For most of refugees worldwide, the current Coronavirus crisis has exacerbated the hardships for these people. The often squalid, critically overcrowded refugee camps have made them particularly vulnerable, for social distancing as well as implementing strict hygiene measures are near impossible in these places. For most camps, dozens are crammed into single tents, basic sanitary products and even access to potable water are scarce. Furthermore, for refugees, access to adequate healthcare would be increasingly difficult, especially with many nations’ healthcare systems critically overstretched.
The Refugees residing in the camps also have a restricted access to healthcare information which makes it increasingly difficult to properly educate themselves on the necessary steps needed for protection and prevention against the virus.
During these increasingly trying times, refugees are getting shunned from country to country, many now have nowhere to go.
Rohingya refugees get in a truck following their arrival by boat in Teknaf, Bangladesh, on April 16. (AFP/Suzauddin Rubel )
In Malaysia, the government had recently denied entry to a boat transporting over 200 Rohingya refugees, mainly due to the fear of the Coronavirus. Many now dread than many more Rohingya refugees will await similar fates in borders of neighbouring countries. Since the persecution began in 2015, many Rohingya saw Malaysia as a favourable country to seek asylum, due to the majority of its population being Muslim and its open borders has meant the growing of a significant Rohingya community. However, the boat full of refugees was obstructed by Malaysian navy vessels, whose sailors escorted them out of Malaysian territorial waters, where they now lie stranded.
This situation is not uncommon.
Sixty Rohingya refugees had died on a boat cramped with hundreds. They had been left floating near the bay of Bengal. The boat was denied to both Malaysia and Thailand and was on its way back to Bangladesh where it was spotted by coastguards.
“There were more than 500 people on-board, jam-packed. At least 60 of us died in the boat. We held on board their funeral prayers and dropped their bodies in the sea,” Survivor Anwarul Islam said. “We barely had food, freshwater, and medicines.”
Rohingya refugees gather along a market area in a refugee camp in Ukhia, Bangladesh, on March 24, 2020.PHOTO: AFP
Recently, Bangladesh has enforced a lockdown on Cox’s Bazaar district, home to more than a million Rohingya refugees living in camps dotted in the area. Whilst there have been no reported cases of the virus within the camp itself, there has been a confirmed case within the city of Cox’s Bazaar on March 24. Since September 2019, the government has banned refugees from legally purchasing SIM cards and restricted internet coverage. As a result, many refugees are unaware of the severity of the situation.
An additional effect of the coronavirus pandemic on Rohingya is the decreased humanitarian aid. Humanitarian agencies in Cox’s Bazaar have had to drastically cut back on the volume of supplies being sent to the camps, sending only the bare necessities such as food and workers. Relief workers are unable to travel to help, as a measure to avoid bringing the virus into camps, and now have to work remotely.
For the majority of us, life will most probably return to normal after the containment of the coronavirus. However, for the refugees, fear and uncertainty have become a part of their daily lives, feelings that will not cease after the coronavirus pandemic. This should not be the case.