Arakan News Agency
Marking World Refugee Day on June 20, Rohingya refugees in the Pekanbaru camp in Indonesia issued an urgent appeal to the international community and the United Nations, calling for immediate protection, action against human trafficking, and access to education and a dignified life.
In a statement released Friday, the refugees said their suffering continues in Indonesia, where they live in overcrowded and temporary camps without adequate shelter, protection, or education, while human trafficking crimes exploit their desperate conditions.
They noted that they are survivors of a genocide carried out by the Myanmar military, during which their families were killed and women were raped forcing them to flee their homeland and become refugees.
Rohingya activist Hamidul Haq said that human trafficking has become a major threat in the camps. “Traffickers exploit our despair,” he said. “They don’t see us as human beings, only as a source of money. Many have died at sea or disappeared at the hands of these criminals.”
The Rohingya refugees urged the UN and the international community to provide protection amid harsh conditions, take urgent action against human trafficking, and empower them to live with dignity.
Rohingya in host countries live in dire humanitarian conditions, suffering from poverty and overcrowding in fragile camps made of bamboo and tarpaulin, with limited access to healthcare, education, and safety.
Bangladesh hosts over one million Rohingya refugees in the Cox’s Bazar camps, which the UN describes as the world’s largest refugee settlement. The refugees have been living in difficult conditions since fleeing Myanmar in 2017 due to the military’s genocidal campaign. Displacement to Bangladesh surged again in November 2023 following renewed fighting in Rakhine State between the Myanmar military and the Arakan Army (AA).
