Eid Al-Adha in Myanmar
Rohingya refugees celebrated Eid Al-Adha after fleeing Myanmar’s state persecution last year at camps in southeastern Cox's Bazar on Wednesday, with many praying for a chance to safely return to their homes.
In his special Eid prayer at a makeshift mosque at the Jamtoli refugee camp, cleric Sajjad Hossain said: "Oh Almighty! Give us the opportunity to go back to our own land with dignity and safety."
Around 1,000 Rohingya Muslims attended the special prayer who all wished to return back to their homeland home as Myanmar citizens.
Hossain, 60, said he used to be the head of the Nawapara Hemaetul Islam Madrasah in Buchidawng in Myanmar’s Rakhine State before he was forced to flee to Bangladesh with his surviving family members following a brutal military crackdown on the Rohingya on Aug. 25 last year.
Turkish institutions remain at the forefront of providing aid to Rohingya refugees, who fled Myanmar to Cox’s Bazaar in southeastern Bangladesh after a brutal military crackdown on Aug. 25 last year.Turkish Cooperation and Coordination Agency (TIKA), Turkish Red Crescent, Turkiye Diyanet Foundation and Disaster and Emergency Management Authority (AFAD) have made major contributions to help the persecuted Rohingya, including providing daily meals, shelters, healthcare and education to tens of thousands of people.TIKA Bangladesh Coordinator Ahmet Refik Çetinkaya said the agency has been providing aid to Rohingya since Sept. 7 last year, starting with 60 tons of emergency food aid.Turkish aid agency provides clothes to Syrian orphansÇetinkaya said around one million Rohingya live in Bangladesh with 706,000 seeking refuge in Cox’s Bazaar alone since the August 2017 violence. Some 300,000 locals also asked for aid following the Rohingya migrations, he added.10M hot mealsCetinkaya said distribution of hot meals “forms the backbone of our aid activities"."Since one year, we have provided 10 million hot meals," he said.The meals include meat, chicken and rice, he said, adding that around 25,000-30,000 people benefit from the daily meals."We are also employing 120 people. Half of them are Bangladeshis and the other half are Rohingya," he said.Turkish agency distributes food aid in AfghanistanThe World Food Program also distributes food to refugees in the area, giving them rice, oil and lentils; however, eating rice everyday falls short of providing full nutrition, especially to children, he added.TIKA’s daily meals, on the other hand, are known to be healthier since it includes meat and chicken, fulfilling the protein needs of the refugees.Apart from TIKA, the Turkish Red Crescent also provided hot meals to 41,030 Rohingya refugee families in Cox’s Bazaar.It also provided food aid packages to 50,744 families, special Ramadan food parcels to 11,350 families and 11,350 vegetable/fruit boxes, Turkish Red Crescent told Anadolu Agency.Separately, the Turkiye Diyanet Foundation also distributed 15,000 food aid packages to Rohingya refugees in Cox’s Bazaar, according to data the foundation shared with Anadolu Agency.Rohingya returnees tortured by Myanmar police: HRWInfrastructure, hospitals builtCetinkaya also said TIKA provided six ambulances for hospitals, established a playground and distributed 10,000 blankets.He said TIKA was also building a 100-meter long steel bridge in the area that would help in the distribution of aid in the camp.Meanwhile, the Turkish Red Crescent said it built 200 shelters, a community center, 63 bathrooms, two laundries, four solar-powered systems, six water distribution systems and 48 lighting poles.The shelters provide accommodation to 26,132 families; nearly 5,000 families were also given clothes. Five tube wells were also built to provide water to 12,500 people daily.Turkiye Diyanet Foundation said it built 450 bamboo shelters for Rohingya refugees at the Kutupalong camp in Cox’s Bazaar and it plans to build 150 more shelters. It also constructed nine wells, five mosques, four bamboo bridges and 4,538 solar illumination systems.The foundation also provided 4,000 cloth packages, 6,500 cleaning packages, 7,500 kitchenware aid packages and 300 tents.Also, AFAD built 1,065 bamboo houses, 100 toilets, 100 bath units and six wells for the refugees. It also built a field hospital in coordination with the Turkish Health Ministry, which started operating on Jan. 25. As of Aug. 20, a total of 90,153 treatments were carried out at the hospital; 2,025 patients stayed while 522 medical operations were conducted. Schools, scholarships for students Cetinkaya said TIKA has started a project to build 100 semi-permanent schools with UNICEF using concrete and bamboo; so far, 30 have been completed.Diyanet Foundation has also an education center and a needlecraft education center inside the camp area.The foundation provides support to Rohingya students studying in different countries. It covered all expenses of 110 Rohingya students studying in different departments of International Islamic University Chittagong in Bangladesh.Furthermore, the foundation covers all expenses of 16 Rohingya students studying in Malaysia's International Islamic University.It also supported 3,700 Rohingya students at 100 educational centers in Pakistan's Karachi city while 11 Rohingya students are studying at a high school in Turkey under the foundation's scholarship program.Since Aug. 25, 2017, more than 24,000 Rohingya Muslims have been killed by Myanmar’s state forces, according to the Ontario International Development Agency (OIDA).In its recent report titled Forced Migration of Rohingya: The Untold Experience, OIDA increased the estimated number of murdered Rohingya up to 23,962 (± 881) from the Doctors Without Borders figure of 9,400.More than 34,000 Rohingya were also thrown into fire while over 114,000 others were beaten, the OIDA report said, adding that 17,718 (±780) Rohingya women and girls were raped by Myanmar army and police. Over 115,000 Rohingya houses were also burnt down and 113,000 others were vandalized, it added.According to Amnesty International, more than 750,000 Rohingya refugees, mostly children and women, have fled Myanmar and crossed into Bangladesh after Myanmar forces launched a crackdown on the minority Muslim community.The Rohingya, described by the UN as the world's most persecuted people, have faced heightened fears of attack since dozens were killed in communal violence in 2012.The UN documented mass gang rapes, killings -- including of infants and young children -- brutal beatings, and disappearances committed by Myanmar state forces. In its report, UN investigators said such violations may have constituted crimes against humanity.
