‘How did we manage? It has been a race against time.’
Five humanitarians share their toughest trials and biggest tribulations on year one of the Rohingya refugee crisis
One year ago this week, hundreds of thousands of Rohingya men, women and children escaped violence and persecution in Myanmar’s Rakhine state and crossed into neighbouring Bangladesh. The World Food Programme (WFP)’s local staff working on the ground to provide life- saving assistance recount their most challenging and proudest moments in this crisis. Here are their stories in their own words.
‘’Thousands of refugees arrived during Eid. We had very few staff members, and we worked day and night. To this day, I feel very proud of what we were able to do.”
My name is Akhteruz Zaman, and I oversee administrative work and the transport pool.
In this emergency, we have 22 cars and 23 drivers. The biggest challenge is to make sure we have enough cars to accommodate all our programmes, staff, missions, various locations and competing demands.
I remember clearly on 25th August 2017 in Cox’s Bazar how we worked tirelessly together, giving children biscuits and food. Thousands of refugees continued to arrive during Eid. We had very few staff members, and we worked day and night. We didn’t get the chance to celebrate Eid with our families but I was happy to look after these people who needed us the most. To this day I feel very proud of what we were able to do.
“Even if you want to walk, the roads will be so muddy that our gumboots literally sink. I sometimes walk barefoot.”
My name is Saiba Sahira, and I am a Field Monitoring Assistant with the Disaster Risk Reduction Programme (DRR).
Our team works hard to prevent landslides and builds semi-permanent access roads and drainage near our distribution sites. This way, we can ensure access and prevent flooding. However, it is hard to travel in the camp during heavy rainfall. The roads are a mess and no cars or trucks can get through. Even if you want to walk, the roads will be so muddy that our gumboots literally sink. I sometimes walk barefoot.
Under the DRR project, we also work with the Rohingya community under our cash for work programme. It is not about the small amount they are getting but more about the community engagement and making them realize that they are working for their own good — being more self-reliant. We engage many women in our activities, including some who have a disability. I have known many participants who were the only contributor in their families. They could use that money for emergency or medical facilities. I feel proud to see participants whose lives were impacted by our initiative.
Once during a donor visit, we had a focus group discussion with female participants from DRR. Many of those women come from women- headed households, and one of the beneficiaries shared that she had never had any opportunity to earn before she got engaged in the cash for work programme. After working for seven days, when she got her wages for those days, she immediately went to her house and told her two children that day she would provide them anything they would want to eat. Knowing that the amount is not much, she still was happy that she could offer her children something for the very first time, on her own. I may not put the exact emotional appeal while telling the story but while listening to her stories, I was motivated to be engaged with more life- changing stories as such.
“After a particularly heavy rainfall, our deadlines were delayed. I was a little anxious, knowing we needed to have storage capacity for the refugees.”
My name is Zannatul Nayem Anandi, and I am a Construction Engineer.
We face challenges everyday; from building a new logistics hub in Cox’s Bazar to expanding our food storage. On 24th July, after a particularly heavy rainfall, our deadlines were delayed. I was a little anxious, knowing we needed to have storage capacity for the refugees.
I have shared many stories of challenges but there are some funny stories also, I have noticed that on the sites, workers play very loud music. Initially, I used to get annoyed and asked them to put the music down, but eventually, I realized that the loud music gives them energy to work.
“I remember a woman came up to me and started to cry. She was asking for food for her children. Listening to her plea, we gave her food straight away. There are so many similar stories.”
My name is Rimi Akhter, and I am a Field Monitoring Assistant in the General Food Distribution programme.
When the Rohingya influx started, I was working in another organization, handling gender based violence cases. I heard so many stories from women about how they were hungry for days, how weak they were without food and powerless. Listening to these stories, I realized how important food is for survival.
Every day, I leave my home early in the mornings for the camp. I first check the help desk to see if there are any complaints from the beneficiaries which need following up. Then I start checking if the rice, pulses and oils have arrived on time, I also make sure that the toilets are clean, if drinking water is available. I make sure that there are two separate lines for men and women, and also that the entrance to the breastfeeding corner is cleared. Many women come with their babies, and we want to make sure they have the privacy to feed them.
I usually go to camp 13, and it can be really tricky in heavy rains. One day, it was raining heavily and the roads were damaged and muddy. So, the truck which was supposed to bring the food, got stuck in the mud, and couldn’t move. Even our vehicle couldn’t reach the distribution point as the roads were too muddy. I got down from our vehicle in that heavy rainfall and started walking barefoot. With the help of porters we decided to distribute the food directly from the truck. This is great team work and at the end of the day, we could serve all the beneficiaries.
Food is one of our basic rights. It is our first and foremost necessity; one can not survive without food. When the influx started, I remember a woman came up to me and started to cry. She was asking for food for her children. She was carrying a small baby and there were two more children with her. She told us that her husband was slaughtered in Myanmar and she had no one to support her. Listening to her plea, we gave her food straight away. There are so many similar stories.
“At the beginning of this crisis the acute malnutrition rate was 20% and now we have reduced it to 12%. This makes me proud.”
My name is Mohammad Ashikulla, and I am a Nutrition Programme Officer.
I have joined three years ago and everyday is different.
As Bangladesh is a developing country, we had several programmes to ensure malnutrition treatment and prevention. On top of that, when the Rohingya influx started, we had people severely suffering from malnutrition. There were people who had not eaten anything for days while travelling here, their health condition was miserable. Thousands of people were coming each day, each with their own sad and dreadful story. How did we manage? We scaled up WFP’s regular malnutrition and prevention programme to serve the new arrivals. For this to happen, we needed more space, more staff, training, partners, resources. It has been a race against time.
Under our nutrition programme, we not only treat poor nourishment but also try to prevent it. We try to identify the babies who are most at risk and try to support them as early as possible. We recently did a smart survey for the nutrition assessment, at the beginning of this crisis the acute malnutrition rate was 20% and now we have reduced it to 12%. This makes me proud.
This article was written by Shelley Thakral with the support of Sonia Shorif and Saikat Mojumder.
It has been nearly a year since hundreds of thousands of Rohingya refugees fled violence in Myanmar. WFP has been providing life-saving assistance through food distributions and electronic vouchers, and nutritional products for the prevention and treatment of malnutrition. WFP urgently needs US$ 110 million to sustain food assistance to more than 860,000 Rohingya refugees in Cox’s Bazar through January 2019.
Learn more about WFP’s work with the Rohingya community in Cox’s Bazar, Bangladesh.
