Advertisement New WaysNew Ways Would you like to advertise on ICN? Click to learn more.

CAFOD joins Disasters Emergency Committee to respond to Rohingya refugee crisis


More than half a million people have fled to Bangladesh in little over a month, escaping violence in Rakhine State in neighbouring Myanmar. Today CAFOD has joined forces with the Disasters Emergency Committee (DEC) to respond to the crisis. The thirteen DEC member charities are calling for funds to respond to the severe humanitarian needs of those affected. Money raised will support their efforts to reach people fleeing Myanmar as well as their host communities in Bangladesh.

More than half of all new arrivals are children and one in every ten are pregnant or nursing mothers. The vast majority are living in makeshift shelters made from bamboo and thin plastic.

DEC Chief Executive, Saleh Saeed, said: "People are arriving exhausted and traumatised into already overcrowded camps in Bangladesh. This is one of the fastest movements of people we have seen in recent decades.

"Families are living in makeshift shelters or by the side of the road with no clean drinking water, toilets or washing facilities. This humanitarian catastrophe is unfolding in a country that is already reeling from the worst floods in decades. Without urgent support, the risk of disease and further misery is alarmingly high."

DEC member charities are already on the ground in Bangladesh delivering emergency aid.CAFOD is working with its experienced local partner, Caritas Bangladesh, and providing newly arrived refugees with food, water and shelter, meeting their basic needs for survival. They are ready to scale-up their humanitarian support but they need more funding to reach people in urgent need.

Chris Bain, CAFOD's Director, said: "The suffering we have witnessed in the faces of men, women and children who have fled to Bangladesh must end. We now need your help, so that we can dramatically scale up our response and urgently reach more people.

"Every donation will have an impact on the frontline of this crisis, literally making the difference between life and death over the coming weeks," said Chris Bain.

More than the total number of refugees who arrived in Europe in 2016 are now crammed into the southern town of Cox's Bazar, an area the size of Crosby in Liverpool. Up to eighty per cent of the refugees arriving in Bangladesh are women and children.

Many of the refugees, from Myanmar's Rohingya minority, are in a desperate state: sleeping in the open on muddy hillsides during the monsoon season, without food or water. Others are in makeshift refugee camps along the side of the road, or wherever they can find space. Food, clean water and sanitation, and medical and health services are urgently needed.

"Bangladesh is doing what she can," said Cardinal Patrick D'Rozario, Archbishop of Dhaka, who has just visited the refugees. "Out of her poverty, she is sharing her riches, our human values, the treasure of our culture."

In co-ordination with the Bangladeshi Government and other Caritas aid agencies, Caritas Bangladesh hopes to reach more than 60,000 vulnerable people with food, and kitchen utensils – such as pots and pans. They need to scale up this response to provide clean water and sanitation, as well as shelter, in the coming weeks and months ahead.

"On behalf of CAFOD and Caritas Bangladesh, I would like to thank our supporters for making this life-saving work possible," said Chris Bain.

To make a donation to the DEC Emergency Appeal visit www.dec.org.uk, call the 24-hour hotline on 0370 60 60 610, donate over the counter at any high street bank or post office, or send a cheque. You can also donate £5 by texting the word SUPPORT to 70000.

Donate to CAFOD's Rohingya Crisis Appeal here: cafod.org.uk/RohingyaCrisis

The UK Government will match pound for pound the first £3 million donated by the public to the DEC Emergency Appeal.

Stay up to date with developments in Bangladesh, the emergency response and the fundraising efforts with the DEC on twitter: www.twitter.com/decappeal or on Facebook via www.facebook.com/DisastersEmergencyCommittee.

The DEC Emergency Appeal will be shown on all major UK broadcasters including BBC, ITV, Channel 4, Channel 5 and Sky.

Adverts

Catholic Women's League

We offer publicity space for Catholic groups/organisations. See our advertising page if you would like more information.

We Need Your Support

ICN aims to provide speedy and accurate news coverage of all subjects of interest to Catholics and the wider Christian community. As our audience increases - so do our costs. We need your help to continue this work.

You can support our journalism by advertising with us or donating to ICN.

Mobile Menu Toggle Icon