Catholic charity expresses concern over status of Rohingya refugees, urging support for Bangladesh

Rohingya refugees in Bangladesh are “forgotten”, said General-Secretary of a leading Catholic aid agency during a visit to the population in Cox’s Bazar, as reported by Crux website today.

“While the attention of the world has moved on, the Rohingya people continue to struggle by in these forgotten camps,” remarked Alistair Dutton of Caritas Internationalis.

He expressed sorrow over the living circumstances of the Rohingya lacking access to basic human rights such as education, work and proper sanitation, saying the Bangladesh Government can’t be expected to support them alone.

Dutton further noted that the population density of the camps is staggering, with roughly 103,600 per square mile, more than 40 times the average population density in Bangladesh – one of the most crowded countries on earth.  

Close to one million refugees, mostly Muslims, live in overcrowded camps in Bangladesh after fleeing conflict-torn Myanmar in 2017.