Urgent Appeal for Rohingya Refugees
Aid is distributed to Rohingya refugees after their arrival at Coxs Bazar, Bangladesh Sept. 18, 2017.
REUTERS/Cathal McNaughton
Violence erupted late last month against Rohingya families in Myanmar, forcing nearly 430,000 people to flee across the border into Bangladesh.
Many Rohingyas have reported that they fled for safety after seeing innocent neighbors killed, or homes and fields set on fire.
Violence erupted so suddenly that many families were forced to leave their homes with next to nothing to make the perilous journey that has left many Rohingya refugees exhausted and traumatized. Most have lost loved ones.
More Rohingya people have fled in four weeks than all the migrants, from Syria and elsewhere, who fled across the Mediterranean Sea in 2016.
Coming into Bangladesh, these Rohingya families have entered a very small region known as Cox’s Bazar, which does not have the infrastructure or services to support them. The countryside is now overflowing with newly built settlements, and streets are congested with a steady flow of refugees in search of a place to live.
With thousands of people in such a small area even the essentials like water, food, shelter and proper sanitation are extremely limited. The crisis has developed so rapidly that the government of Bangladesh and humanitarian agencies are overwhelmed.
A Christian response is required.
World Renew, in partnership with members of the Canadian Foodgrains Bank and the Integral Alliance, and the Christian Commission for Development in Bangladesh, is responding immediately by providing life-saving food assistance to Rohingya families.
By mobilizing assistance right away, World Renew will ensure that some of the most vulnerable families have enough to eat. This support will provide an important bridge for families until more permanent infrastructure and support is in place.
Although the Rohingyas are a minority Muslim population that has lived for hundreds of years in the majority Buddhist nation of Myanmar, they have effectively been denied the right to citizenship.
They are considered to be one of the world’s most persecuted minorities. In light of this crisis, World Renew is appealing for your help.