Turkey at forefront of giving aid to Rohingya refugees
The cleric, who is a father of seven children, told Anadolu Agency said he had been unable to say his Eid al-Adha prayers and carry out the animal sacrifice ritual for the last four consecutive years in Myanmar due to government restrictions.
"We demand our repatriation as Rohingya but in the name of repatriation they took us to Myanmar several times where we were tortured and again sent back to Bangladesh," Hossain said, recalling the repatriation processes since 1978.
"We demand the same does not happen again," he said.
Last year, the governments of Bangladesh and Myanmar said they had agreed over the repatriation of Rohingya, promising to start the process within three months; however, no concrete steps were taken on the issue since then.
A leading human rights group said on Tuesday that international monitoring was vital in the repatriation of thousands of Rohingya Muslims as Myanmar authority has tortured and imprisoned returnees from Bangladesh.Since Aug. 25, 2017, more than 750,000 refugees, mostly children and women, have fled Myanmar and crossed into Bangladesh after Myanmar forces launched a crackdown on the minority Muslim community, according to Amnesty International.More than 24,000 Rohingya Muslims have been killed by Myanmar’s state forces since August 2017, said a new report by Ontario International Development Agency. Myanmar has promised a safe return to the Rohingya refugees but the latter have expressed doubt about their safety. New York-based Human Rights Watch said on Tuesday that “the reality is that Rohingya who go back still face the persecution and abuses they were forced to flee” despite the promised by the Myanmar government.“The torture of Rohingya returnees puts the lie to Myanmar government promises that refugees who return will be safe and protected,” said HRW’s deputy Asia director Phil Robertson.HRW said in a statement that three Rohingya men and three boys said Myanmar’s border guard police "repeatedly interrogated them at gunpoint [...]".The officers used stress positions; beatings with fists, sticks, and rods and burning and electric shock to force them to confess to an affiliation with Arakan Rohingya Salvation Army (ARSA), it said.HRW said they were among 58 Rohingya returnees who, according to statement of the State Counselor Aung San Suu Kyi’s Office, Myanmar President Win Myint pardoned.“The treatment of these Rohingya refugees should be a warning sign to those who believe the Myanmar authorities are ready to ensure safe returns,” Robertson said. “Myanmar has a long way to go before it can demonstrate it is serious about making the necessary reforms for voluntary, safe, and dignified returns.”The Rohingya, described by the UN as the world's most persecuted people, have faced heightened fears of attack since dozens were killed in communal violence in 2012.The UN documented mass gang rapes, killings -- including of infants and young children -- brutal beatings, and disappearances committed by security personnel.In a report, UN investigators said such violations may have constituted crimes against humanity.Turkish charity to distribute meat among RohingyaRohingya Muslims struggle against famine as world watches silentlyMyanmar army killed over 24,000 Rohingya: reportThe Rohingya lists: refugees compile their own record of those killed in MyanmarMyanmar seeks removal of 'national' tag in Rohingya IDs
Rohingya returnees tortured by Myanmar police: HRW
The lack of progress was criticized by international rights groups which also highlighted the safety issues confronting Rohingya wishing to return to Myanmar.
Another Rohingya survivor Abdul Aziz, 45, told Anadolu Agency that during Eid he had prayed for his 18-year-old daughter, Sufia, who was shot in the head and killed by the Myanmar army.
