Stand against injustice inflicted on Rohingyas, says Jordan’s Queen Rania

Jordan’s Queen Rania Al-Abdullah has called on the international community to stand up to the injustices inflicted on Rohingyas during her visit to the Kutupalang Rohingya refugee camp in Cox’s Bazar’s Ukhiya Upazila.

The queen visited Bangladesh as a representative of the International Rescue Committee, or ICR, and the UN refugee agency to survey the situation and arrange for a swift increase in emergency aid for the refugees.

“The international community should stand beside the Rohingya people, not only for humanitarian reasons, but for justice,” Queen Rania said after her visit to the site on Monday.

Over half a million Rohingyas have fled across the border into Bangladesh since the Myanmar military began a crackdown in Rakhine state on Aug 25.

She called upon the world to speak out against the ‘ethnic cleansing’ of the Rohingyas.

The queen took a flight from Dhaka to Cox’s Bazar at 11am on Monday. She was accompanied by Bangladesh’s State Minister for Foreign Affairs Shahriar Alam.

“The suffering I have seen and the stories I have heard from #Rohingya #refugees at Kutupalong Camp are harrowing and heartbreaking,” she said in a tweet after the visit.

She was then shown around the Kutupalang refugee camp, spoke to some of the Rohingyas and surveyed the work of the international development organisations.

The queen praised the government and people of Bangladesh for the helping hand extended to the Rohingya people at the temporary IOM hospital at the camp after the inspection.

“Ninety-five percent of the Rohingyas here have difficulty meeting their basic needs,” Queen Rania said.

 

She expressed her hope that more humanitarian aid would be provided for the refugees at the meeting in Geneva on Monday.

"For years, the Rohingya people in Myanmar have been victims of discrimination, injustice, and oppression. Sadly, this systematic persecution of a religious minority is taking place in full view of the world. The international community must put an end to their suffering and safeguard their rights," reads a statement posted on the Jordanian queen's Instagram profile.