VP thanked for aid to displaced Rohingya

dubai — The United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) has expressed its appreciation to His Highness Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum, Vice-President and Prime Minister of the UAE and Ruler of Dubai, for his generous response to the emergency appeal made by the UNHCR to alleviate the suffering of Rohingya refugees in Bangladesh.

Sheikh Mohammed has sponsored an air flight carrying UNHCR’s emergency aid items to the newly displaced Rohingyas in Bangladesh. The flight, which arrived in Bangladesh on Tuesday, delivered 1,671 family tents, worth around Dh2.7 million, which will provide shelter for some 8,355 refugees.

In a statement, the UNHCR’s head of office in the UAE, Toby Harward, praised the humanitarian response of Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid. “We are very grateful to His Highness for his generous support. The UAE, and the facilities at the International Humanitarian City (IHC) in Dubai, is a critical logistical hub that allows the UNHCR to respond rapidly in times of emergency. The country’s leadership has repeatedly responded benevolently to the many humanitarian challenges that we face today.”

With numbers of Rohingya refugees fleeing violent acts in Myanmar surpassing 313,000 persons, the aid shipments come at a time when the capacity of Bangladeshi refugee camps in Kutupalong and Nayapara has been overwhelmed, and refugees are temporarily staying in makeshift shelters alongside roads.

In the past few weeks, the world has been witnessing a massive influx of Rohingya refugees. — Wam