Azad Majumder
Dhaka (EFE)
This is the second reduction in aid by the UN in less than three months, after last March it was cut from 12 to 10 dollars due to lack of funds.
“We are surprised by their frequent decisions to reduce rations. We are suffering a lot from insufficient food. If they continue to do so, it will lead to hunger in the future,” the executive director of the Rohingya Youth Association, Khin Maung, told EFE.
“The reduction of rations for genocide survivors is a shameful action by the United Nations,” he added.
Nearly a million Rohingya refugees fleeing from neighboring Burma (Myanmar) live in Bangladesh, including some 774,000 who fled the country during the wave of violence by the Burmese army in 2017, an operation that the UN described as ethnic cleansing and possible genocide.
The Cox’s Bazaar Rohingya camp is the largest refugee camp in the world.
More hunger and fewer resources
The Rohingya are not allowed to work in Bangladesh, although some manage to help NGOs in the camps for a little money, making them completely dependent on assistance.
Many of them sell their voucher to others for cash, which they need to meet other demands, such as pay phone charges or buy fish or meat.
“Those who have relatives living abroad can get by, and those who have some job opportunities within the camp will somehow survive. The rest will go hungry,” a leader of the Rohingya community, Nur Salam, told EFE.
The WFP only has 111,000 million dollars, equivalent to 34.9% of the 318,000 million that requires total financing in 2023, which has forced it to cut aid.
Increased risk of exploitation and abuse
“Boys can be withdrawn from education or girls offered up in child marriage. If refugees seek illegal employment, they face increased risks of exploitation and abuse,” the WFP said in a statement last Friday.
Several local human rights activists have warned that this cut in food aid may also lead to an increase in crime in the Rohingya camps, including drug smuggling and human trafficking.
At least 1,556 Rohingyas were detained between February 14, 2021 and May 10, 2023 for various crimes, including murder, kidnapping, robbery and drug trafficking, according to the Armed Police battalion.
“The permanent solution to this problem lies in their repatriation to Burma (Myanmar). Until that can be done, they must be given job opportunities or the international community continues to provide them with relief assistance,” said Ain O Salish Kendra (ASK) director of human rights organization Nur Khan.