Fire in Cox’s Bazar refugee camps – When will it end?
7th MARCH 2023
PRESS STATEMENT
FIRE IN COX’S BAZAR REFUGEE CAMPS – WHEN WILL IT END?
Myanmar Ethnic Rohingya Human Rights Organization in Malaysia (MERHROM) is deeply saddened by a massive fire in the Cox’s Bazar refugee camp on 5th March 2023 at 2.30pm. The fire has caused huge damage. Estimated 2000 shelters were destroyed resulting in 12,000 refugees being homeless. Apart from shelter, mosques, schools and health centers were also destroyed. This is really heartbreaking as we are entering the month of Ramadan soon.
The fire which started in Camp 11 quickly spread to the neighboring camps. Authorities and the fire brigades manage to control the fire around 6.00pm. Estimated about 22 learning centers were destroyed resulting in the children having to stop their learning process.
The fire in the Cox’s Bazar refugee camp is not new, it happens every year. We don’t know what was the result of the investigations. We hope for a thorough investigation by Bangladesh authorities on this recent incident.
We hope this incident can be prevented in the future. We hope that the Rohingya brothers and sisters in the camps also play their role in taking precautions to prevent fires from happening, including keeping watch day and night.
We call upon the United Nations, donor countries and international humanitarian organizations to continue in providing immediate humanitarian support to the victims including coping with their mental health struggles.
We hope the Human Rights Council – 52nd Session in Geneva will seriously discuss the strategic measures to end the Rohingya Genocide as a durable solution for the Rohingya refugees.
