Atom Araullo highlights milestones and challenges of Rohingya Crisis

The hills are dotted with corrugated roofing, tarpaulins and bamboo. The streets and dirt roads are busy with men and women going about their chores. This is Kutupalong Camp, the temporary home to nearly a million Rohingya refugees.

National Goodwill Ambassador Atom Araullo surveys the world’s largest refugee camp on one of its many hills. This is the second time that he has been here since the height of the influx more than two years ago when Rohingya refugees started entering Bangladesh by the tens of thousands.

In 2017, the Rohingya people were forcibly driven out of their homes due to the mass executions, rape and persecution. More than 700,000 people were a part of this exodus to Bangladesh, a country facing their own challenges.

The world watched as the humanitarian crisis unfolded. To this day, those who fled are trying to regain hope and rebuild their lives far from the only home that they know.

“When it happened in 2017, the eyes of the world were on Myanmar and Bangladesh. More than 700,000 refugees crossed the border. It was a really crazy situation and it is really important to see how the world has responded and how the situation is unfolding,” Atom said upon laying eyes on the camp again.

“I’ve been here two years ago, 2017. There are have been massive changes most of them are quite encouraging. If you notice that there is a lot of greenery that is something new in the last couple of months. It’s just one of the many changes that makes life here more liveable,” he added.

Two years since the arrival of Rohingya refugees in Bangladesh, he saw some improvements in their life in Kutupalong. “Walking around the camp today, we see a lot of development that makes life in the camps bearable. For example, they have roads, their homes are more organized. Refugees have formed committees, children are in temporary learning centers, environmental warriors have revived the greenery, and there are places where they can get psycho-social support. Nakakatuwa naman na kahit papaano-gumaganda naman yung buhay nila dito,” he said.

Nevertheless, the TV journalist stressed that there must be continuous humanitarian aid for the most vulnerable families.

“I think in some ways, the years that pass when things get a little bit more stable are also the most crucial ones,” Atom concluded.