A Turkish charity will distribute meat among 5,250 Rohingya families in the Rakhine State in Myanmar as part of its efforts during the Muslim festival of Eid al-Adha.The Cansuyu Charity and Solidarity Organization officials arrived in Rakhine State from Istanbul on Monday.Rohingya Muslims struggle against famine as world watches silentlyBayram Numan Koksal from the organization told Anadolu Agency they will distribute meat among Rohingya Muslims in Rakhine State villages and camps like they did before.Koksal said the charity organization will also distribute meat in Turkey and worldwide such as Africa, Asia, Middle East, Far East and the Balkans."We took the road to deliver Eid meat [of sacrificial animals] in Turkey, Africa, Asia, Palestine, Gaza, all oppressed people. Today, we are in Myanmar's Rakhine State and trying to deliver Eid meat to 5,250 families living in this region," Koksal said and added that Rohingya Muslims are not alone as Turkey is caring about them materially and morally.The Rohingya, described by the UN as the world's most persecuted people, have faced heightened fears of attack since dozens were killed in communal violence in 2012.The UN documented mass gang rapes, killings -- including of infants and young children -- brutal beatings, and disappearances committed by security personnel.In a report, UN investigators said such violations may have constituted crimes against humanity.
Turkish charity to distribute meat among Rohingya
Myanmar must ensure safety
Despite the horrors he faced in Myanmar, he said he wished to return to his “motherland safely".
"We don't want to come back to Bangladesh once we are repatriated," Aziz said.
He urged the Myanmar government to return their properties as well as guarantee their safe repatriation.
"We want to go back as Rohingya," Aziz added.
Since Aug. 25, 2017, more than 24,000 Rohingya Muslims have been killed by Myanmar’s state forces, according to the Ontario International Development Agency (OIDA).
Myanmar’s persecuted Rohingya minority continues to struggle against famine, disease and lack of access to clean water in sprawling camps in neighboring Bangladesh as the Muslim world remains silent in the face of their plight, exacerbated by an unsparing monsoon season that batters their flimsy improvised shelters.Turkey tops list of donors Turkey leads the list of most generous countries that donated humanitarian aid since the start of the Rohingya crisis, providing close to $850 million in aid through its agencies, followed by Qatar, Lebanon and Bangladesh as the world continues to turn a blind eye to the plight of hundreds of thousands of Muslims who have to struggle with famine amid shortages of drinking water.Absent from the list are global superpowers such as the U.S., failing to provide direct humanitarian assistance to Rohingya Muslims.Myanmar army killed over 24,000 Rohingya: reportThe Rohingya lists: refugees compile their own record of those killed in MyanmarChildren are the biggest victims Rohingya children living in sprawling camps in neighboring Bangladesh remain among the most vulnerable as famine continues to claim lives while the world watches on in silence. Children routinely have to struggle with finding clothes to cover their tiny bodies as they walk barefoot for miles in the rain and mud in the midst of an unsparing monsoon season that exacerbated their plight under recurring food shortages and lack of proper shelters.Galeri: Rohingya Muslims struggle against famine as world watches silentlySince Aug. 25, 2017, more than 750,000 refugees, mostly children and women, have fled Myanmar and crossed into Bangladesh after Myanmar forces launched a crackdown on the minority Muslim community, according to Amnesty International.More than 40 percent of the displaced Rohingya are under age 12, according to the UN, and many others are elderly people requiring additional aid and protection.The settlements in Kutupalong and Nayapara in Bangladesh’s Cox’s Bazar district host nearly all who arrived from Myanmar.The Rohingya, described by the UN as the world's most persecuted people, have faced heightened fears of attack since dozens were killed in communal violence in 2012.The UN documented mass gang rapes, killings -- including of infants and young children -- brutal beatings, and disappearances committed by security personnel.In a report, UN investigators said such violations may have constituted crimes against humanity.
Rohingya Muslims struggle against famine as world watches silently
In its recent report titled Forced Migration of Rohingya: The Untold Experience, OIDA increased the estimated number of murdered Rohingya up to 23,962 (± 881) from the Doctors Without Borders figure of 9,400.
More than 34,000 Rohingya were also thrown into fire while over 114,000 others were beaten, the OIDA report said, adding that 17,718 (±780) Rohingya women and girls were raped by Myanmar army and police. Over 115,000 Rohingya houses were also burnt down and 113,000 others were vandalized, it added.
According to Amnesty International, more than 750,000 Rohingya refugees, mostly children and women, have fled Myanmar and crossed into Bangladesh after Myanmar forces launched a crackdown on the minority Muslim community.
The Rohingya, described by the UN as the world's most persecuted people, have faced heightened fears of attack since dozens were killed in communal violence in 2012.
The UN documented mass gang rapes, killings -- including of infants and young children -- brutal beatings, and disappearances committed by Myanmar state forces. In its report, UN investigators said such violations may have constituted crimes against humanity.