'Children and their families robbed of what little they had'

Fire blazes through Rohingya camp, devastating hundreds of homes

Responding to today's devastating fire that destroyed at least 500 makeshift homes in the Bangladesh camps for the Rohingya refugees in the southern district of Cox’s Bazar, Save the Children's Country Director in Bangladesh Onno van Manen said, "This is another devastating blow for the Rohingya people who have endured unspeakable hardship for years. 

"Since 2017, more than one million Rohingya refugees, half of whom are children, have lived in cramped camps after being violently forced from their homes across the border in Myanmar to escape unimaginable violence.

"Today's devastating fire will have robbed many families of what little shelter and dignity left to them. It stands as another ghastly reminder that children stuck in the camps in Cox’s Bazar face a bleak future with little freedom of movement, inadequate access to education, poverty, serious protection risks and abuse including child marriage.

“Put simply, despite the relentless efforts of humanitarian communities, a refugee camp is no place for a child to grow up.

“This is why the international community must find a lasting and durable solution to the plight of the Rohingyas.

In addition, the international community must fully fund the humanitarian response for the Rohingya crisis, which is woefully under-funded. Without adequate funding, essential lifesaving services for the Rohingya will suffer.”

Emily Wight, Global Media Unit: Emily.wight@savethechildren.org; +44 7957 425 407

Ian Woolverton, Regional Media Manager for Asia: ian.woolverton@savethechildren.org; +44 7377 547 362

Mohammad Shahidul Haque Khan, Manager – Media & Communications, Save the Children Bangladesh: +880 171 333 0981; Shahidul.haque@savethechildren.org