Rohingya refugee Syed Nur and his wife Jamila managed to flee their home in Myanmar with their lives when the army came and set it ablaze roughly 12 days ago. However, a harrowing reminder of their horror remains in the wails of their injured infant child.
The 26-day-old Saiful Arman is one of the youngest survivors of atrocities against the Rohingya by the Myanmar military, though he remains in danger with burns throughout his body. The newborn is currently undergoing treatment at the Burn and Plastic Surgery Unit of Chittagong Medical College Hospital (CMCH).
Quoting the father, Assistant Sub-Inspector Alauddin Talukdar of CMCH police outpost said: “The baby sustained burn injuries when the Myanmar army torched their house two weeks ago. Syed Nur fled along with his child and crossed over to Bangladesh.”
Assistant Professor Dr Mohammed S Khaled of the CMCH Burn & Plastic Surgery Unit said the infant was suffering from septicemia, an infection resulting from the presence of bacteria in the blood.
“The baby received burn injuries around 12 days ago. He suffered burns on 10%of his body, in the back, waist and hands,” he added
Recounting the tale of their escape, Nur, a resident of Akiab district in the Rakhine state, told the Dhaka Tribune: “I married Jamila one year ago. This is my first child, born on August 21. He was deep asleep when the Myanmar army torched our house and received burn injuries before we could manage to get out. I along with my wife and baby somehow escape the attacks alive.”
The ordeal does not stop here. It was an ardous journey through dense jungle for the couple, especially considering the health of their injured baby. Without nearby alternatives, Nur and Jamila resorted to using the sap from plants to try and heal the burns. Furthermore, Jamila had to give up all the jewelry she had as payment for the boatman who eventually helped them cross into Bangladesh through Teknaf.
Breaking into tears, Jamila said: “We have become penniless. We now pray to Allah to deliver us from this great danger.”
As of Saturday, 113 Rohingya refugees, including women and children, had received treatment at CMCH. Among them, two succumbed to their injuries, two fled from the hospital and 27 were discharged.
Assistant Professor Dr Rafiq Uddin Ahmed of the CMCH burn unit told the Dhaka Tribune: “We are providing our best services to the Rohingya patients, although we have only 26 beds. Of them, 13 are currently occupied by Rohingya patients with burn injuries.”
CMCH Director Brig Gen Md Jalal Uddin told the Dhaka Tribune: “We cannot discriminate among the patients. They are patients to us, and we are sparing no effort to provide them the best medical treatment.”
He added that medicine for treatment of Rohingya patients were taken from the hospital's Patients’ Welfare Fund if unavailable among relief materials.
Currently, 82 Rohingya refugees are still undergoing treatment at CMCH, mostly with bullet wounds and burn injuries.
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