Jonathan Duffy visits Rohingya refugees in Bangladesh :: Adventist News Network

Dec 15, 2017
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Silver Spring, Maryland, United States
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ADRA PR and Marketing Staff/ANN

President of the Adventist Development and Relief Agency, Jonathan Duffy, recently visited Cox Bazar, Bangladesh to get an eye witness account of the Rohingya refugee crises.  To date, more than 62,000 Rohingya refugees have arrived in Bangladesh.

Duffy spent two days visiting three refugee camps, including Nayapara, Leda and the biggest camp, Kutupalong, meeting with hundreds of Rohingya refugees who were affected. He also joined ADRA’s emergency response team in Bangladesh to help distribute much needed food items throughout the camps.  

Deeply moved, Duffy said “I have been to several refugee camps around the world, but I haven’t seen so much need and sorrow. I truly feel for the Rohingya people and strongly believe no person in this world, no matter their background, deserves to be treated with such hate and violence.”

It’s estimated that more than 6,700 Royhingya have been killed since violence erupted in the Myanmar state of Rakhine. According to the United Nations, as of December 11, nearly 860,000 Rohingya have sought refuge in Cox’s Bazar, Bangladesh. 646,000 have arrive since violence erupted in Myanmar on August 25. Many are women and children injured during the violence. 

Considered to be the world’s most persecuted people, the Royhingya are a stateless Indo-Aryan ethnic body, a majority of whom are Muslim. More than 90 percent of people in Myanmar are Buddhist. 

In the last month, ADRA has distributed more than 7,500 food packets and 5,000 shelter kits for Rohingya refugees and continue to provide aid as ongoing needs continue to grow.