Latest news with #Myanmar
NHK
3 hours ago
- General
- NHK
UN official fears interest in Myanmar waning three months after quake
Myanmar is struggling to recover from a powerful earthquake that struck exactly three months ago. The disaster killed over 3,700 people and injured many more. One official with the United Nations Development Programme fears international concern has waned. The magnitude 7.7 quake rocked central Myanmar on March 28. Many residents still live in tents and other temporary housing. Workers are struggling to clear rubble and restore infrastructure. The country's second-largest city of Mandalay suffered extensive damage. A 35-year-old woman who lives in a tent with her husband and two children said she wants to rebuild their home as soon as possible, but needs financial support. The quake flattened many offices and factories. Smaller firms have been unable to resume operations due to a shortage of funds and workers. A 53-year-old man who runs a sewing business says he has been living off savings and needs money to tear down his damaged factory. Titon Mitra, who heads the UNDP in Myanmar, is calling for continued global support. He told NHK that he worries about the international community losing interest, adding that he refers to Myanmar not as a "forgotten crisis," but a "neglected crisis."
Al Jazeera
4 hours ago
- Health
- Al Jazeera
Foreign aid cuts hurt the most vulnerable in world's largest refugee camp
Cox's Bazar, Bangladesh – The sound of children at play echoes through the verdant lanes of one of the dozens of refugee camps on the outskirts of Cox's Bazar, a densely populated coastal town in southeast Bangladesh. Just for a moment, the sounds manage to soften the harsh living conditions faced by the more than one million people who live here in the world's largest refugee camp. Described as the most persecuted people on the planet, the Rohingya Muslim refugees in Bangladesh may now be one of the most forgotten populations in the world, eight years after being ethnically cleansed from their homes in neighbouring Myanmar by a predominantely Buddhist military regime. 'Cox's Bazar is ground zero for the impact of budget cuts on people in desperate need,' UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres said during a visit to the sprawling camps in May. The UN chief's visit followed United States President Donald Trump's gutting of the US Agency for International Development (USAID), which has stalled several key projects in the camps, and the United Kingdom announcing cuts to foreign aid in order to increase defence spending. Healthcare in the camps has suffered as the severe blows to foreign aid bite. 'They call me 'langhra' (lame)' Seated outside his makeshift bamboo hut, Jahid Alam told Al Jazeera how, before being forced to become a refugee, he had worked as a farmer and also fished for a living in the Napura region of his native Myanmar. It was back then, in 2016, that he first noticed his leg swell up for no apparent reason. 'I was farming and suddenly felt this intense urge to itch my left leg,' Alam said. 'My leg soon turned red and began swelling up. I rushed home and tried to put some ice on it. But it didn't help.' A local doctor prescribed an ointment, but the itch continued, and so did the swelling. He soon found it difficult to stand or walk and could no longer work, becoming dependent on his family members. A year later, when Myanmar's military began burning Rohingya homes in his village and torturing the women, he decided to send his family to Bangladesh. Alam stayed behind to look after the cows on his land. But the military soon threatened him into leaving too and joining his family in neighbouring Bangladesh. The 53-year-old has been treated by Doctors Without Borders, known by its French initials MSF, in the Kutupalong region of Cox's Bazar since arriving, but amputation of his leg seems likely. While some doctors have said he has Elephantiasis – an infection that causes enlargement and swelling of limbs – a final diagnosis is yet to be made. Along with the disease, Alam has to also deal with stigma due to his disability. 'They call me 'langhra'(lame) when they see I can't walk properly,' he said. But, he adds: 'If God has given me this disease and disability, he also gave me the opportunity to come to this camp and try to recover. In the near future I know I can start a new and better life.' 'The word 'Amma' gives me hope' Seated in a dimly lit room in a small hut about a 10-minute walk from Alam's shelter, Jahena Begum hopes aid organisations will continue supporting the camps and particularly people with disabilities. Her daughter Sumaiya Akter, 23, and sons, Harez, 19, and Ayas, 21, are blind and have a cognitive disability that prevents them from speaking clearly. They are largely unaware of their surroundings. 'Their vision slowly began fading as they became teenagers,' Begum says. 'It was very difficult to watch, and healthcare facilities in Myanmar could not help,' said the 50-year-old mother as she patted her daughter's leg. The young girl giggled, unaware of what was going on around her. Begum's family arrived in Cox's Bazar about nine months ago after the military in Myanmar burned their house down. 