In no-man's land

For years, the Dolma* family of ten has been living in a small, dark hut in Kutupalong, the largest refugee camp in the world. It is part of the Cox's Bazar district, which is home to around one million Rohingya refugees. The streets are packed with people. One hut adjoins another, whole hills are crammed with simple dwellings. The sewage runs into open ditches and spreads foul odours. Public latrines serve as toilets.

The Dolma family's wish is to return to Myanmar. The Dolmas are members of the Rohingya Muslim tribe. Since 2017, hundreds of thousands of them have fled Buddhist Myanmar, where they were subjected to massive violence, persecution and discrimination. They are stateless because the Myanmar government has denied them citizenship.

Kutupalong is huge and divided into various sub-camps. On arrival, the families first have to register and are sent to the transit camp. Later, they are allocated a place to live and given some bamboo and waterproof tarp to build a hut.

All families can fetch fresh water once a day from public wells. Each person also receives a daily food ration, but this only just covers the minimum calorie requirement. Pregnant women and children are often malnourished.

Nobody is allowed to leave or enter the camp without authorisation. We only gain entry thanks to connections. We currently have three contact persons in the camp who are Rohingya refugees themselves. They visit the estimated 100 Christian families living here, evangelise and help where they can. Our aim is to also offer discipleship courses in the camp through our partners.

Sometimes the Christian families are attacked by the Muslims or their huts are destroyed. In such cases, the victims are returned to the transit camp. But this is run as strictly as a prison. There are currently 15 Christian families living there. They are praying that they will soon be relocated to other camps. In their lack of prospects, it is Jesus who gives them hope for life.

*Name changed