Help for Trouble

Over 723,000

refugees have fled to Bangladesh since 25 August 2017.

Rohingya refugees fled violence in Myanmar at a staggering rate in 2017 – and the numbers keep growing.

At the peak of the crisis, thousands were crossing into Bangladesh daily. Most walked for days through jungles and mountains, or braved dangerous sea voyages across the Bay of Bengal. They arrived exhausted, hungry and sick – in need of international protection and humanitarian assistance.

Over a million Rohingya refugees have fled violence in Myanmar in successive waves of displacement since the early 1990s. Follow the crisis here.

The Rohingya are a stateless Muslim minority in Myanmar. The latest exodus began on 25 August 2017, when violence broke out in Myanmar’s Rakhine State, driving more than 723,000 to seek refuge in Bangladesh. Most arrived in the first three months of the crisis. An estimated 12,000 reached Bangladesh during the first half of 2018. The vast majority reaching Bangladesh are women and children, and more than 40 per cent are under age 12. Many others are elderly people requiring additional aid and protection. They have nothing and need everything.

• See also: Rohingya Refugee Emergency at a Glance

Nearly all who arrived during the influx have sought shelter in and around the refugee settlements of Kutupalong and Nayapara in Bangladesh’s Cox’s Bazar district. Some have joined relatives there. The enormous scale of the influx is putting an immense pressure on the Bangladeshi host community and existing facilities and services.