'We made it to the camps with the help of relatives. But life has been very hard for me,' said Begum, telling how she had single-handedly brought up her children since her husband's death eight years ago. Doctors from MSF have given her children spectacles and have begun running scans to understand the root cause of their disability. 'Right now, they express everything by making sounds. But the one word they speak, which is 'Amma', meaning mother, shows me that they at least recognise me,' Begum said. 'The word 'Amma' gives me hope and strength to continue trying to treat them. I want a better future for my children.' 'The pain isn't just physical – it's emotional' Clad in a blue and pink striped collared shirt and a striped brown longyi – the cloth woven around the waist and worn by men and women in Myanmar – Anowar Shah told of fleeing Myanmar to save his life, on top of losing a limb to a mine blast. Shah said he was collecting firewood in his hometown Labada Prian Chey in Myanmar when his leg was blown off by the landmine last year. Myanmar is among the world's deadliest countries for landmine and unexploded ordnance casualties, according to a 2024 UN report, with more than 1,000 victims recorded in 2023 alone – a number that surpassed all other nations. 'Those were the longest, most painful days of my life,' said the 25-year-old Shah, who now needs crutches to get around. 'Losing my leg shattered everything. I went from being someone who provided and protected, to someone who depends on others just to get through the day. I can't move freely, can't work, can't even perform simple tasks alone,' he said. 'I feel like I've become a burden to the people I love. The pain isn't just physical – it's emotional, it's deep. I keep asking myself, 'Why did this happen to me?'' More than 30 refugees in the camps in Bangladesh have lost limbs in landmine explosions, leaving them disabled and dependent on others. All parties to the armed conflict in Myanmar have used landmines in some capacity, said John Quinley, director of rights organisation Fortify Rights, in Myanmar. 'We know the Myanmar junta has used landmines over many years to bolster their bases. They also lay them in civilian areas around villages and towns that they have occupied and fled,' he told Al Jazeera. Abdul Hashim, 25, who resides in Camp 21 in Cox's Bazar, described how stepping on a landmine in February 2024 'drastically altered his life'. 'I have become dependent on others for even the simplest daily tasks. Once an active contributor to my family, I now feel like a burden,' he said. Since arriving in the camp, Hashim has been in a rehabilitation programme at the Turkish Field Hospital where he receives medication and physical rehabilitation that involves balance exercises, stump care, and hygiene education. He has also been assessed for a prosthetic limb which currently costs about 50,000 Bangladeshi Taka ($412). The cost for such limbs is borne by Australia's Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade. 'Despite the trauma and hardship, I hold onto some hope. I dream of receiving a prosthetic leg soon, which would allow me to regain some independence and find work to support my family,' Hashim said. So far, a total of 14 prosthetic limbs have been distributed and fitted for camp inhabitants by the aid group Humanity & Inclusion, who have expertise in producing the limbs in orthotic workshops outside the refugee camps. Both Hashim and Shah are a part of the organisation's rehabilitation programme, which has been providing gait training to help them adapt to the future, regular use of prosthetic limbs. Tough decisions for aid workers Seeking to ensure refugees in the camps are well supported and can live better lives after fleeing persecution, aid workers are currently having to make tough decisions due to foreign aid cuts. 'We are having to decide between feeding people and providing education and healthcare due to aid cuts,' a Bangladeshi healthcare worker who requested anonymity, for fear his comment could jeopardise future aid from the US, told Al Jazeera. Quinley of Fortify Rights pointed out that while there are huge funding gaps because of the aid cuts, the Rohingya refugee response should not fall on any one government and should be a collective regional responsibility. 'There needs to be a regional response, particularly for countries in Southeast Asia, to give funding,' he said. 'Countries connected to the OIC (Organisation of Islamic Cooperation) in the Middle East could also give a lot more meaningful support,' he said. He also recommended working with local humanitarian partners, 'whether it's Bangladeshi nationals or whether it's Rohingya refugee groups themselves' since they know how to help their communities the best. 'Their ability to access people that need support is at the forefront, and they should be supported from governments worldwide,' he said. For the estimated one million refugees in Cox's Bazar, urgent support is needed at this time, when funds grow ever scarce. According to a Joint Response Plan drawn up for the Rohingya, in 2024, just 30 percent of funding was received of a total $852.4m that was needed by the refugees. As of May 2025, against an overall appeal for $934.5m for the refugees, just 15 percent received funding. Cutting the aid budgets for the camps is a 'short-sighted policy', said Blandine Bouniol, deputy director of advocacy at Humanity & Inclusion humanitarian group. It will, Bouniol said, 'have a devastating impact on people'.
