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The old age Rohingya refugees in Cox`s Bazar refugee camps need “age- friendly spaces”

Bangladesh has been experiencing a sharp growth of ageing population with its current state of over 14 million being in their 60s or older. The projection data suggest that by 2050, one in five will be an older person in Bangladesh (Kabir et al, 2013). In recent decades, traditional care by family members has been significantly lessening due to significant demographic changes along with the nuclear family concepts, and migration to cities and abroad. However, unfortunately, there is still no formal care support for older people (see ageing and elderly care support exists in Bangladesh). Predominantly, older people are more vulnerable due to the lower income, and scarcity of healthcare facilities provided by the government, national and transnational NGOs in Bangladesh. To investigate the phenomenon, the researcher (Sher E Khoda, CoE AgeCare) visited Bangladesh in 2021 to gather empirical data from older people in rural areas. The results indicate that older people, particularly those who are economically poor, have been denied both basic social and health care services. It is noteworthy that the most common scenario in rural areas is that older people are simply left alone without any formal or informal care services in Bangladesh.

In the same vein, Abdul Kadir Khan- a Doctoral Researcher in Development studies at the Ģ��ֱ��, has been researching on the aid localization of the Rohingya humanitarian response. After visiting the Rohingya camps in Bangladesh during September - October 2022, he met one of the local NGO workers working on a COVID-19 vaccine awareness and implementation project in the Rohingya humanitarian response. During their discussion, Abdul learned that older Rohingya refugees who fled to Bangladesh from Myanmar in August 2017, were neglected in many aspects of their care and support, leaving them vulnerable to intolerable and often unsupported health treatments in the camps. . Notwithstanding to the old-age care initiatives undertaken, it is visible that Bangladesh lacks the standard provision of care policies of the older people and services, especially with the limited resources and capacity of the Government of Bangladesh (GoB).

In terms of the Bangladesh government's care and ageing policy, the Parents Maintenance Act (2013); following the National Policy on Ageing (2007) have been initiated to ensure care for older people by the family members. However, these policies have not yet formulated for effective implementation. The Government of Bangladesh does not have any specific ministry responsible for the well-being of older people, but the department of social services under the Ministry of Social Welfare (MoSW) provides old-age allowance (OAA) to older people under the National Social Security Program (NSSP) (BBS, 2022). However, these means-tested allowances are very limited in terms of quantity and quality. Hence, care provisions for older displaced Rohingyas from Myanmar to Rohingya camps in Bangladesh could be even worse, which need crucial assessment.

More than 700,000 Rohingya refugees / Forced Displaced Myanmar nationals (FDMN) fled Myanmar to Bangladesh on 25th August 2017 due to life threats, persecution, mass atrocity crimes, as well as ethnic cleansing committed by the Myanmar Military Janta (The Guardian, 2022). There are currently more than one million Rohingya FDMNs living in sprawling, filthy, and dire conditions in 33 refugee camps in Cox's Bazar. Age International (2018) reports that during the influx in 2017, one in five Rohingyas who fled Myanmar for Bangladesh without belongings or financial support were 59 years old or older (Age International, 2018). In fact, older Rohingya people are amongst the most vulnerable groups who fled to Bangladesh due to violence in Myanmar. According to the Joint response plan (2022), a total of 32,870 people living in camps are 59 years old or above (JRP, 2022).

There are many older Rohingyas living in the camps who lost their young family members in Myanmar by the Military Janta and are incapable of fetching aid from the nearest registration points. In fact, they struggle to secure their daily needs and doing the household chores for preparing meals, and access to services to sanitary latrines, water, health centres, and aid distributions because of living in the hilly areas in Cox`s Bazar. Furthermore, aid packs are too heavy for them to carry and difficult to open. Age International argues that emergency aids cannot be standardized as "one size fits all", and older people in an emergency need food that is easy to chew and digest, medicine and health care, walking sticks and glasses, and care at home if they are immobile (Age International, 2018).

According to the Amnesty International report (2020), during the COVID-19 period, older people were at a higher risk of infection and death than the general population in the camps (Amnesty International, 2020, as they face difficulties in maintaining basic hygiene measures such as handwashing because of the lack of accessible handbasins, sinks, and water. Considering they lived in a confined and densely populated area with 40,000 - 70,000 people per square kilometre in Cox's Bazar Rohingya camps (The Diplomat, 2021), where maintaining social distancing was nearly impossible. Today, the Rohingya humanitarian response is overseen by the Government of Bangladesh and coordinated by the Inter-Sector Coordination Group (ISCG), a body of UN agencies, international organizations, and stakeholders. Those who are old and in need of care should not be forgotten in the Rohingya humanitarian response, as they are the most vulnerable among those groups. The GoB has not granted refugee status to Rohingyas, and desperately looking for those displaced minorities to return home voluntarily. Consequently, there is no long-term ageing and care policy for the older Rohingya people in the Bangladeshi Camps. However, the ongoing conflict in Myanmar and the coup d'état in February, 2021 has worsened the situation for voluntary repatriation (return) of the Rohingyas.

Thus, these vulnerable individuals need physical and psychological spaces that are age-friendly where they can feel safe and receive practical aid, food, medicine, and emotional support after experiencing the trauma five years ago, remembering the unforgettable memories of violence, atrocities, rape, and genocide. Therefore, it is vital that policy makers of the Joint Response Plan (JRP) for the Rohingya humanitarian response should consider these challenges and design more age-friendly spaces for those forcefully displaced older Rohingya minorities who are immobile and deprived.

Sources:

Bangladesh: COVID-19 response flaws put older Rohingya refugees in imminent danger (2020), Amnesty International, see . Access date 10.01.2022.

Indefinite hosting of Rohingya refugees a growing concern for Bangladesh (2021) The Diplomat, see . Access date 12.11.2022

Joint Response Plan (2022) Rohingya humanitarian crisis, see . Access 10.11.2022

Kabir R, Khan HTA, Mohammad K, and Rahman TM (2013) Population Ageing in Bangladesh and Its Implication on Health Care. European Scientific Journal, 9, 33, 1857- 7431

Khoda, S. E (2021) Ageing and elderly care in Bangladesh: Policy initiatives and challenges, see /hytk/fi/laitokset/yfi/en/research/projects/agecare/ageing-and-elderly-care-in-bangladesh-policy-initiatives-and-challenges. Access 10.01.2023.

Life for older Rohingya in Bangladesh Camps, Age International Blog( 18 October , 2017) see . Access 01.11.2022

`Like an open prison: a million Rohingya Refugees still in Bangladesh camps five years after crisis (2022) The Guardian, see . Access: 12.11.2022