(CEDAR’s Project Officer Pui Shan visits a Rohingya family in Cox’s Bazar. The mother, who gave birth to a newborn baby, heard about infant vaccination service during regular household visit conducted by community health workers.)
While strolling through a muddy and dusty field, CEDAR’s Project Officer Pui Shan saw rows of tents sitting next to each other that were simply built by timber and canvas.
In March 2017 the United Nations Human Rights Council resolved to urgently dispatch an international mission to Burma to investigate alleged recent human rights violations against Rohingya Muslims in Rakhine State. Aung San Suu Kyi has rejected the proposed UN inquiry.
The Rohingyas is an ethnic minority in Myanmar under the constant oppression of the government militaries. A lot of them were driven to the neighboring Bangladesh to seek asylum since the early time of British colonization.
[ePrayer – Pray for the cyclone affected communities in Bangladesh and Myanmar]
Bangladesh and Myanmar are bracing for Cyclone Mahasen, a storm which could affect millions in the region. According to OCHA, a red storm alert remains in effect for Mahasen, just east-northeast of Sri Lanka, now moving northwards across the Bay of Bengal towards both countries. Set to reach land on 16 May, the storm is expected to strike just south of the Bangladesh port city of Chittagong, but could, depending upon its final trajectory, bring life-threatening conditions for millions of people in northeast India, Bangladesh and Myanmar’s Rakhine State, OCHA warned on 12 May. It was predicted that Myanmar will have rain and thunderstorm on 15 May, followed by increasing wind and rain, as well as flash flooding later.
Aid agencies in Myanmar say heavy rain and mudslides could bring difficult conditions to about 140,000 displaced people across Rakhine state, mostly Rohingya. Up to 45,000 displaced people living in low-lying areas in Sittwe have been identified as the most vulnerable to cyclone Mahasen. Some have begun to be moved to higher ground. [IRIN]
Pray for the cyclone affected communities in Bangladesh and Myanmar:
Pray that Cyclone Mahasen would be weakened;
Pray for God’s protection to those people and communities who are being threatened by the coming cyclone;
Pray that tens of thousands of refugees who have already had so much troubles and suffering would be protected by the Lord and have peace
Pray that local governments and NGOs will have good preparation and coordination on mitigating the risk of the cyclone.