Arab News
12 hours ago
- Politics
- Arab News
Community schools offer hope for Rohingya refugee children as US aid cuts hit education
DHAKA: As US aid cuts have forced the UN's children agency UNICEF to suspend thousands of learning centers for Rohingya refugee children sheltering in camps in Bangladesh, a small number of community-led schools have now become their only source of education. The Rohingya, a mostly Muslim ethnic minority, have fled from Myanmar's Rakhine State to neighboring Bangladesh for decades to escape persecution, with more than 700,000 arriving in 2017 following a military crackdown that the UN said was a textbook case of ethnic cleansing by Myanmar. Today, more than 1.3 million Rohingya on Bangladesh's southeast coast are cramped inside 33 camps in Cox's Bazar — the world's largest refugee settlement. The refugees, who are almost completely reliant on humanitarian aid, recently faced another blow, after the US suspended aid funding worldwide in January. Washington has been the largest donor, having contributed $300 million in 2024, or 55 percent of all foreign aid for the Rohingya. Those and other foreign aid cuts 'have worsened the already existing education crisis for 437,000 school-age children in Rohingya refugee camps in Bangladesh,' Human Rights Watch said in a report published this week. It is only in schools established by the Rohingya community that some children are able to get their education now, the group said, after UNICEF-run learning centers were forced to shut due to a lack of funding. These schools offer a small glimmer of hope for many young children in the refugee camps. 'School is important for me because it gives me knowledge, enhances my life skills, makes me think for my community, makes me a better person and makes me hopeful for a better future. As a refugee, I don't have many opportunities, but education can open doors for me and help me build a better life,' Mohammed Shofik, a 15-year-old Rohingya boy enrolled at a community school in Cox's Bazar, told Arab News on Friday. His dream is to become a scientist or doctor. At school, he is learning how to experiment and use tools, as well as how to listen and observe carefully, which he thinks are helpful to achieve his goals. 'Education is the only way to reach my dream and help my community,' he said. But only a small number of Rohingya children are able to enroll in the community-led schools, as they do not receive any charitable support, Arif Salam, a teacher in one such school in the camps, told Arab News. 'Community schools are not funded by any donors and NGOs. Our only funding source is the tuition fees received from the parents of our students. But we can't provide services to all the children,' he said. 'Only a few students in the camps can afford the learning in the community schools. Most of the students are enrolled with the UNICEF-run learning centers. The children who are enrolled with UNICEF learning centers are now sitting idle as they have nothing to do. It will create an irreparable loss for their education.' There are about 150 community schools across the Rohingya camps in Cox's Bazar. Each of the schools have about 10 to 15 teachers, who provide education for 150 to 400 students. Without government support or private donor funding, the schools charge parents monthly tuition fees ranging from around $0.50 for class one up to $6.50 for class 12, a fee that many cannot afford, as the Rohingya are not allowed to work. 'The closure of learning centers brought huge educational losses,' Salam said. 'For our Rohingya children, it's a hopeless situation.' While the Bangladeshi government has not encouraged any informal system of education, such initiatives should be considered to address the education crisis, said Asif Munir, a renowned Bangladeshi expert on migration and refugees. 'Some kind of education is required for them because otherwise there is a possibility that the younger children, as they grow up, not just uneducated, they might be getting involved in informal work or even sort of risky work as well,' Munir warned. 'With education they can still hope for some kind of proper work where they can use their education in their life. So, in that sense, at least, the government can consider this as a good sort of coping strategy.' HRW had also urged the Bangladeshi government to 'recognize and fund community-led schools to increase their capacity,' and highlighted that recognition could help encourage donor support. For the young Rohingya whose lives have been plagued with increasing uncertainties, going to school helps them chart a path for the future. 'My dream is to become a motivational speaker. In school, our teachers teach us good listening, delivering strong messages, storytelling, using body language, confidence-building techniques and leadership skills,' 10th-grader Rohul Amin told Arab News. 'I think with all these knowledge and skills, I can achieve my dream one day.' For Amin, school also helps him learn about his identity as a Rohingya. 'I especially focus on the history subject because history makes me understand our identity. As a Rohingya, I have no identity. I mostly try to remember our land and our identity.'
