DHAKA: Rohingya refugees mobilized on Saturday to provide emergency aid to their host community in Bangladesh, as the country grapples with its worst floods in three decades.
Since August 20, severe flooding has struck southeastern and northeastern Bangladesh due to intense monsoon rains and a surge of water from the neighboring Indian state of Tripura.
The floods have impacted 11 districts—Feni, Cumilla, Chattogram, Khagrachari, Noakhali, Moulvibazar, Habiganj, Brahmanbaria, Sylhet, Lakshmipur, and Cox’s Bazar—resulting in at least 59 fatalities and affecting 5.5 million people.
The floods have isolated more than 1 million families, who urgently need food, drinking water, and medical supplies. In response to this crisis, a group of 12 Rohingya refugees from Cox’s Bazar district, where many have been sheltered, organized a relief effort to support the Bangladeshis who have hosted them for years.
On Saturday morning, the Rohingya volunteers began distributing relief packages to 3,000 families in Feni, Cumilla, and Noakhali districts. The aid, consisting of rice, lentils, oil, and basic medical kits, was purchased with contributions from their own community members.
Alom Shah, a member of the group whose family has been living in a Cox’s Bazar refugee camp since 2017, explained their motivation: “We wanted to help those who have supported us. Our community contributed generously, and we are proud to extend support to those who welcomed us when we fled Myanmar.”
Shah, among the approximately 1 million Rohingya who escaped violence in Myanmar’s Rakhine state, highlighted the reciprocal kindness: “When we came to Bangladesh in 2017, we were met with incredible hospitality. Now, it’s our turn to give back to our hosts.”
Documentary photographer and Rohingya activist Sahat Zia Hero, who has been actively involved in the distribution, emphasized their solidarity: “While we may not have vast resources, we have big hearts and understand the plight of displacement. This effort is our way of showing gratitude.”
The aid recipients recognized the significance of the support, noting that it came from people who are themselves dependent on humanitarian aid. Shohidul Islam, an accounting teacher in Feni, remarked, “It’s a profound demonstration of humanity.
The Rohingya, despite being refugees, have stepped forward to help others in need. This act of solidarity reaffirms the strength of human compassion.”
