This month marks five years since the Rohingya fled genocide. Today, over 1 million people remain completely aid-dependent, neither legally recognized as citizens of Myanmar, the country that casted them out, nor legally recognized as refugees by Bangladesh — the country that currently hosts them. Can we give them hope for a future?
The Genocide: In the News
Learn more about one of the largest refugee crises
Citizenship
Myanmar’s 1982 citizenship law, which stripped the country’s 1 million Rohingya of citizenship, left them without access to health care or education. Waves of violence soon followed.
In Myanmar, even the word “Rohingya” itself is taboo: The country’s leaders do not use it, and some have asked the international community not to use the name. The Rohingya are not included among the 135 ethnic minorities officially recognized by the state.
Source: Vox
The Refugee Crisis
Over 742,000 refugees have fled to Bangladesh since August 25, 2017. Rohingya refugees fled violence in Myanmar at a staggering rate in 2017 – and the numbers keep growing.
At the peak of the crisis, thousands were crossing into Bangladesh daily. Most walked for days through jungles and mountains, or braved dangerous sea voyages across the Bay of Bengal. They arrived exhausted, hungry and sick – in need of international protection and humanitarian assistance.
The vast majority reaching Bangladesh are women and children, and more than 40 per cent are under age 12. Many others are elderly people requiring additional aid and protection. They have nothing and need everything.
Source: UNHCR
The Massacres and Killings
The mass exodus of Rohingyas in 2017 has been recognized as one of the major refugee crisis in this century. The atrocity crimes committed by Myanmar authorities resulted in 25,000 murdered, 18,000 women and adolescents raped, 43,000 have been injured and 116,000 Rohingyas were bodily harmed.
Khan, Ahmed & Ahmad, Salahuddin & Habib, Mohshin. (2019). Prevalence of violence against children: Evidence from 2017 Rohingya Refugee crises.
Hope for a better future.
We can no longer stand idly by while victims of genocide continue to suffer in the largest refugee settlements in the world.
They are the largest stateless population in the world with no hopes of returning home and no vision for a future. Living conditions in the refugee camps have been bleak and grim. Suitable healthcare is hard to come by and is desperately needed. And we can no longer stand idly by. We must do our part in helping them build a healthy and sustainable future. They deserve to have hope for a future.
Healthcare is a human right. That means everyone should have access to safe and reliable care in order to live.
.jpg)
How do we help?
Medical Missions
Humanity Auxilium strongly believes in traveling to the areas of the world that we are working in to dedicate our own time and to also witness first-hand the issues we are working towards solving. Our medical camps supports medical volunteers within refugee camps and from around the world, to provide critical resources and care to those in need.
COVID-19 Outreach
Our COVID-19 Outreach Teams have visited and screened nearly 60,000 households in the camps. They’ve also been able to provide medical services to over 26,432 Rohingya who were in need of medical attention; many of whom were suspected of having COVID-19. Outreach Teams were also able to convince around 9,289 Rohingya to visit health facilities for further assessments and treatment.
Women's Health
As violence erupted in Myanmar in August 2017, more than a million Rohingya people fled to Bangladesh and horrifying accounts of rape and sexual violence against women and girls emerged during the crisis. Our Maternal and Mental Health project aims to support the specific health needs of these refugee women who have been through so much.