News24
17 hours ago
- Politics
- News24
White House signals shift in priorities: Deep cuts in US funding for war crimes investigations
The White House intends shutting down funding for programmes that do war crimes and accountability work globally. The US State Department can appeal the decision. The deadline for responses is 11 July. The White House has recommended terminating US funding for nearly two dozen programmes that conduct war crimes and accountability work globally, including in Myanmar, Syria and on alleged Russian atrocities in Ukraine, according to three US sources familiar with the matter and internal government documents reviewed by Reuters. The recommendation from the Office of Management and Budget, which was made on Wednesday and has not been previously reported, is not the final decision to end the programmes since it gives the State Department the option to appeal. But it sets up a potential back-and-forth between the OMB and US Secretary of State Marco Rubio and his aides, who will reply to OMB with their suggestions on which programmes deserve to continue. The programmes also include work in Iraq, Nepal, Sri Lanka, Colombia, Belarus, Sudan, South Sudan, Afghanistan and the Gambia, according to the sources and a list seen by Reuters. The State Department declined to comment. OMB did not immediately respond to a request for comment. The expectation that Rubio would argue for many of the programmes to be continued is slim, according to three US officials. However, the top US diplomat could make a case to keep crucial programmes, such as aiding potential war crimes prosecutions in Ukraine, according to one source familiar with the matter. Several of the programmes earmarked for termination operate war crimes accountability projects in Ukraine, three sources familiar with the matter said, including Global Rights Compliance, which is helping to collect evidence of war crimes and crimes against humanity across Ukraine, such as sexual violence and torture. Another is Legal Action Worldwide, a legal aid group which supports local efforts to bring cases against Russian suspects of war crimes in Ukraine, the sources said. Requests seeking comment from the groups were not immediately answered. State Department bureaus that would like to preserve any war crimes and accountability programmes should send their justifications by close of business day on 11 July, said an internal State Department email seen by Reuters. READ | 'Essential hedge against authoritarianism': Judge blocks Trump plan to target Harvard students Many of the programmes recommended for termination are dedicated to empowering local organisations seeking to advance justice in societies that have faced atrocities, one of the sources said, adding that some programmes have been going on for decades across Democratic and Republican administrations. 'Even if Secretary Rubio intervenes to save these programmes, many of which he supported as a senator, there will be no one left to manage these programmes,' the source said. The administration of US President Donald Trump has frozen and then cut back billions of dollars of foreign aid since taking office on 20 January to ensure American-taxpayer money funds programmes that are aligned with his 'America First' policies. The unprecedented cutbacks have effectively shut down its premier aid arm US Agency for International Development, jeopardised the delivery of life-saving food and medical aid and thrown global humanitarian relief operations into chaos. The OMB recommendation is yet another sign that the administration is increasingly de-prioritising advocacy for human rights and rule of law globally, an objective that previous US administrations have pursued. While US foreign aid freezes had already started hampering an international effort to hold Russia responsible for alleged war crimes in Ukraine, Wednesday's recommendations raise the risk of US completely abandoning those efforts. Among the programmes that are recommended for termination is a $18 million State Department grant for Ukraine's Prosecutor General's Office that is implemented by Georgetown University's International Criminal Justice Initiative, two sources said. An official at Georgetown declined to comment. While the programmes do not directly impact Ukraine's frontline efforts to fend off Russia's invasion, supporters say they represent the best chance of extensively documenting reported battlefield atrocities in Europe's biggest conflict since World War Two, now grinding toward a fourth year. Ukraine has opened more than 140 000 war crime cases since Moscow's February 2022 invasion, which has killed tens of thousands, ravaged vast swathes of the country and left behind mental and physical scars from occupation. Russia consistently denies war crimes have been committed by its forces in the conflict. Other programmes include one that does accountability work on Myanmar army's atrocities against Rohingya minorities as well as on the persecution of Christians and other minorities by Syria's ousted former president Bashar al-Assad, two sources said. While the OMB recommendations could face State Department push-back, the criteria to appeal are set very strictly. In an internal State Department email, the administration cautioned that any effort to preserve programmes that were recommended to be terminated should be thoroughly argued and directly aligned with Washington's priorities. 'Bureaus must clearly and succinctly identify direct alignment to administration priorities,' the email, reviewed by Reuters said.
