ABC News(NEW YORK) — Abuse, attacks and hunger describe the day-to-day lives of thousands of Rohingya Muslims, a minority group in Myanmar considered to be among the most persecuted in the world.
Thousands have fled Myanmar into refugee camps in neighboring Bangladesh and India, escaping government-sponsored violence in Myanmar and what they believe is certain death in a crisis that the United Nations secretary general has called a “textbook example of ethnic cleansing.”
In just over two months, more than 600,000 Rohingya have poured into Bangladesh, joining about 300,000 who were already living in camps there. Several hundred thousands are children, many of whom made the treacherous trek from Myanmar to Bangladesh walking for several days, often with no food.
ABC News’ Bob Woodruff and team have followed the story for almost three years, documenting the plight of thousands who, risking it all, have made the journey into refugee camps carrying reports of villages surrounded, homes burned to the ground, torture, executions and rape.
The needs are striking. Nearly 450,000 Rohingya refugee children are in urgent need of assistance and the scale of the humanitarian crisis in Myanmar continues to become more dire, according to a new report from the International Rescue Committee.
As the crisis shows no sign of slowing down, aid groups are rushing in to help.
In just one day this week, 8,000 people lined up for food at a Save the Children food distribution center in Bangladesh. They were given pink slips of papers, which let workers know how much rice, oil and salt to give to each family.
“Without this assistance people would be in a really difficult situation,” Mark Pierce, the country director for Save the Children in Bangladesh, said.
As the crisis continues, Save the Children and other nongovernmental organizations are providing support on the ground to the region and to the people most in need.
Click here for more information about Save the Children.
Click here for more information about Save the Children’s work with the Rohingya.
$7 could provide clean delivery kits to two expectant mothers to help make sure their babies are born safely.
$15 will provide a family with a hygiene kit with bucket, towels, cloths, soap, shampoo and laundry detergent.
$15 will provide a family with a kitchen kit: pots, pans, plates, utensils, cups and mugs for a family of seven.
$25 will provide a family with an emergency shelter kit with tarps and rope.
$30 will provide a food kit with rice, oil, lentils, flour and sugar for a family of seven, for a month.
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