Scottish donations ‘crucial’ for the thousands of refugees fleeing Myanmar
from Scotland are playing a “crucial” role in helping more than half a million refugees who have fled violence in Myanmar.
The Scottish Catholic International Aid Fund (Sciaf) has raised more than £160,000 to give vital shelter and aid to Rohingya refugees escaping religious persecution by making the perilous journey to neighbouring Bangladesh.
The Muslim minority group is denied citizenship in Myanmar and has reported that the army and Buddhist leaders are orchestrating a campaign of rape, murder and burning villages, described by the United Nations as “textbook ethnic cleansing” – the accusations are denied by the military.
Refugees said children and the elderly are being targeted in the attacks.
Since escalation of violence in August, Sciaf has given £100,000 to help 646,000 new refugees through its Bangladeshi aid partner, Caritas Bangladesh.
Around 60 per cent of those in the camps are children and more than 12,000 are orphans.
Now, the additional donations are being used to prepare the camps for winter and tackle overcrowding. Blankets, floor mats and sleeping mats are being prepared for distribution to 14,600 families and so far the charity has helped 40,044 families with food and essentials such as cooking pots and utensils.
Shawkat Ara, 38, whose son and parents died from hunger while fleeing to Bangladesh, gave thanks for the donations she has been given since arriving at Kutupalong camp in the south east of the country.
She said: “We brought nothing and we received food items but no utensils. These utensils help me a lot to cook for my reldonations atives. These things are very useful to me, they are better than money.”
She added: “My parents died when they they were crossing the river. At that time they were very sick, so I had to leave them. So now I always try to help all the old age people by giving them food and cooking for them.”
The Scottish donations are also being used to put in drainage, create safe pathways and build new homes at the camp.