Asharq Al-Awsat
a day ago
- Politics
- Asharq Al-Awsat
White House Wants Deep Cut in US Funding for War Crimes Investigations
The White House has recommended terminating US funding for nearly two dozen programs that conduct war crimes and accountability work globally, including in Myanmar, Syria and on alleged Russian atrocities in Ukraine, according to three US sources familiar with the matter and internal government documents reviewed by Reuters. The recommendation from the Office of Management and Budget, which was made on Wednesday and has not been previously reported, is not the final decision to end the programs since it gives the State Department the option to appeal. But it sets up a potential back-and-forth between the OMB and US Secretary of State Marco Rubio and his aides, who will reply to OMB with their suggestions on which programs deserve to continue. The programs also include work in Iraq, Nepal, Sri Lanka, Colombia, Belarus, Sudan, South Sudan, Afghanistan and the Gambia, according to the sources and a list seen by Reuters. The State Department declined to comment. OMB did not immediately respond to a request for comment. The expectation that Rubio would argue for many of the programs to be continued is slim, according to three US officials. However, the top US diplomat could make a case to keep crucial programs, such as aiding potential war crimes prosecutions in Ukraine, according to one source familiar with the matter. Several of the programs earmarked for termination operate war crimes accountability projects in Ukraine, three sources familiar with the matter said, including Global Rights Compliance, which is helping to collect evidence of war crimes and crimes against humanity across Ukraine, such as sexual violence and torture. Another is Legal Action Worldwide, a legal aid group which supports local efforts to bring cases against Russian suspects of war crimes in Ukraine, the sources said. Requests seeking comment from the groups were not immediately answered. State Department bureaus that would like to preserve any war crimes and accountability programs should send their justifications by close of business day on July 11, said an internal State Department email seen by Reuters. CHANGING PRIORITIES Many of the programs recommended for termination are dedicated to empowering local organizations seeking to advance justice in societies that have faced atrocities, one of the sources said, adding that some programs have been going on for decades across Democratic and Republican administrations. "Even if Secretary Rubio intervenes to save these programs, many of which he supported as a senator, there will be no one left to manage these programs," the source said. The administration of President Donald Trump has frozen and then cut back billions of dollars of foreign aid since taking office on January 20 to ensure American-taxpayer money funds programs that are aligned with his "America First" policies. The unprecedented cutbacks have effectively shut down its premier aid arm US Agency for International Development, jeopardized the delivery of life-saving food and medical aid and thrown global humanitarian relief operations into chaos. The OMB recommendation is yet another sign that the administration is increasingly de-prioritizing advocacy for human rights and rule of law globally, an objective that previous US administrations have pursued. While US foreign aid freezes had already started hampering an international effort to hold Russia responsible for alleged war crimes in Ukraine, Wednesday's recommendations raise the risk of US completely abandoning those efforts. Among the programs that are recommended for termination is a $18 million State Department grant for Ukraine's Prosecutor General's Office that is implemented by Georgetown University's International Criminal Justice Initiative, two sources said. An official at Georgetown declined to comment. While the programs do not directly impact Ukraine's frontline efforts to fend off Russia's invasion, supporters say they represent the best chance of extensively documenting reported battlefield atrocities in Europe's biggest conflict since World War Two, now grinding toward a fourth year. Ukraine has opened more than 140,000 war crime cases since Moscow's February 2022 invasion, which has killed tens of thousands, ravaged vast swathes of the country and left behind mental and physical scars from occupation. Russia consistently denies war crimes have been committed by its forces in the conflict. PATH TO APPEAL Other programs include one that does accountability work on Myanmar army's atrocities against Rohingya minorities as well as on the persecution of Christians and other minorities by Syria's ousted former president Bashar al-Assad, two sources said. While the OMB recommendations could face State Department push-back, the criteria to appeal are set very strictly. In an internal State Department email, the administration cautioned that any effort to preserve programs that were recommended to be terminated should be thoroughly argued and directly aligned with Washington's priorities. "Bureaus must clearly and succinctly identify direct alignment to administration priorities," the email, reviewed by Reuters said.
