A massive fire is the latest in the spate of unfortunate incidents for the Rohingya refugees. The Rohingya are facing one disaster after the next. After being victims of systemic ethnic cleansing and violent atrocities at the hands of the Myanmar army for years, the Rohingya were then displaced from their homes in Myanmar in 2017. They are now facing yet another humanitarian crisis in refugee camps in the southeastern coastal region of neighboring Bangladesh.

The ravaging fire on March 22nd wreaked havoc on a Rohingya refugee camp located in Balukhali - a village in the Cox Bazar district of Bangladesh. The fire killed 15 people, and left 45,000 more homeless. The death toll is likely to climb in the coming days, as an estimated 400 people are missing and feared to have suffered a similar fate as those who have perished. Another 560 people were injured in the fire, are in critical condition, and in dire need of immediate medical attention.

More than 10,000 families are displaced from their temporary shelter for the second time in 3 years. Many healthcare and other essential service facilities including food and water distribution points, learning centers and women-friendly centers were burned to the ground during the March 22nd fire.

HAEFA’s medical team, which operates HAEFA’s medical clinic a few hundred meters away from the site of the fire, has been working relentlessly to provide healthcare and other supportive services to the surviving refugees in the Balukhali camp. Our medical team is on site tending to the burn victims - dressing wounds, providing medicines, and offering medical attention to anyone who needs it. HAEFA’s own was also directly affected by the fire - our security guard lost his home and was admitted to the hospital along with his family. HAEFA has already donated money towards their medical treatment and rebuilding of their home. Your kind donations would directly help the unfortunate victims of the catastrophic fire. The injured and displaced victims - as well as their families - need your prompt and generous assistance during this crisis!