![]() “I felt their pain … I could not bear the sorrows that they were going through.” “They came with absolutely nothing and I was truly shocked at seeing their condition,” recalls 26-year-old Khaleda, who shared her family’s food, kitchen and beds with 36 refugee families. She is among many local people who responded to the needs of footsore refugees in need of shelter by opening up their homes. More than 688,000 women, children and men have fled Myanmar since violence erupted there in late August and Bangladeshis have been at the forefront of a huge relief effort, donating food, clothing, shelter materials, and, in this corner of south-east Bangladesh, the use of their landĪ short distance away from Karim’s home in the patchwork of villages around Kutupalong lives mother-of-four Khaleda Begum. “We have never been disturbed by anyone since we got here,” says Manzur with evident relief. He trekked for weeks in search of safety before finally settling on Karim’s land. After nine days, the newcomers were able to build their own makeshift shelters with materials provided by UNHCR, the UN Refugee Agency.Īmong those Karim sheltered was 26-year-old Abul Manzur, who fled attacks by Myanmar troops and militia. ![]() “Many of them brought rice on their own, I provided them firewood and vegetables and fish.”Īt first Karim allowed 40 of the families to stay in his home, surrounded by rice paddies, mangrove trees and vegetable plots. ![]() ![]() “Seeing their sufferings, I couldn’t bear it any more, which is why I agreed to let them stay on my land,” says the father of three. KUTUPALONG REFUGEE CAMP EXTENSION, Bangladesh – A few years ago, rising sea levels and land erosion forced Bangladeshi farmer Mohammed Karim to abandon his family’s smallholding on Saint Martin’s Island and start over on the mainland.Īs thousands of Rohingya refugees streamed into the Kutupalong area from Myanmar last September, he did not hesitate when a group of exhausted families asked if they could use some of his land for temporary shelter. Witnessing the plight of refugees from Myanmar, smallholders have given them land to build temporary shelters and start over. ![]()
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