I Gave Birth in a Refugee Camp
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Described by the United Nations as one of the “world’s most persecuted minorities," Rohingya Muslims have been fleeing their homes in Myanmar to reach safety in refugee camps outside the country. As they do so, more and more babies are being born at the camps, but the conditions they're brought into are far less than ideal. The conditions in the camp have been called "catastrophic," with malnutrition, disease, human trafficking and other threats running rampant. That's compounded by lack of access to basic necessities, like diapers and basic hygiene products. And it's not just a few babies being born — in the next three months, it's estimated that 15,480 children will be born to Rohingya women living in refugee camps.
Plan International, a development and humanitarian organization, went to the Balukhali settlement called Cox’s Bazar to deliver vital hygiene supplies and information to cut down on disease in the camp. While they were there, they spoke to new mothers about the conditions they're facing, and Dutch photographer Michael Rhebergen captured these portraits.
Plan International / Michael Rhebergen1/7Anwara
Anwara (17) gave birth seven days ago. She arrived at Balukhali camp in Cox's Bazar, Bangladesh, in the first week of September when she was eight months pregnant. She is part of an all-female household. She lives with her three sisters and her sister-in-law. They have eight children between them. When they fled Myanmar, they all lost their husbands in the chaos. They have no idea what happened to them.
"We fled because people were shooting at us. It took us five days to get here. Sometimes I slipped back because my stomach hurt. It was a really hard journey.
"There are no men in our house. It’s just us women taking care of the family. As we don’t have our husbands, we decided to all live together. But it’s hard. We get relief every 15 days, but it isn’t enough. Each household only gets a certain amount and, because we all live under one roof, we get only one bag between us. Sometimes we don’t eat so that we have enough food for the kids. So we’re always hungry.
"I've only been married for a year and I'm so worried about my husband. I try to get information about him, but I can't -there is no way to."During the day, I look after my daughter. She's got a rash. She's had it for three or four days now, but I'm still very weak and I can't go to the doctor because the queues are long and I can't stand for long periods of time."I didn't have any clothes for my daughter when we arrived, but I managed to gather some things from someone who was throwing clothes from a truck. In Myanmar, I would have made nappies, but here I don't have anything to make them from.
"In Myanmar, we had a two story wooden house and farmland, so we were fine there. We had no poverty or hunger. Although I'm happy to be safe here, there was a case in one of the blocks nearby recently, where we heard that a child was killed, so we’re very worried about that happening to our children. Even at night we sit up, to make sure we can keep an eye on them. As we don't have any men in our house, it's really a very big worry for us.We have to be extra alert. We fled to another country to live peacefully with our children. If we lose them, then what will we do?”
Plan International / Michael Rhebergen2/7Dilduha
Dilduha (23) arrived at Balukhali camp in Cox's Bazar, Bangladesh, in September with her husband and two other children (a son, age 8 , and a daughter, age 5). Her new baby boy is seven days old.
"Our house was set on fire so we ran for our lives. It was a long, hard journey. We slept in fishermen's huts and hid in the jungle, as well as in the hills.
"When we first arrived here there was only a stream for us to drink from and I had a few health issues as a result. But now, thankfully, we have a tube well. It was installed twenty days ago.
“Before the toilets were built I had to wear a burka to go to one far away. I would wait until I absolutely had to go and there was no queue. You can't go outside here without a burka, otherwise you will have men looking at you. In the mornings there was always a really long queue, so I had to wait.
"It is not possible for us to work here, so we rely on relief. I hope my children can go to school one day, but at the moment my son is not very well and I'm worried about him, so that is my main concern. I didn't have any clothes to dress him in when he was born, but I managed to buy some cloth with the help of an organisation that gave us some money, so at least I can keep him warm."
Plan International / Michael Rhebergen3/7Fatima
Fatima (25) arrived at Balukhali camp in Cox's Bazar, Bangladesh, two months ago with her husband and daughter (2). Her newborn daughter is one month old. About 30 people fled from her village.
"People were being shot and houses were being burned. We heard them coming so we fled. It took us many days to get here. We stayed in other empty homes which other people, also fleeing, had abandoned.
"After my daughter was born she got a rash so we had to get her to a doctor. We didn't have any money, so we had to just ask for his help and he kindly gave us medicine for her. It would have been much easier if she'd been born in Myanmar. It was raining hard here and it was difficult to keep things clean in those conditions. In the rain we had to keep her warm and it was really cold so that made it hard. I only had my own clothes to wrap her in.
"I don't have nappies or anything — I just use a bit of cloth and then wash it and hang it up to dry. When we arrived, we had to get water from far away. Then we dug our own well, but it wasn't exactly clean water. But now we've had a tube well for 20 days, so that's made things a bit easier.
"It's difficult for children to go out here, because it’s so steep and they can fall. Especially in the rainy season when it gets slippery.
"My husband is looking for work, but there isn't any. We survive on the relief aid we get. I'm not getting enough food myself, so I can't feed my new baby properly. We eat only twice a day."
Plan International / Michael Rhebergen4/7Jomila
Jomila (25) arrived at Balukhali camp in Cox's Bazar, Bangladesh, together with her husband and two children (age 5 and 3) in the first week of September. Her baby is eight days old.
"We left in a group of 20. It took us so long to get here, over the hills and islands. It was very difficult to walk when I was pregnant. People had to wait for me and sometimes I felt sick too, so again they had to wait. Three days after I gave birth I was in severe pain. I was close to death, so my husband managed to get me to the hospital. I'm still taking medicine to help me get better.
