Rohingya refugees stand beside flood-affected people

In spite of their severe financial hardship, Rohingya refugees living at different camps of Cox's Bazar and abroad have stood beside the flood- affected people of Bangladesh.

They have been conducting relief campaigns for the flood affected people of Noakhali and Feni by raising finances from the camps and from Rohingya refugees living abroad. The effort was mainly undertaken by young people at the camps who went door to door collecting money from their own community.

Saiful Arakani, a journalist, said "When no international community came forward to help the Rohingyas when we were being persecuted and forced to flee to Bangladesh in 2017, they fed us and gave us shelter, and they are still helping us. Not only that, Bangladeshis have been helping us since 1992. When the people of the country are in crisis due to sudden floods, we cannot sit idle. We want to stand beside our Bangladeshi brothers with our full capacity."

He said they have distributed relief and cash through the non-government organisation Al Manahil Welfare Foundation, reports our Cox's Bazar staff correspondent.

Farid Uddin Bin Jamir Uddin, chief executive officer of the foundation, said the Rohingya refugees distributed relief among the 1600 flood affected families in Feni and Noakhali.

They donated food items and cash worth Tk 24 lakhs in four phases, he added.

Hafizur Rahman, a resident of Alikhali camp, said, "We have no source of income. However, we have extended humanitarian aid after seeing the suffering of flood-affected people."