[ad_1]
UKHIYA, Bangladesh – The hill on which is built the refuge of the young woman is so unstable that the earth collapses under your feet. The threat of landslides is so severe that its neighbors have been evacuated. Although living here can be catastrophic at the fall of the monsoon, she will live here anyway.
For Mustawkima, a Rohingya who fled Myanmar to refugee camps in neighboring Bangladesh, there is no other choice. A dilemma was repeated several times for the 900,000 Rohingya refugees who lived in dilapidated huts across this unstable landscape: with the monster season now dreaded, they are running out of places to run.
relocate the most at-risk families to safer areas that had been bulldozed, but there is simply not enough land available. Most refugees think that it is too dangerous to return to Myanmar, where the army launched a brutal campaign of violence against Rohingya Muslim minorities last year. And as rains begin to flood parts of the camps, many Rohingyas are trapped – by geography, poverty and fear.
The bamboo shelter on the ruined hill will be the third attempt at Mustawkima camps. She had to do everything herself; Her husband was killed when the military stormed their village in August 2017.
Mustawkima, who, like some Rohingya, only uses one name, abandoned his first shelter when the soil has been washed away. With five children under 8, she wanted her new home to be close to relatives living at the foot of the hill, so she erected a fragile tarpaulin at mid-height. But when the rains started in June, the water quickly spilled, turning its dirt floor into a muddy mess.
Frightened, she sold some of her rations of rice, lentils and oil so that she could hire men. a stronger shelter in the same place. Bamboo and sandbags were donated by the aid agencies. She fears that there is not enough material, but she does not have money to buy extra bamboo.
Families living in five shelters on the hill have recently been evacuated, she says. She can only hope that her relatives will protect her and her children when the worst rains come.
The heaviest rains are expected in the coming months, although heavy showers began to hit the camps in June. According to the Intersectoral Coordination Group, or ISCG, which oversees aid agencies in the camps, more than 160 landslides, 30 wounded and one infant were killed.
"Within 24 hours of the first rains we saw small landslides and floods everywhere," says Daphnee Cook, a Save the Children spokesperson. "I've been here for seven months and I was dismayed by the speed with which things started to collapse. "
The ferocity of the rains and the speed with which they can wreak havoc are staggering. a few minutes for a shower to turn the face of another hill into a waterfall, with muddy water streams cascading down the dirt steps. Floods, waterborne diseases such as cholera Some of the latrines are stacked with flies dumped by flies, which seep into the sides during showers Water pumps are usually a few meters away – worse still e, some are downstream.
Humanitarian workers cleaned up thousands of latrines. Children receive bracelets of identity in case they are separated from parents during the flood. Families received additional materials to strengthen their shelters. Trenches have been dug to try to reorient flood waters
In the end, however, the topography of the camps is the biggest problem. The trees that once covered the hills were cut down to make room for shelter, and the roots were dug up for firewood. This process has considerably loosened the soil, as the rains turn into heavy mud that tumbles down the hills, burying everything in its path.
The jagged scar on Mohamed Alom's head is a dark reminder of the dangers of these landslides. The 27-year-old man was asleep in his shelter last month when a torrent of mud crashed through the plastic wall next to him. A tree root slammed in his head, slicing his skin. His agonizing cries awoke his wife and two young children, who took him to a doctor.
Now, he and his family are among the 13 people living in a single-class school. Alom hopes the authorities will help him build a new shelter, but he has no idea how long it will take.
More than 200,000 people live in areas considered at risk of landslides and floods, according to the ISCG. About 34,000 refugees were resettled in other areas, some settling in stronger shelters far from the hills.
Hotiza Begum, 25, recently moved into one of the new shelters with her husband and five children. from his former. She loves her new, relatively spacious home. But it's hard to find firewood, she says, because they're now living far from the mountains. And markets can only be achieved by the tuk tuk, which costs about $ 1 – more than they can afford.
Yet, at least, his family is safe for the moment. The family of Abu Bakker lives at the foot of a hill where a landslide destroyed eight shelters. A few weeks ago, Bakker's 60-year-old mother was trying to pick up some dirt out of her shelter when a flood of mud crashed onto the wall of her tarpaulin. sending to the ground and burying it up to the thighs. ] Bakker took out his terrified mother and knew that he had to move his family away. An aid group promised him some supplies to rebuild, but they still have not arrived. And even if they do, he asks, where will he rebuild?
He is scared whenever it rains, which is often the case. He prays every day that Allah protects them
Yet, for many Rohingya refugees who have survived massacres, rapes and other abuses during a military crackdown, the fear of the monsoon is relative
. It's scary because there's no guarantee for our lives, "says Alom, as rain begins to fall on the roof. "Here, even if there is a landslide, at least we do not have to worry about the army."
Copyright 2018 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, disseminated, rewritten or redistributed.
[ad_2]
Source link
