Land Area: 130,170 sq km
Capital: Dhaka
Official Language: Bangla
Refugees: 26,311 (UNHCR 2006)
Under 5 Mortality Rate: 73 (UNICEF 2005)
Situation OverviewSituation OverviewBangladesh is a developing country of 157.5 million residents. The Government of Bangladesh (GoB) faces severe challenges in providing for the basic needs of its own citizens, many of whom live in acute poverty. The country has a history of hosting Rohingya people from the Northern Rakhine State of Burma, with the earliest arrivals recorded in 1948. The most recent influx occurred in 1991-92, when over 250,000 Rohingyas moved to Bangladesh fleeing state repression in Burma. This group was recognised by the GoB and United Nations Refugee Agency (UNHCR) as a refugee group, and hosted within twenty camps in the Cox's Bazaar district on the Bangladesh-Burma border. There are an estimated 100,000-200,000 Rohingya that have not been recognised by the GoB as refugees and are forced to live 'illegally' outside the camps. Recent reports indicate that refugees remain dependent on humanitarian assistance and an end to assistance will only be possible when refugees are provided with opportunities for self-reliance. On 15 November 2007, Cyclone Sidr compounded Bangladesh's problems with poverty and population pressure when it hit the South and Southwest of Bangladesh. The cyclone killed over 2,000 people, destroying at least 500,000 homes and 1.4 million acres of crops.
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Our Current Work in BangladeshAustcare is working with local organisations Technical Assistance Incorporated (TAI) and Empowerment of Law through the Common People (ELCOP) to contribute to long term durable solutions to the problems facing Rohingya refugees in Cox’s Bazaar. Initiatives include education, vocational training, nutrition, sanitation and sports and recreation programs. The educational component is introducing the local language of Bangla to the school curriculum, which will help if the refugees are integrated into the local community in the future. This includes teacher training in both the language and in participatory learning methodology. The civic education component covers respect and understating of the rights of Rohingyas in Bangladesh, and the rights and responsibilities of Bangladeshi citizens. Diversified vocational training activities are being introduced and will involve a greater number of camp residents. These activities are aimed at enhancing refugee involvement in the production of items that they need in the camp. The tailoring project is being expanded to include men as well as women, producing school uniforms and bags for children, while the soap making will be expanded to produce personal soap. Slipper making is introduced in this activity with the specific purpose of reducing the incidence of hookworm (contracted through bare feet) in the camp. Due to the shortage of land around individual camp dwellings, community kitchen gardens are being implemented to produce a diversified range of vegetables and fruits, to increase the nutrition of the refugees and promote community co-operation. In addition to our work with Rohingya refugees, Austcare launched an emergency appeal to relieve Bangladeshi people affected by Cyclone Sidr in November 2008. Highlights- 120 refugee teachers provided training on participatory teaching and active learning methods. The outcome was a 10% reduction in student dropouts. 85% students passed in Bangla examination in quarterly exams. - Recreation and sports activities organised with communities in refugee camps. This improved opportunities for social interaction between refugees and resulted in a reduction in disputes within refugee camps.
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