With entry to Rohingya camps in Cox’s Bazar closed for a day, time to explore life and organizations nearby

JEWIS WORLD WATCH

WALK TO END GENOCIDE

Ann Strimov Durbin

Ann Strimov Durbin is a human rights attorney and the Director of Advocacy and Grantmaking at Jewish World Watch.

Students pose with JWW Advocacy and Grantmaking Director Ann Strimov Durbin at a school in Bangladesh.

After an auspicious first day in the camps — in the sense that we got in and moved freely without incident — the second day brought unexpected challenges. I woke up to find out that street protests by the host community living adjacent to some of the camps were blocking any vehicles from going through, effectively cutting off all access to the camps. The government wasn’t permitting any NGOs to enter. At first, I started to panic: does this mean I lose a whole day? What if the Rohingya refugee camps don’t reopen for the rest of my time here? I decided to just see where the day takes me. Since everyone was essentially stuck in the city center due to the camp closures, I quickly coordinated meetings in and around my hotel. It turned out to be an unforgettable day exploring areas and interventions I didn’t even know existed.

Finally arrived: Meeting the Rohingya in the camps for the first time

JEWIS WORLD WATCH

WALK TO END GENOCIDE

Ann Strimov Durbin, March 6, 2019,Spotlight | Article

Ann Strimov Durbin is a human rights attorney and the Director of Advocacy and Grantmaking at Jewish World Watch.
 

Young Rohingya children in a classroom in the camp in Cox's Bazar. Photo by Rares Michael Ghilezan

Yesterday was my first day in the camps. Haythem, from one of our partner organizations, met me and my traveling companion/friend/photographer Rares Michael Ghilezan at the airport at Cox’s Bazar. We quickly dropped off our luggage and then we were off to the camps, anxious about whether or not we would even be permitted to enter. The camp administration has stopped issuing passes to foreigners since an incident a few weeks ago when a team of documentarians was attacked because some refugees mistook them for traffickers when they led some children away to fetch sweets from a food stand.

En route to the refugee camps in Cox’s Bazar

JEWIS WORLD WATCH

WALK TO END GENOCIDE

 Ann Strimov Durbin, March 4, 2019 

Ann Strimov Durbin, JWW's director of advocacy and grantmaking, in a car on her way to the refugee camps in Cox's Bazar. Photo by Rares Michael Ghilezan .

Ann Strimov Durbin is a human rights attorney and the Director of Advocacy and Grantmaking at Jewish World Watch.

I’m about to depart on the last leg of my journey to the camps in Cox’s Bazar. Just a 1-hr flight from Dhaka to Cox’s Bazar remains. Although the main mission of my trip has not yet begun, I have already seen and heard so much.