Bangladesh

What She Makes – Sign the pledge

MAKE YOUR VOICE HEARD

I pledge to stand with the women who make our clothes. I want these women to get a living wage so they can afford the basic needs of life

Systemic exploitation and widespread poverty wages are denying these women basic human rights and decent lives.

Join us to hold brands accountable. Together, let’s tell them to stop profiting by keeping millions of women in poverty and demand real action. It’s time to end this injustice and make brands pay a living wage so their workers can not only survive, but thrive.

Add your name now. Speak out and demand that clothing brands selling in New Zealand pay a living wage. #WhatSheMakes

BIG BRANDS SHOULD HAVE NOTHING TO HIDE.

Supply chain transparency is a critical step in paying a living wage and in changing the lives of the women who make our clothes.

Share with someone who will stand with us:

All images by Fabeha Monir, except where stated otherwise.

What She Makes

TOGETHER, WE CAN CHANGE LIVES

Together, we can change the lives of the women who make our clothes and make sure they earn enough to live with dignity.

Despite making millions in profits, clothing brands do not pay garment workers enough money to cover the basics of life. Join Oxfam and stand with the women who make our clothes so they don’t have to choose between paying rent or buying food each month.

We are exposing the reality behind the clothes sold in Aotearoa. With your voice demanding change and Oxfam’s direct engagement with the brands, we can hold these brands accountable, push for change in how they do business, and end the exploitation of the women who make our clothes. Sign Oxfam’s pledge to demand fashion brands pay a living wage now.

• They make us do overtime, 60-70 hours including overnight. When audit comes, our manager will warn us not to tell that we are doing excessive overtime at night, or they will cut our pay and abuse us with harsh words. – Chameli, 30

• Nothing happens with my monthly salary of 6,000 taka. After spending on food for my family, there is nothing left. I also need treatment for my foot, but how could I afford it? I had to take out a loan of 60,000 taka to get treatment. After I pay the loan monthly, I can barely manage my living expenses. It is difficult to live like I do. I would have to take more loans to survive. – Shima, 26

• Even if I feel sick, I still have to work. What can I do? As I am a garment worker, I am poor. I feel sick because of hunger, but I can’t afford to rest. – Rita, 48

learn more about the situation of these women and how poverty wages affect them and their families. Button: the situation

BIG BRANDS SHOULD HAVE NOTHING TO HIDE.

Supply chain transparency is a critical step in paying a living wage and in changing the lives of the women who make our clothes.

Did you know?

In Bangladesh, the minimum wage is only about a third of what is needed to afford a decent standard of living. That means garment workers must choose between paying rent or buying groceries for the family. They cannot afford to get both.

Increasing the retail price by just 1% on average is enough to support a living wage for the women who make our clothes.

It will take a garment worker 70 years to earn what a fashion CEO makes in a week. Meanwhile, it takes one hour for a fashion CEO to earn what a garment worker earns in a year.

Make a donation to support #WhatSheMakes and ensure the women who make our clothes are paid a living wage.

Share with someone who will stand with us:

All images by Fabeha Monir, except where stated otherwise.

Give the gift of light

Help keep refugees safe

Hundreds of attacks on women are reported each week in the Cox’s Bazar region of Bangladesh, and many have injured themselves after falling over in the dark on the treacherous, uneven paths.

Monsoon season brings other dangers, like muddy landslides that destroy tents and contaminate drinking water. And Covid-19 still threatens the overcrowded population.

Your support could help provide refugees with the tools they need to stay safe like solar-powered lanterns, clean water and hygiene training.

What we might take for granted, like a torch or running water, could be life-changing for families living in the largest refugee camp in the world.

THIS PROBABLY WON’T CHANGE YOUR LIFE, BUT IT COULD CHANGE SOMEONE ELSE’S LIFE.

Massive fire in Bangladesh’s Rohingya refugee camps leaves 45,000 people displaced

March 25, 2021

Key Facts

Massive fires swept through the Cox’s Bazar Refugee Camps on March 22, 2021.
The damage is significant and still being assessed.
Preliminary reports say that 10,000 families (approximately 45,000 persons) were displaced.
At least 15 refugees were killed. Hundreds of others were injured.
Four camps have extensive damage. Thousands of shelters, offices, and other facilities were burned.
Oxfam’s Rapid Response Team has been deployed and worked through the night providing water to help extinguish the fire. The team also provided drinking water, hygiene kits, and emergency latrines.
Fencing around the camps impeded firefighting machinery and refugees attempts to escape the fire. • Humanitarians are urgently asking the authorities for: (1) improved phone/internet connectivity in camps, (2) to waive the restrictions on passes for NGO cars, (3) for access gates to be opened and fences taken down from roads.

