Christian families lose everything in Bangladesh
Barnabas Fund, 30 March 2021
Many Christian families lost their shelter and what little possessions they owned when fire engulfed a sprawling Rohingya refugee camp in Cox’s Bazar, Bangladesh, on 22 March.
The United Nations refugee agency said 11 people died in the inferno and 560 were injured. Up to 45,000 refugees were displaced as the flames ripped through sections of the densely packed camp, destroying shelters.
Cox’s Bazar is home to nearly one million mainly-Muslim ethnic Rohingya amongst whom are a few hundred Rohingya Christian converts from another background; all fled their homeland in Myanmar (Burma) to escape persecution at the hands of the army.
The homeless Christian families are now living in temporary shelter and Barnabas is providing for their immediate needs of food, clothing, and cooking utensils. We will also be providing them with new homes to replace those destroyed in the fire.
The isolated Rohingya Christian community in Cox’s Bazar is doubly-persecuted. Having fled persecution in their homeland, the Christians are persecuted by an extremist minority among the Rohingya Muslim refugees in the camp.