"All I want to do is cry loudly," says 65-year-old Shuna Meher, one of the Rohingya refugees at Camp 11 in Cox Bazar, a city in Bangladesh, where a fire broke out on Sunday.
Meher, one of the thousands left shelterless in the fire, has three grandchildren and is worried about the health of one, who sustained a nail injury. "I am unwell, so I need to eat. But, I don’t feel the hunger. How can I when nothing is left for me in this world," she adds desperately.
The fire took place during Zuhur (prayers). "We came running but couldn’t save anything. The trunk containing our documents, which we brought from Myanmar, has also been destroyed. There’s nothing left," Meher says. "We have no source of income and had been surviving mainly from the rations from World Food Program (WFP)," she adds.
The scene was chaotic when THE WEEK reached the spot. Thick black smoke billowed from the debris, adults and children trying to save whatever they could. Some were crying as they dug around frantically. Parents were seen trying to drag their children away from the thick plume. There was a sense of desperation, sadness and anger all around.
Zuhura Begum, the 24-year-old mother of a five-month-old baby, says she is unable to feed her son as she isn’t getting enough food. "The baby has been unwell and cries all night. We aren’t able to feed him properly," says Zuhura, who feels her misfortune is the result of 'boyiddo' (voodoo or witchcraft). She feels that her son is unlikely to get cured even if he were to be taken to a doctor. Her entire shelter was gutted as well. She had to run away with her baby and couldn’t save her possessions.
Zuhura Begum, a refugee, with her son at the camp. Begum's home was completely gutted in the fire | Salil Bera
Fires like these are a common, yearly occurrence in the refugee camps in certain areas of Bangladesh during what is known as the dry season, local people say. When the weather gets too hot and dry, things like the bamboo burn. And, most shelters are made of bamboo and tarp.
In March 2021, a fire in the Balukhali refugee camp that housed the Rohingyas destroyed a large portion of it and claimed 15 lives. Over 50,000 people were displaced. This time, fortunately. no casualties have been reported so far.
The fire destroyed one youth centre and one health post and damaged 13 mosques. Two water networks have also been affected. In total, about 2,000 shelters have been gutted.
Smoke billowing from the remains of a Rohingya refugee shelter where a fire broke out | Salil Bera
The Rohingya refugee camp in Bangladesh | Salil Bera
Soyed Ullah, 40, who lost his shop in the fire, said, "Luckily, my shelter wasn’t burnt down, but my shop is gone. I am not sure what I will do next," said Ullah, whose priority was to save his family.
Ullh’s shop sold food and other essentials like soaps and sanitisers. This means, till helps comes, the community might also need to make do without these essentials. "This shop was my source of income."
