"The light of a single lightbulb powered by a backup generator lasts just long enough for Noor and Sowkat to see the faces of their newborn babies for the first time. The two children were born on the same night on a crumbling foam mattress, its corners ripped to shreds by the thousands of women who have gone into labour here in Camp 22's makeshift delivery room."
"In the cramped, windowless room next door, Rajuma, 30, waits nervously for the results of a prenatal test as machines beep in and out of action around her. Rajuma is eight months pregnant and knows that once her baby is born she will need to skip meals in order to feed her family; there has been a series of ration cuts this year."
Over 1.1 million Rohingya now live in Cox's Bazar refugee camps, where humanitarian aid has a 63% shortfall, straining services and food rations. Newborns are delivered in makeshift, overcrowded facilities with unreliable power and worn mattresses. Pregnant women face equipment failures and anticipate skipping meals due to ration cuts. About 750,000 Rohingya fled Myanmar after a 2017 crackdown described as ethnic cleansing, and nearly 200,000 more have arrived since early 2024 amid renewed violence. Bangladesh does not recognise them as refugees, limiting opportunities and complicating camp conditions and assistance.
Read at www.theguardian.com
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