They arrive in Bangladesh sick, exhausted, and desperately in
need of the most basic things--food, clean water, medicine, a safe
space to rest their heads. Here is another image, which is heartbreaking. It is an indication of
what happens in the refugee camps when food arrives, this time in a
camp known as Cox's Bazar in Bangladesh. A UNICEF report last week stated that 58 percent of the refugees who
have poured into Cox's Bazar are children, noting that they are in hell
on Earth. They are acutely malnourished, they need clean water and
vaccines, and they are at risk of exploitation by traffickers. This is
unacceptable. I understand that Bangladesh and Burma have discussed a repatriation
plan recently, but many refugees don't have any documents. They were
literally burned out of their homes. We need to call on the U.N. High
Commissioner for Refugees. Filippo Grandi was in my office last week,
and he stressed how important it is for us to speak up and to help on
this issue, that we ensure the voluntary right of return and we ensure
the safety of those who do return and we make sure that the paper
requirements for return are reasonable for people who are literally
homeless and stateless at this moment. Many are wary of returning without an assurance of full citizenship,
given the risk of further persecution or the threat of being placed in
camps in Myanmar when they return.
Keywords matched
refugee Refugees refugees