England: The World Mustn’t Turn From the Suffering of Rohingya

London, MINA – British Foreign Minister Dominic Raab on Thursday urged the world not to “turn away from the suffering of the Rohingya” as he announced £ 47.5 million in British aid to support 860,000 Rohingya refugees in Bangladesh dealing with the coronavirus and natural disasters.

“Today, I urge the world not to turn away from the suffering of the Rohingya and take the necessary measures to allow them to return safely to the homes they left behind in terror,” Raab said, Anadolu Agency reported.

The move follows British sanctions against two generals in Myanmar’s military who have been found by an independent UN investigation to be responsible for ethnic cleansing.

Hundreds of thousands of Rohingya have fled Myanmar since 2017 due to systemic violence.

The aid from Britain will help hundreds of thousands of vulnerable people with food, water, health care and sanitation, as well as counseling for those who have suffered trauma from the violence that befell them.

The assistance will also increase access to education for 50,000 young people, and establish isolation and care centers for those suffering from the coronavirus.

Raab’s latest announcement puts Great Britain’s aid commitment to the Rohingya crisis in Bangladesh at £ 300 million.

Bangladesh will be supported as it hosts the highest number of Rohingya refugees. About 860,000 Rohingya live in overcrowded camps in Cox’s Bazar, Bangladesh.

Apart from helping them deal with the Coronavirus pandemic, the UK will also help Bangladesh become more resilient to natural disasters such as floods.

“The people living at Cox’s Bazar face unimaginable hardships and many have become victims of violence. We have sanctioned the perpetrators of this brutality, and this new funding will save lives in the camps and help Bangladesh become more resilient to disasters like the coronavirus, ”Kara Raab.

The UK is co-hosting an international virtual conference on the Rohingya crisis with the US, EU and the United Nations Refugee Agency, UNHCR, to raise funds for a humanitarian response.

The United Nations estimates it will take US$ 1 billion to help Rohingya refugees in Bangladesh this year, but so far less than half of that has been raised.

Lord Ahmad of Wimbledon, British minister for South Asia and the Commonwealth, told the conference that steps must be taken to enable the voluntary, safe and dignified return of Rohingya to their homes in Myanmar.

Apart from those living in Bangladesh, there are up to 150,000 Rohingya refugees living in other countries in the region, and around 600,000 in Myanmar’s Rakhine State.

The Rohingya is described by the United Nations as the world’s most persecuted people. They have faced increasing fear of attack since dozens were killed in communal violence in 2012.

According to Amnesty International, more than 750,000 Rohingya refugees, mostly women and children, fled Myanmar and crossed into Bangladesh after Myanmar forces launched a crackdown on the minority Muslim community in August 2017, bringing their number in Bangladesh to more than 1. 2 million. (T/RE1)

Mi’raj News Agency (MINA)