Refugees

On World Refugee Day, we come together to commemorate the challenges faced by refugees all over the world, and the incredible courage they show in the face of adversity. Find out when it is and how we mark this important day. 

Rehul Zannat (23) works with Rohingya refugees in the camps in Bangladesh. She joined ActionAid Bangladesh last year, and is one of several women leading the organisation’s projects in the camps. She lives in Cox’s Bazar.  

There are more than 600,000 refugees in Cox’s Bazar. As the eyes of the world follow every step of his visit, pressure is on for the Pope to foster a peaceful, long-term solution to the Rohingya Refugee Crisis.

Imagine leaving everything behind; losing your husband or your parents; being the sole provider for your children or younger siblings. Thousands of Rohingya women and girls are now in this desperate position - often forced to sleep on the roadside - and recruiters of the sex industry are setting their sights on them. The #MeToo campaign is currently joining women's voices from around the world, exposing men who commit rape and sexual assault. We must not forget the women and girls who don't have a voice; like those fleeing conflict in Myanmar. 

Hundreds of thousands of Rohingya families have fled to Bangladesh since violence erupted in North Rakhine, Myanmar, late last month. In the past few days alone I have seen thousands of vulnerable women and children flooding over the border into Cox’s Bazar, sleeping on the roadside, in the open air, with barely even the clothes on their backs.