A massive fire at a Rohingya refugee camp in Bangladesh has destroyed the homes over 5,000 people. Destructive fires are typical in the camp, which is home to around 850,000 Rohingya people. More than a million people live in the settlement, which has been dubbed the “Burmese refugee camp” by the UN. It is the world’s largest refugee camp.
- After this massive incident, some political issues stand against it that the incident has renewed calls for the fencing that encages refugees to be removed. From the beginning, fire becomes a big concern in this Ukhia refugee camp. Because more than one million people live in extremely crowded conditions, with bamboo and tarpaulin shelters packed closely together, surrounded by fencing. A massive fire raced across another area of the camp in March 2021, killing at least 15 people.
- A man has described how he was forced to break through wire fencing to save his family from a wildfire that broke out at a refugee camp. That man, Mohammad Rofique said: I have lost everything. I could not save any material or any goods that I own. He added that people should be given new housing as quickly as possible.
- According to Kamran Hossain, a spokesperson for the Armed Police Battalion, which is in charge of the camp’s security, “About 1,200 houses were burned in the fire.”
- Another camp resident, Mohammad Yasin, said that while fires were common, there was no way for communities to control them, and he had no documents, which he brought from Myanmar.
- From the beginning, a large number of international INGOs worked in the Ukhia Rohingya camp. They are now fearful of future fires, which might wreak even more devastation. Aside from that, they attempted to give safety. The International Organization for Migration (IOM) said it was examining the extent of the damage caused by the latest fire.
The fire comes after a huge fire on January 2nd that caused considerable damage to the IOM’s Severe Acute Respiratory Infection and Isolation and Treatment Center (SARI ITC). A mobile medical team is on the site, ready to help as needed. Within the camp, another team is working to ensure that individuals have access to accurate and helpful information.
