Bangladesh is proving that humanity and compassion come first
There is no doubt that, ever since the mass exodus of Rohingya refugees who arrived in Bangladesh to flee the atrocities at the hands of the Myanmar army, Bangladesh has gone above and beyond to host and shelter this community.
This week, once again, Bangladesh is proving humanity and compassion comes first, as it begins vaccinating the Rohingya refugees in Cox’s Bazar.
This is an unprecedented act for any nation, and no small achievement for a nation as resource-strapped as Bangladesh -- to think about the health and well-being of the refugees living within its borders. All the authorities concerned and the relevant stakeholders, including the international agencies assisting with the administration process, deserve applause for this benevolent initiative.
Not only is this the right thing to do from a moral standpoint, but it is also the rational move from a health point of view. Rohingya refugee camps, with their cramped spaces, have always been potential hotbeds for Covid-19, and vaccinating the Rohingya population at these camps should ensure that this risk is minimized.
However, while Bangladesh continues to go above and beyond to ensure that the Rohingya exist within our borders safely and with a modicum of dignity, we must never deviate from the ultimate goal -- that of repatriating them back to their homeland in Myanmar, and afforded all of the rights that any citizen of a country receives. The international community is surely watching Bangladesh continue to provide for the Rohingya, and now it must do its part in putting pressure on Myanmar to ensure safe repatriation.
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