"My husband built this house himself. We're on a hill, so he had to make the ground flat so that we could build on it. There was no help from anyone — we bought all the materials ourselves and he did all the manual labour.
"We've received relief twice — four kilos of rice each time. We manage to make two meals a day for our children.
"We have a tube well nearby. My husband goes to collect water every day. He sleeps during the day now, because at night time he volunteers with four other men to protect the area. This makes us feel more secure.
"I send the children to the madrasa every day, and I stay home to look after the baby. I'm very worried about her. She's got a swollen lump on her chest and all I have to wrap her in is a bit of cloth we tore from my husband's clothes. I've managed to get a top for her, but that's all.
"We don't have nappies — we just wash her a lot. If I was in Myanmar, I would have a lot of clothes I could make nappies out of and I'd wash and reuse them. But here, I don't have any choice but to do what I'm doing.
"We used to have a big wooden house in Myanmar. We had a farm so we grew rice, and we were able to buy the other food that we needed. We didn't lack anything."In Myanmar, I would have given the children some education, but here my biggest concern is getting warm clothes for them ahead of winter."
Plan International / Michael Rhebergen5/7Mondaz
Mondaz (26) cradles her 22-day-old daughter in her arms. This is her first child. Mondaz lives in Balukhali camp in Cox's Bazar, Bangladesh, with her husband, mother, two sisters and two brothers.
"People were burning houses in our area, so we had to flee. It took us eight days to get here, hiding in the hills and the forest. We had to stay on an island too. We were too scared to sleep.
"I had to go to hospital to give birth because I was having difficulties during labour. It was in the neighbouring camp, and I stayed in overnight. I was meant to go back for a check-up after four to five days, but I haven't been because I can't afford to.Four days after she was born, she got some kind of rash so we took her to the medical centre. Hopefully it'll clear up.
"I don't have any clothes for my daughter, so I just use some cloth to keep her warm. And I made my own nappies from cloth. I have five, so I reuse them, wash them and dry them in the sun. My mother or my husband go to get the water. It takes a long time to get there and it's heavy to carry it all the way back. There is a tube well closer by, but it's hard to pump.
"We buy firewood. It's about 500 Taka for a bundle, and it lasts about a week. It's very difficult to get work here, but my husband sells his labour when he can. If he manages to earn some money, then we eat fish. Otherwise we just have rice. Some days we only eat rice and salt.
"I'm adjusting to the environment here. It's nice to talk to new people. Even though we don't have all our relatives here, all the new people here are our relatives now since we moved in."
Plan International / Michael Rhebergen6/7Rashida
Rashida (27) gave birth to her daughter in October at Balukhali camp in Cox's Bazar, Bangladesh. She arrived at the camp seven days before that. She has four children in total: two sons (10 and 8) and a daughter (2). She fled with her family because each of their four houses were torched. Her husband was beaten.
"It was really difficult to run away and hide while I was pregnant. My tummy hurt, I got cut. It was a very hard journey. My legs were hurting and I couldn't walk.
“It took us 11 days to get here. We were so hungry. We were very weak and couldn't walk. We only ate bananas we found along the way.
"My sister-in-law lost her 14-year-old when we were running away. She went back to look for him, but they were just killing people right in front of her and she couldn't get through. We have no idea if he is dead or alive.
"We borrowed money to build our tent, to even out the land, and to buy the tarpaulin. We don't have a fence like we did back home.
"In Myanmar, our houses were big and built from clay. We were day labourers, but we had enough to eat there. We used to be four separate families, but here, we are altogether.
“We got some rice when we first arrived, but we have only two meals a day. There are 19 of us under one roof and it's not enough.
"We're very worried about the children. 20 people were caught and handed over to the army last night. We don't know why they came, but it makes it hard to sleep at night when there are so many things to worry about.
“Our children have no clothes. My daughter is getting sick — she has diarrhea. We just have to wash her clothes when she soils them — we don't have any nappies. There was no water here when we arrived, and no toilets either. We dug a hole to get water, but it was dirty. So it's was hard to keep things clean when the water itself was dirty.”
Plan International / Michael Rhebergen7/7Yasmin
Yasmin (20) arrived at Balukhali camp in Cox's Bazar, Bangladesh, in September with her two daughters (age 4 and 2) and her husband. Her baby is 15 days old and was born at the camp three days after she arrived.
"Our tent wasn't even built when I gave birth. One older lady and my sister helped me with the delivery. We just had to cover the area as best we could to try and get some privacy. It was a very sudden labour so I had no time to go anywhere else. It was also raining, so the ground was just completely flooded. We weren't even able to cook because there was no firewood.
"We had to buy the tarpaulin and bamboo to build our house, because there was no relief. We also bought pots to cook. I got a sack of rice and two pots from the distribution centre, but that's all since I've been here.
“I feel very weak and my baby isn't doing very well either. I'm having difficulty producing enough milk for her, so I have to supplement her feeding with rice-water.
"It's difficult for us to get by, but my husband goes to the hills to collect firewood and he sells that to make money so we can buy food."Our house in Myanmar was set on fire, that's why we fled. Everyone from our village fled to Bangladesh. I wasn't able to bring anything with me for the new baby because it all went up in flames. I got her outfit from someone who was giving out clothes.
"When I left home, I stayed overnight in the forest, then two nights on an island, then we reached here. It was very difficult to travel. My legs were swollen. But I felt blessed to give birth here, because it wasn't on the side of the road.”
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