Persecuted, vulnerable and afraid, Rohingya exiles face silent killer
Terror grips refugee camps in Bangladesh as first cases of Covid-19 are detected amid the congestion
Within the sprawling muddy corridors of the world’s largest refugee camp near Cox’s Bazar, Bangladesh, Rohingya refugees crammed into tiny huts and humanitarian aid workers are living in fear of a silent killer and bracing for the worst.
Since the chilling news last week that Covid-19 had finally breached the Kutupalong camp housing almost 860,000 refugees, the number of confirmed infections had risen by yesterday to 13, but a lack of testing or the luxury of social distancing points to a much wider spread.
People suffering from flu-like symptoms, high fevers and upper respiratory problems had been flooding into Save the Children clinics every day, Dr Ishaat Nabila, one of the agency’s medics, told The Telegraph.
She added that while traffic into the clinics was similar to flu numbers last year, there was no way to tell if patients were suffering from Covid-19. The disease could be spreading undetected.
“We are getting around 10-15 cases of flu-like symptoms every day. But not all of them have an [infection] contact or travel history,” she said.
“There are very limited options for testing.”
Save the Children and other aid organisations are already preparing isolation and treatment centres for the most severe cases, but – with no ventilators in the camps and only 2,000 serving the entire 160millionstrong population of Bangladesh – they fear being overwhelmed.
“We are preparing for the worst,” Dr Nabila said. “It is just the beginning and it will spread very fast because we have seen what has happened already in other countries. The health sector is working hard to mitigate this crisis.”
In such an unprecedented situation, even health workers were afraid, she said. “I feel scared because it’s a crowded and congested camp and it’s difficult when people are not aware of the concepts of this pandemic … At the same time we also feel good that we are saving lives.”
The spread of Covid-19 into the camps after months of trying to keep the pandemic at bay is another cruel blow for one of the world’s most persecuted and vulnerable communities.
The vast majority arrived in Bangladesh after fleeing a vicious military-led ethnic cleansing campaign in their home in Burma’s Rakhine state in 2017.
Traumatised and impoverished, they have since lived in squalor, with between 40,000 and 70,000 squeezing into each square kilometre in small, ramshackle homes.
Deprived of formal education or the means to earn a livelihood, they are dependent on aid and have had no route to escape the coming pandemic.
Now a new terror has gripped the camps.
“It’s scary because Covid-19 is an unknown disease and we don’t have any idea about it. I have a newborn baby and I heard that kids and old people can be easily affected. My mother is old so I am tense for her,” said Mohammad Nur, 25.
“We are afraid it will spread. I heard that tested people are kept in isolation, but what will happen to the people they don’t track down? Some people stick to the rules and others do not.”
Ansar Ullah, an artist, said he was also frightened for his children. “Here in the camp, there is no space for social distancing even though that’s what we are told to do,” he said. “We do not usually go outside, but how long can you stay in a tiny, crowded house?”
Aid agencies have long warned that the highly infectious disease could spread like wildfire through camps.
An alarming report by the Baltimore-based Johns Hopkins Centre for Humanitarian Health in April contained scientific modelling showing estimated infections would range from 119-504 in the first 30 days after an initial case, and between 424,798 and 543,647 in 12 months.
Estimated deaths among the malnourished population, which generally has poor underlying health conditions and little access to good healthcare, ranged from 1,647 to 2,109 between low and high case scenarios. More than 31,500 refugees are believed to be aged 60 or older.
“For a long time there has been a concern that if the virus spreads into the camp it is going to be catastrophic,” said Sudarshan Reddy Kodooru, Bangladesh country director for
‘There is no space for social distancing. We do not usually go outside, but how long can you stay in a tiny, crowded house?’
‘We are preparing for the worst. It is just the beginning and it will spread very fast’
Tearfund, the British relief agency. “Last week it did start ... Now the fear is that it will really multiply.”
Tearfund has focussed its aid efforts particularly on improving water sanitation, distributing household hygiene kits and educating refugees about the virus, Mr Kodooru said.
A Bangladesh government internet ban in the camps has forced charity workers to use the more traditional means of leaflet dropping instead. The challenge was enormous and the fear rife, he said.
“There is huge demand and need in the community and few resources,” said Mr Kodooru. “Life in the camps is always desperate, hopeless.”