A nationwide drive has been launched in Abu Dhabi to generate donations for Rohingya refugees who have fled to Bangladesh to escape persecution in Myanmar. The Emirates Red Crescent Authority has launched the campaign titled “From the UAE for Rohingya Children and Women”, reports Gulf news.
The humanitarian campaign will also be telecast on local television stations from Friday to invite all residents across the country to participate in assisting Rohingyas.
The campaign is being launched under directives of President His Highness Shaikh Khalifa Bin Zayed Al Nahyan, His Highness Shaikh Mohammad Bin Rashid Al Maktoum, Vice-President and Prime Minister of the UAE and Ruler of Dubai, and His Highness Shaikh Mohammad Bin Zayed Al Nahyan, Crown Prince of Abu Dhabi and Deputy Supreme Commander of the UAE Armed Forces.
There are 1.2 million refugees, in which 720,000 are children, 240,000 women, and 48,000 elderly, and they need food supplies, medical assistance, water, education and housing, gulf news added quoting Red Crescent officials. “So far, in Bangladesh, more than one million refugees have sheltered there. We need to benefit all of them especially the women and children,” said Dr Mohammad Ateeq Al Falahi, Director General of the authority while talking to Gulf News on the sidelines of Thursday’s press conference at the headquarters of Emirates Red Crescent in Abu Dhabi.
“We target to reach all Rohingya refugees who have sheltered in different neighbouring countries of Myanmar. Since the trouble started a few years back they have started taking refugees in Bangladesh, at the same time, we also started providing them possible help,” he said “This time, our government decided to let the UAE people participate in helping Rohingya Muslim brothers and generate their donations. That’s why, this time we allow through this campaign everybody to share,” said Dr Al Falahi.
Before different organisations from the UAE were working there, but now, 20 UAE humanitarian organisations will work together as one team and maximise our reach to needy people,” he said. There are a number of different UAE organisations working in refugee camps in Bangladesh. Emirates Red Crescent who have so far spent Dh5.5 million alone and more than 700,000 people have benefited from the Red Crescent’s actions alone.
“We build wells, provided them with clean water, medical assistance, plastic sheets, constructed temporary houses and gave food. We also cooperated with Bangladesh Red Crescent,” he said. “We feel proud that the UAE was the first country which started humanitarian efforts in Bangladesh for Rohingya refugees and carried out a number of projects for the benefits of children and women in collaboration with the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees Affairs, Saudi Arabia and Malaysian hospitals,” added Dr Al Falahi.
The 2015 Rohingya refugee crisis refers to the mass migration of people from Myanmar in 2015, Since August 25, Burmese security forces have been carrying out a campaign of ethnic cleansing against Rohingya Muslims in Rakhine state. Hundreds of thousands of Rohingya Muslims have fled to neighbouring Bangladesh to escape killings, arson, and other mass atrocities. The atrocities committed by Burmese security forces, including mass killings, sexual violence, and widespread arson, amounting to crimes against humanity.
