Turkish aid agency opens village for Rohingya Muslims

BURSA, Turkey

A Turkish aid agency has built a village for Rohingya refugee Muslims in Bangladesh’s Cox Bazaar region.

Named as “Emir Sultan”, the village consists of 414 bamboo houses, two water wells, two mosques, a community space and a garbage plant.

“Thanks to these houses, our Muslim brothers and sisters got electricity at their houses for the first time. We have put solar panels at every house,” said Halil Asa, a representative of the Humanitarian Relief Foundation (IHH), one of the leading Turkish aid group.

“The Rohingya see Turkey a source of optimism. They see a hope when they know you are from Turkey and carry a Turkish flag on your cloth,” said the IHH official.

Rohingya, described by the UN as the world's most persecuted people, have faced heightened fears of attacks since dozens were killed in communal violence in 2012.

According to Amnesty International, more than 750,000 Rohingya refugees, mostly women, and children, have fled Myanmar and crossed into Bangladesh after Myanmar forces launched a crackdown on the minority Muslim community in August 2017.

Since Aug. 25, 2017, nearly 24,000 Rohingya Muslims have been killed by Myanmar’s state forces, according to a report by the Ontario International Development Agency (OIDA).

The report also said that more than 34,000 Rohingya were thrown into fires, while over 114,000 others were beaten.

Writing by Nilay Kar