Lower thirds:

00:02 Report by Nahid Anjuman & Beenish Javed
00:21 Rafika | Rohingya refugee
01:39 Mohammad Alam | Rohingya refugee
02:16 Dr. Nasrin Jebin | Children's Clinic
02:49 Shahidul Islam | Leader of the Rohingya community
03:29 Mohammad Alam | Rohingya refugee

Script:

It is lunchtime for Rafika's children.

She gives them a fistful of puffed rice and a small packet of cookies.

The family cannot afford to have a proper lunch.

If aid is cut, their situation could worsen.  

Rafika, Rohingya refugee

We are already suffering. Reducing the rations will cause us more suffering in the future. My children and I are also sick now. We will have to survive in the future. We will not be able to eat fish, meat, or fruits. If the rations are cut in half, how will we survive in the future? 

She and her family have lived in a two-room shelter in this camp in Bangladesh for over eight years. 

Food vouchers help refugee families get eggs, chicken, rice, some vegetables and other staples.

But the World Food Programme warns it may have to slash aid, leaving Rafika's family with barely enough for the month.

Rafika's husband Mohammad Alam says the family does not want to live on these handouts.

Mohammad Alam, Rohingya Refugee

''I had land in Arkan. I used to farm on the land. I also had a shop. I was always able to buy food from the market. I used to get rice, oil from the cultivated land. There was no shortage of fish, and vegetables. We eat a small amount of dal for dinner. We eat them and drink water. We do not have money to buy food. We cannot sell anything. We cannot go outside to work. We are not allowed to go out and work.

The consequences have already been devastating.

Thousands of children are suffering from malnoutrition

Doctors at this children's clinic worry worry about what will happen when people have even less to eat.

Dr. Nasrin Jebin
Children's Clinic ((English))

They may suffer from the birth. They maybe low birthweight baby and during infancy they will suffer from malnutrition and some other diseases. And they will develop very low IQ and some nutritional disorder.

+++ for short version, cut from here ...

But its not only health that is a concern.

The local representative of the Rohingya people told DW that when a funding shortfall slashed the monthly food allowance in 2023, crime soared. 

Shahidul Islam
Leader of the Rohingya Community.
''If the ration is reduced, crime will increase! Crimes such as theft, robbery, drug dealing, heroin dealing. When food is reduced, one cannot keep one's children safe in their homes. The criminals kidnap and hold children captive and demand ransom. 

... up to here +++

The World Food Programme says that funding remains insecure. 

And it is renewing its appeal to the donor community for support. 

Families like Rafika's who remain entirely at the mercy of humanitarian aid feel trapped.

Mohammad Alam, Rohingya Refugee

We are very grateful that the government is keeping us well in the camp. But we do not want to stay in the camp anymore. We do not want to go to other countries either, let us be sent back to our country in a disciplined manner.''

But with the conflict in neighbouring Myanmar still ongoing, it's unlikely these Rohingya refugees will be able to leave Bangaldesh soon. 

+++END+++