Finding safety, but struggling for better nutrition in refugee camp
The circumstances that drove Shamsun Nahar and her family from Myanmar to Bangladesh in 2017 are chilling: “People’s houses were being destroyed as shooting and fighting were going on, our house was also burnt down… Our relatives were killed. My husband was shot, then we came here.”
Although now safe in a refugee camp in Cox’s Bazar in southern Bangladesh, Nahar and her family (they now have three children) are struggling to make enough money to buy food and meet their other basic needs. Nahar found work in nearby agricultural fields, but her husband is injured and struggles to find employment.
Food is a constant challenge, as aid organizations serving people in Cox’s Bazar are cutting their budgets. “I cannot buy or eat anything I wish, so I feel sad about this.” Nahar says.
Aid for Rohingya in Bangladesh
In a country ranked 145th out of 146 in the World Economic Forum's Global Gender Gap Oxfam is working with local organizations assisting Rohingya refugees seeking safety in Bangladesh, as well as supporting the communities hosting them, primarily in
- Water, sanitation, hygiene: Oxfam and partners have built large-scale water and sanitation systems, including drilling wells and installing thousands of toilets and showers. In collaboration with local groups, we also promote good hygiene, an essential means to reduce diseases including COVID-19.
- Safety and protection: In collaboration with organizations in Bangladesh, Oxfam has helped improve safety for women by distributing solar lamps particularly in areas near latrines, so women can use them safely at night. This work has also included setting up safe spaces for women and girls to seeking counseling, referrals for survivors of violence, and recreation.
Since beginning work in this area in 2017, Oxfam has reached 360,000 people.
Finding food a constant struggle
Cuts in humanitarian assistance for Rohingya refugees in Cox’s Bazar have reduced food rations by 33 percent. World Food Programme cash assistance has been cut from US$12 to US$8 per person per month.
Nahar says that as aid for families like hers becomes increasingly scarce, it is more and more challenging to find enough food to support her family.
“When my children want to eat anything such as apples, I cannot provide them with those,” she says.
Oxfam is supporting the work of Mukti Cox’s Bazar to help refugees meet their needs for nutritious food. After a two-day training with Mukti Cox’s Bazar in vegetable gardening, Nahar started raising her own food. “We planted seedlings and seeds in the garden, gave fertilizers and watered the plants accordingly,” Nahar says. “We planted all the seeds according to their instruction and it helped us to grow more vegetables.”
Nahar says she has grown chili, bitter melon, tomato, cucumber, spinach, and potato in the garden.
Having these home-grown vegetables helps their food budget and nutrition, Nahar says. More importantly, “My children like to eat these vegetables. When I cook these vegetables for my children, they eat happily and it is nutritious for them also.”
Mukti Cox’s Baza helped nearly 6,000 refugees and people in host communities with this project.
Unclear future for Rohingya refugees
While grateful for a safe place to live, Nahar finds that refugee life is a sad life. “I am living in peace, but I do not feel peace when I remember my parents and relatives,” Nahar explains. “We would be happy if we could return to our country and see our parents and relatives.”
On-going conflict in her home country makes that unlikely in the short term, so Nahar is thinking about how to help her children.
“I would be happy if I could raise my children by educating them,” she says. “After getting educated, they will be able to work and earn.”
In the meantime, Nahar is looking to her new garden to help her solve her food needs, and also provide another measure of happiness.
“I have dreams of growing more vegetables… I would be happy if I could grow more vegetables in my garden.”
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