Those erected by aid agencies are overflowing, forcing others to create their own makeshift shelters with whatever they can find.

But heavy rains, high humidity and stifling heat have made conditions worse. The stench of human faeces grows stronger every day. Refugees must wade through ankle-deep mud, often barefoot and with minimal clothing after fleeing their homes with few belongings.

International aid agencies and local charities and local volunteers are working tirelessly to provide what they can, but the numbers in need are overwhelming and the challenges daunting in camps without clean water or sanitation, and where the outbreak of disease seems imminent.

Rohingya Shelters [Showkat Shafi/Al Jazeera]
The influx is in addition to about 300,000 Rohingya already located in camps around the Bangladeshi city of Cox's Bazar. [Showkat Shafi/Al Jazeera]
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Rohingya Shelters [Showkat Shafi/Al Jazeera]
There is not enough food, water or medicine to go around. Roads around the camps are littered with human excrement; the UN fears that serious diseases could break out. [Showkat Shafi/Al Jazeera]
Rohingya Shelters [Showkat Shafi/Al Jazeera]
UN High Commissioner for Refugees Filippo Grandi said there were 'immense' challenges after visiting the overflowing camps around Cox's Bazar in southern Bangladesh. [Showkat Shafi/Al Jazeera]
Rohingya Shelters [Showkat Shafi/Al Jazeera]
Bangladesh only recognises a tiny fraction of around 700,000 Rohingya in camps near the border with Myanmar as refugees, referring to the rest as undocumented Myanmar nationals. [Showkat Shafi/Al Jazeera]
Rohingya Shelters [Showkat Shafi/Al Jazeera]
Sheikh Hasina, prime minister of Bangladesh, told the UN General Assembly on Thursday that Bangladesh was sheltering more than 800,000 Rohingya, of whom 430,000 had arrived in the past three weeks. [Showkat Shafi/Al Jazeera]
Rohingya Shelters [Showkat Shafi/Al Jazeera]
Tens of thousands of strangers live side by side in the refugee camps, packed into spaces that would normally be considered uninhabitable. [Showkat Shafi/Al Jazeera]
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Rohingya Shelters [Showkat Shafi/Al Jazeera]
The Rohingya are often described as "the world's most persecuted minority". [Showkat Shafi/Al Jazeera]
Rohingya Shelters [Showkat Shafi/Al Jazeera]
Child refugees face many dangers, including separation from their families, trafficking, servitude, and abuse. [Showkat Shafi/Al Jazeera]
Rohingya Shelters [Showkat Shafi/Al Jazeera]
The UN says the challenges facing Bangladesh are 'immense' and the country needs assistance to feed and shelter the 436,000 Rohingya who have arrived in the past month. [Showkat Shafi/Al Jazeera]
Rohingya Shelters [Showkat Shafi/Al Jazeera]
Bangladesh has begun providing the new arrivals with identity cards and recording their biometric data, a process that started last week and is expected to take several months to complete. [Showkat Shafi/Al Jazeera]
Rohingya Shelters [Showkat Shafi/Al Jazeera]
The Rohingya accuse the Myanmar army, which has a history of committing atrocities against the ethnic group, of using an attack by a Rohingya armed group as a pretext to force the community out of Myanmar. [Showkat Shafi/Al Jazeera]