Amid a global refugee crisis that's seen more than 22.5 million people flee countries like Syria and South Sudan because of civil war and famine, southern Bangladesh is poised to build the largest refugee camp in the world.
In recent months, more than 582,000 Rohingya refugees — a Muslim ethnic minority in Myanmar often described as "the most persecuted minority in the world" — have fled oppression and extreme violence in Myanmar's northern Rakhine state. The resulting humanitarian crisis has worsened even more over the past few weeks.
SEE ALSO:Syrian artist uses suitcases to recreate the homes refugees left behindThe atrocities committed against the Rohingya and the targeting by Myanmar's Buddhist majority have occurred for decades, and include reports of horrific killings and mass rape. But the situation intensified on Aug. 25, when Myanmar military forces instituted "clearance operations" after a Rohingya militant group attacked government forces.
More and more Rohingya continue to flee across the border to Bangladesh, to a combination of official settlements with assistance from organizations like UNHCR, the U.N. Refugee Agency, and spontaneous settlements created without humanitarian assistance. A total of 880,000 Rohingya refugees currently live in Bangladesh.
The country is trying to cope with the massive influx. There are plans to combine the makeshift settlements in the forests of the Cox's Bazar district in Bangladesh, near Kutupalong, into a single refugee camp on 3,000 acres of land. This could become the largest refugee camp in existence. In contrast, the Za'atari refugee camp in Jordan has approximately 79,000 refugees, while the Bidi Bidi settlement in Uganda, often referred to as the largest camp in the world, hosts approximately 270,000 refugees.
The following infographic, created by creative content agency Column Five and USA for UNHCR, the U.N. Refugee Agency, shows the paths of Rohingya refugees, and where they're currently settled as of Oct. 17.
Credit: USA for UNHCR, the U.N. Refugee AgencyThe numbers, however, continue to grow. This week, according to UNHCR and Bangladesh border guards, approximately 3,000 additional refugees arrived through the Anjuman Para border crossing between Wednesday night and Thursday morning.
"Progress on citizenship for the stateless Rohingya is absolutely crucial."
Violence in the Rakhine state escalated in August because of increased military action and calculated attacks on entire villages. Survivors told The New York Timesthat helicopters rained down fire on civilians and troops cut off families' escape routes.
Estimates of the recent death toll vary. In September, the Myanmar government claimed there had been about 400 deaths from the unrest, while the United Nations estimates 1,000 have been killed. Bangladesh's foreign minister Abul Hassan Mahmood Ali said unofficial sources estimate closer to 3,000.
The U.N.'s human rights chief declared the crisis as "a textbook example of ethnic cleansing." State Chancellor Aung San Suu Kyi, the de facto leader of Myanmar who does not have control over the military (the chief of Myanmar's Armed Forces has complete autonomy), has been criticized by the international community for failing to condemn the forces' actions and address the crisis. The Nobel Peace Prize laureate visited the Rahkine state for the first time Thursday.
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Of course, a massive refugee camp in Bangladesh isn't a solution for the Rohingya crisis. Filippo Grandi, U.N. High Commissioner for Refugees, said in a statement to the U.N. Security Council in New York this week that establishing human rights and rule of law are essential to help Rohingya refugees return to the Rakhine state.
"Progress on citizenship for the stateless Rohingya is absolutely crucial, as will be community reconciliation, and investment in inclusive development benefiting all communities," Grandi said.
Meanwhile, organizations like UNHCR, the Bangladesh Red Crescent, Action Against Hunger, and UNICEF are delivering food and water to those stranded near the border, many of whom are children and families dehydrated and hungry from their journeys. Médecins Sans Frontières (Doctors Without Borders) is also working with UNHCR to identify those who are sick and provide treatment.
Grandi described to the U.N. Security Council what it was like to visit Rohingya refugees in Bangladesh a few weeks ago.
"It was a stark illustration of what happens when the root causes of conflict and violence are not addressed, and the relationship between a state and some of its people breaks down," he said.
"The result is a human tragedy on a dramatic scale."
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