Aid agencies counter Rohingya rumours

PHNOM PENH: As aid workers rushed to vaccinate Rohingya refugees against measles earlier this year, rumours swirled through the overcrowded camps in Bangladesh – the injections would make women sterile and convert children into Christians.

The anecdote, included in an August report from the United Nations children’s agency, Unicef, illustrates how the refugees, who have fled Myanmar, are vulnerable to misinformation, “with little or no access to television, radio, or other media”.

In response, humanitarians are trying innovative projects to counter rumours – translated as “flying news” in the Rohingya language – and to let refugees know how to access healthcare and bolster their shelters against storms, among other advice.

More than 900,000 Rohingya, an ethnic and religious Muslim minority in Myanmar, live in Bangladesh’s Cox’s Bazar district, the vast majority in camps, according to Unicef.

“In such circumstances, it is very easy for rumours and misinformation to spread – and it is vitally important people get timely, accurate information about everything from health issues to weather dangers,” a spokes- man for the International Organisation for Migration (IOM) in Cox’s Bazar said by e-mail.

Radio is a key tool for giving out that information, said Fiona MacGregor, especially as there is no formal written version of the Rohingya language.

The IOM is distributing 60,000 radios that can be powered with a hand crank, and is setting up “listening groups”. Information flows both ways, so aid agencies will also receive feedback from refugees about their concerns via the listening group sessions and surveys.