Rohingya women in Bangladesh yearn for home

Sabina Begum fled with her children, aged 3 and 5, to neighboring Bangladesh after her husband was killed in Myanmar’s western Rakhine state.

She is among the several thousand Rohingya women who lost their husbands and children to state persecution in Myanmar.

They are seeking refuge in various camps in Bangladesh, waiting for a safe return to their homeland.

Begum, 19, told Anadolu Agency, about her treacherous journey to safety.

“I walked for four days and then reached a riverside. We waited there along with many other people. I finally got on a boat.

“But our boat was attacked by them [the Myanmar military]. One of the bullets hit my stomach and I passed out.

“I gained consciousness after three days. Some people gave me water,” she said, fighting tears.

Uncertain future

Sitting outside a bamboo and polythene shelter, she said: “I don’t know how I will live. What will the future of my children be like?”

The Moinnarghona camp located 40 kilometers (24.85 miles) from southeastern Cox’s Bazaar city, where she currently seeks shelter, hosts nearly 150,000 Rohingya refugees.

Turkish Cooperation and Coordination Agency (TIKA) provides one meal every day to the refugees at the camp.

Despite that Begum longs for the day she can return home.

“It is not my country. I want to go to my country and live a peaceful life in Muangdaw.”

Rasheeda Bibi, 35, currently lives in a makeshift bamboo and plastic tent at Kutupalong camp in Cox's bazar.

She says she saw her sons and husband being murdered by the Myanmar military and Buddhist mobs.

Longing for home

She fled her village, which was being torched, and walked for 12 days to reach Naf River which separates Myanmar and Bangladesh.

Safe in Bangladesh since September, she too longs for peace to return to her country.

The Rohingya, described by the UN as the world's most persecuted people, have faced heightened fears of attack since dozens were killed in communal violence in 2012.

More than 650,000 Refugees, mostly children and women, fled Bangladesh since 25 Aug. 2017 when Myanmar forces launched a crackdown on the minority Muslim community, according to the UN.

At least 9,000 Rohingya were killed in Rakhine state from Aug. 25 to Sept. 24, according to Doctors Without Borders.

In a report published on Dec. 12, the global humanitarian organization said that the deaths of 71.7 percent or 6,700 Rohingya were caused by violence. They include 730 children below the age of 5.

The UN has documented mass gang rapes, killings -- including of infants and young children -- brutal beatings, and disappearances committed by security personnel. In a report, UN investigators said such violations may have constituted crimes against humanity.