Surviving the fire
“The fire spread faster than we expected, and we had to run before we could cut the umbilical cord" says Fatema, one of the survivors of the recent fire in the Rohingya refugee camp. "We carried both the baby and the mother for nearly 3 kilometres to a safe place."
Fire in the Rohingya camp
On 5 March 2023, Fatema and her family could never have imagined the disaster waiting for them. She and some of her neighbours were busy dealing with the labour pains of her daughter-in-law. By the time they understood the intensity of the fire, it was too late.
They could not pack any of their belongings other than their identification documents. They ran with the newborn baby and the mother.
Thousands of people just like Fatema ran to safety that day when a fire broke out in one of the Rohingya refugee camps in Bangladesh.
Many of them were older citizens and many had ailing family members at home who needed assistance. There were people with mobility restrictions. There were children, youths, and adolescents who were scared. Some women and girls did not have time to put on their burqas or to carry extra clothes with them. Some men were at work and ran home, towards the fire, to find their families.
Whereas Fatema got to tell the story of their family and introduce her granddaughter “Un-Ayesha Bibi” who was born during the fire, many other stories remain untold. Nevertheless, they all speak of the same fact: the uncertainties of life in Rohingya camps and being caught in a vicious circle of damage and displacement.
The vicious circle of damage and displacement
This situation dates back to 2017 for this community when they were forced to flee from Myanmar due to violence. Six years on, they are still living in temporary shelters in Bangladesh. They continue surviving from one disaster to the next, with the fire being one of the most prominent ones. Against all the odds and all the challenges, they still dream of returning to their home someday.
A Bangladesh defence ministry report shows that from January 2021 to December 2022, there were 222 fire incidents in the Rohingya camps. Fire burns down houses, medical centres and learning facilities. It destroys sources of safe drinking water and sanitation systems. With every fire incident the refugees don’t just lose their homes and belongings, they also lose what little sense of security they have.
The recent fire also caused new losses and damages. According to the Inter Sector Coordination Group (ISCG), more than 15,000 people were affected and 2,805 shelters were damaged or destroyed.
Nurul Amin who has been living in this camp for the last 6 years said, “We created a small world within our congested shelter. Now, nothing is left of this world but ashes. We have to start from scratch again and we don’t know how long the rebuilding will take.”
Impact of Fire
As with Nurul Amin, the fire has impacted the community in many ways. The feeling of despair and uncertainty is pervasive.
We met 8-year-old Ibrahim. He sits in a corner of his house and barely talks or smiles. When we approached him, he hid behind his mother. His mother explained that he is yet to process the trauma of the fire.
“He was taking care of his younger sister alone at home. He froze witnessing the blaze. My husband wasn’t at home, and I dragged both of my children to a nearby market. Since then, he prefers to be silent.
“He gets frightened by the slightest sight of fire, even the fire from a lighter,” said his mother, Jannat.
Many parents have seen similar traumas affect their children after the fire.
Unlike Ibrahim, Kawsar is an older citizen with disabilities. His sons carried him to the marketplace during the fire. Now, they have returned and rebuilt their shelter. However, Kawsar finds it difficult to stay inside the house.
“I feel suffocated inside the shelter. I prefer sitting in the alley on a chair so I can be aware of what is happening around me,” he said.
Ibrahim and Kawsar are the tip of the iceberg. There have recently been reports of smaller-scale fires in the camps, it has left the entire community afraid. Many of them have stuffed all of their important belongings into a trunk so that they can carry everything in case of another fire.
Resilience of the community
Despite the fear, insecurities, and trauma, the community did not take much time to fight back. Initially, they stayed with their relatives and acquaintances in the neighbouring camps.
But within a short space of time, most of the male inhabitants returned to the debris where their shelters used to be. They worked to prepare shaded areas so that the women could come back too. Many of them collected raw materials from their relatives in other camps.
“We can stay in the open, but my daughter and my wife cannot spend the night under the open sky. This is why I am sewing these rags to build a temporary tent-like shelter,” said Kayes.
When Norwegian Refugee Council (NRC) planned to distribute safe drinking water as part of the emergency response, Rohingya youths stepped up to help.
However, two months after the fire, everyone is looking again to sustainable solutions.
NRC, with the support of the Norwegian Ministry of Foreign Affairs (NMFA), has ramped up their activities in reconstructing shelters for the affected population. The target is to construct 175 shelters and around 60 sanitation facilities.
In order to promote environmentally friendly practices, NRC has planned to distribute pitchers in which to store water to the affected community. At the same time, the Information Counselling and Legal Assistance (ICLA) teams have joined hands with the Shelter and WASH (Water, Sanitation and Hygiene) teams. These are two of NRC’s core competencies teams, both working together to provide the affected community with essential counselling and information.
More sustainable solutions
According to sources, the communal cooking area has been identified as the origin of the fire. NRC, while reconstructing these shelters, is trying to protect the cooking area using extra layers of cement.
“We are trying our best but shelter materials like bamboo, tarpaulin, and rope are easily flammable and contribute to the faster spread of fire,” said Amit Roy, Shelter and WASH coordinator at NRC Bangladesh.
He believes alternative, non-flammable shelter materials should be introduced to prevent fire, and to provide more secure and durable homes to the Rohingya community.