Fire Sweeps Through Rohingya Refugee Camps

One of the 34 Rohingya camps in Cox’s Bazar, Bangladesh, before the fire. (Flickr)

A devastating fire swept through Rohingya camps in Cox’s Bazar, Bangladesh, on March 22, destroying more than 40,000 shelters and displacing tens of thousands of refugees. So far, there are 15 confirmed casualties, although that number is likely to climb as rescuers continue to search through the rubble. 

Firefighters battled the blaze for more than 10 hours before the fire finally subsided around midnight. A Bangladeshi police inspector reported that more than 50,000 refugees were displaced.

Officials have not uncovered the cause of the fire, although they have confirmed that this fire is the largest that has ever affected the Rohingya camp. Sanjeev Kafley, head of the International Federation of Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies delegation in Bangladesh, said, “I have been in Cox’s Bazar for three and a half years and have never seen such a fire. These people have been displaced two times. For many, there is nothing left.” 

Multiple fires have affected the refugee camps throughout the past few months, calling into question the depth and legitimacy of investigations. Sayed Ullah, a leader within the Rohingya community, said, “It is not clear why these fire incidents are happening repeatedly in the camps. It needs proper and complete investigation.”

The barbed-wire fences that encompass the area have also caused concern within the refugee camps. Witnesses say that the fences trapped families attempting to flee the fire, prompting international humanitarian groups to petition for the fences’ removal. The barbed wire fences had previously been a subject of controversy, as humanitarian workers have stated that the fences infringe on their ability to distribute aid and vital services. 

Many of the 800,000 inhabitants in the Rohingya settlement have fled religious persecution in Myanmar. Armed groups in Myanmar began targeting the religious group after a series of attacks on remote police outposts in August 2017, murdering hundreds of thousands of Rohingya Muslims and burning towns and villages. Myanmar government officials claimed that their actions were in the name of anti-terrorism efforts, but according to senior UN officials, the Rohingya Muslims have been subjected to ethnic cleansing at the hands of police forces in Myanmar. 

The Bangladeshi government plans to relocate tens of thousands of Rohingya refugees to an island facility in the Bay of Bengal. Human rights groups are concerned about the relocation due to the island’s susceptibility to flooding and monsoons.