Rohingya Relief

-- Background -- 
At the time of writing (16 December 2017), it is estimated that 6,700 Rohingya people were murdered... just in one month.

Since early August 2017, more than 640,000 refugees have fled Myanmar across the border into Bangladesh.

The Rohingya are an ethnic minority from Myanmar who live in resource rich areas, and have long been the victims of oppression from the Myanmar Army and different regimes. There is more from Amnesty here and from NatGeo here.

Nearly half a million who have crossed from Myanmar are under the age of 18, and particularly vulnerable. Approximately 40,000 minors are without at least one parent , many children as young as 9 years old are the victims of sexual abuse, rape and exploitation and girls as young as 12 years old are being married in order to qualify for UN aid. The chief of UNICEF has called this "the world's fastest developing refugee emergency".

While we have seen crises in Europe, the Middle East and across Africa in recent times, leading to the displacement of people on a large scale, there is little focus being placed on the plight of the Rohingya and the genocide occuring in South East Asia.

(cover image: Jacob Ehrbahn)

-- Who we are -- 
Fanny and Shaan are experienced volunteers in emergency first response (Lesvos, Greece), distribution of emergency supplies (Iraq), NGO coordination and management (Lebanon) and volunteer coordination.

Here, you can view some of Shaan's images documenting the crises in Greece , Lebanon and Iraq.

-- The plan --
We are planning a mission to Bangladesh, to liaise with our contacts on the ground in Cox's Bazaar, to support ongoing projects and to coordinate new ones where possible. This is the region where most of the refugees are currently placed, and where most of the response is being centralised. 

We will be arriving in mid March and staying for approximately 6 weeks. The primary objective is to fill the gaps in the emergency response, coordinate and facilitate independent international volunteers. The secondary objective is to document ongoing projects and assist where possible.

We learnt from Lebanon and Iraq that it is of primary importance to assess what services are not being provided, and coordinate to plug any holes - rather than reinventing the wheel at each and every turn. 

-- What you can do --
We are looking for donations. We will use 100% of the donations we raise here when we are physically in country - to use locally and to spend on essential items including food and non-food items.

Rather than shipping supplies from abroad or donating through bigger NGOs (with more overheads and bureaucracy), we plan on taking funds directly to Bangladesh and using each dollar we raise directly on what is most needed at the time. 

From Australia, we have reached out to a number of our colleagues from Lebanon, Greece and Iraq who are also setting up projects in Bangladesh. The overall objective is to get support to those who need it most with as little administrative cost and impact as possible. We have made contact with independent, grass-roots and local initiatives in the south of Bangladesh through:

1. A kitchen (Neezo's Kitchen), cooking and distributing 1000+ warm meals to refugees daily 

2.      A volunteer medical initiative (Project For Hope), setting up a field clinic, performing emergency distributions, and working on preventing rape with a pilot project.

We will also be running some fundraising events in Melbourne between January and March 2018.

-- In summary -- 
Please give. What little we can give now goes an incredibly long way for those in dire need. The Rohingya need our support.

Please stay informed. And inform others. With awareness of what is going on, we can make the care and compassion that each of us have for our fellow human heard, and give a voice to those who have been silenced.

We will be updating this page with images of how the donations are being used and the progress of the objectives as soon as we land. 

Please don't hesitate to get in touch with us with any questions.

And thank you. If you're reading this, let us express our gratitude for your time and care. Whether it is donating $100, or sharing this fundraiser through your networks, or starting your own research and projects, or telling someone else about the crisis unfolding: Thank you.

Shaan & Fanny

--
Sources:
https://www.unrefugees.org.au/emergency-response/rohingya/

https://www.theguardian.com/world/2017/oct/06/bangladesh-build-worlds-largest-refugee-camps-800000-rohingya

https://www.theguardian.com/world/2017/oct/25/rohingya-children-fled-myanmar-violence-charity

https://www.theguardian.com/world/2017/nov/05/i-miss-them-so-much-myanmars-lost-rohingya-children-plead-for-their-parents

http://politiken.dk/fotografier/art6140368/Her-er-verdenshistoriens-hurtigst-voksende-flygtningekatastrofe (cover image: Jacob Ehrbahn)

https://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2017/dec/14/the-guardian-view-on-myanmar-telling-the-truth-about-the-rohingya

http://www.abc.net.au/news/2017-12-14/rohingya-death-toll-in-the-thousands-says-msf/9260552

https://www.nytimes.com/2017/12/15/opinion/sunday/genocide-myanmar-rohingya-bangladesh.html