#Thread

Imagine not being able to access information/news on #Coronavirus?

It's just one challenge for #Rohingyas living in the world's largest refugee camp after the #Bangladesh govt cut off internet in the camps last Sept.

"We don't know about #Coronavirus,” says Saydur.

. @LouiseDonovan16 from the UN Refugee Agency in Cox’s Bazaar told me they’re urging the Bangladeshi government to restore internet asap so refugees can access reliable information and contact their families during this crisis. #Covid_19. #Rohingya. #Coronavirus.

50 human rights groups inc @hrw @amnesty have also written to #Bangladesh's PM #Hasina, asking her to lift the restrictions which came in last September. The govt says they're in place for safety and security reasons. https://www.hrw.org/news/2020/04/01/joint-letter-re-restrictions-communication-fencing-and-covid-19-coxs-bazar-district #Rohingya. #Coronavirus

Without internet, this is one way they’ve been sharing public health information about #Coronavirus in the #Rohingya camps. A rickshaw with a loudspeaker broadcasting hygiene tips. @Muhamma29985123. #Coronavirus #Covid_19 #Bangladesh.

#Lockdown feels tough, but it’s even harder if you’re a refugee. Saydur Rahman shares a two room shack with 9 others, so social distancing is impossible. He’s homeschooling his children in this small space. Access to soap, water and food is limited. #Covid_19 #Rohingya.

If #Covid_19 enters the densely populated camps, it could spread with lethal speed. #CoronaVirus Isolation beds are being set up but there are currently NO VENTILATORS in the camps - home to close to a million people as Dr Abdullah-Al Noman from @save_children explains.

There are efforts to raise awareness in the #Rohingya camps. For weeks NGOs have been educating people in basic hygiene through videos like these, and door to door outreach (pre lockdown). But again, without internet, sharing key info is tough. #Covid_19 #Rohingya.

#Rohingya refugees rely on aid agencies for everything from food to medicines, education to emotional support - NGOs are now limiting visits to the camps to reduce risk of transmission. This means many vulnerable people are now without services they rely on. @athenarayburn.

There’s been a lockdown in the camps for more than a week, but at one of the markets social distancing was virtually non existent. People need to eat food, and are left with little choice. Many are worried how they’ll eat as the lockdown continues. #Rohingya. #Covid_19.

If that’s not difficult enough - access to facilities do regularly wash your hands in the camps isn’t a given. It’s estimated only a third of refguees in the camps have soap, and water supplies are limited. Basic hygiene is a struggle. (Image: @UNICEF).

The #Rohingya have already endured so much in recent years.

@RoKhinMaung4 who lives in the camps summed up why this matters.

“We are survivors. We don’t have any government, no leader”. Others worried about #Covid_19 can look to their leaders to protect them, he told me.

This photo sums up this thread.

“Dear #Corona, please stay away from #Rohingya refugee camps.

“Dear world. Please save us.”

Photo: Azimul Hasson.

Videos in the thread of Saydur and and camps - @OmarMushfique.

END.