A massive fire that swept through the refugee camps of Cox’s Bazar, Bangladesh, on Monday has left 10,000 families—roughly 45,000 people—displaced and in urgent need of food, water, and sanitation services, Oxfam warned today. The fire was yet another devastating blow to the Rohingya people who fled shocking violence and persecution in Myanmar.

The fire started on Monday at 4pm and spread rapidly for several hours in the densely populated camps, destroying thousands of bamboo and tarpaulin shelters, until government fire and rescue services managed to control the blaze. The damage is extensive and still being assessed, but early reports suggest that 15 people were killed, and at least 560 people were injured, while hundreds remain missing.

“The worst affected areas have been reduced to ash—the only things left standing are shelter foundations and bits of household metal like pots and sewing machines. The level of destruction is unlike anything our team has seen before,” said Enamul Hoque, who leads Oxfam’s Rapid Response Team.

“We are deeply concerned for the safety and wellbeing of the 10,000 families displaced by the fire. The blaze has destroyed critical infrastructure, including water stands and sanitation facilities. Refugee families are in urgent need of food, drinking water, and safe toilet facilities.”

Oxfam’s Rohingya volunteers were the first responders, followed by the multi-agency Rapid Response Team, which deployed immediately with water trucks—on standby for such emergencies—and rushed to the camps to help extinguish the blaze. The team also transported water in jerry cans to refugees in areas that the water trucks could not reach. Barbed wire fencing around the camps impeded both refugees’ ability to escape and the Oxfam response team’s ability to provide aid in time and at scale.

“The Rapid Response team worked through the night, setting up water tankers and installing tap stands to distribute emergency drinking water. The team also provided displaced refugees with hygiene kits and emergency latrines,” said Mr Hoque. “It will take time to repair water infrastructure systems, increasing the risk of sickness, particularly as the monsoon season approaches.”

Oxfam will also work with partners to distribute soap, food, and household essentials like solar lights.

The Cox’s Bazar camps are severely crowded with roughly 40,000 people per square kilometer. The 10,000 families displaced by the fire are now taking temporary refuge in other camps which are already densely populated, further heightening the risk of an outbreak of COVID-19.

In the wake of the fire, many families and children have been separated. A top priority in the coming days will be reuniting families and monitoring the safety conditions for those who have been displaced. As we know from past experience, women and girls bear the brunt of this type of crisis—often placing themselves at risk to find means to survive. Oxfam will continue to assess gendered needs and identify immediate solutions together with other humanitarian actors.

Notes to the Editor

The Rapid Response team works in coordination with Bangladesh’s Department of Public Health Engineering (DPHE), the UN, and the Cox’s Bazar WASH sector.
Oxfam New Zealand has been supporting women’s leadership and access to services in the camps since 2017, with funding from the New Zealand Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Trade.

Media Contact

Jo Spratt | Communications and Advocacy Director | Wellington, New Zealand | Joanna.spratt@oxfam.org.nz | 0210664210

Nesrine Aly | Oxfam News Manager | Cairo, Egypt | nesrine.aly@oxfam.org | +201222486964 / +447503989838

Lily Partland | Senior Media Coordinator | Melbourne, Australia | lilyp@oxfam.org.au | +61 418 118 687

Oxfam responds to devastation in the wake of Cyclone Amphan

May 25, 2020

Cyclone Amphan has left a trail of devastation throughout north-east India and the Bangladesh coast, with over 80 deaths reported so far, destroying homes, embankments and crops, and compounding the suffering in many communities already hit by coronavirus and the impact of the lockdown.

The low-lying coastal communities in both countries are amongst the worst hit by the strongest ever cyclone recorded over the Bay of Bengal, which swept through the region late Thursday.

Oxfam and its partners are helping provide food, shelter and clean water to communities and assessing the further support needed in many others.

Dipankar Datta, Country Director, Oxfam in Bangladesh said:

“The situation in the low-lying coastal districts is very grave. Many homes have been destroyed and the cyclone has washed in salty water, contaminating the land and water sources. Our partners are distributing food to the most vulnerable and preparing to distribute safe drinking water and other essential items. The extra hygiene precautions necessary to contain coronavirus are slowing the response but we know they are vital.”

While Cox’s Bazar in Bangladesh was spared the worst of the cyclone’s impact, flooding in the densely populated camps where almost one million Rohingya refugees live in muddy shelters on hill sides, has sparked fears of mudslides. There are also concerns about the growing number of coronavirus cases in the camps.  

Pankaj Anand, Director of Programs and Humanitarian response, Oxfam India said:

“It’s a triple crisis with the cyclone, coronavirus and economic devastation completely intertwined.

“The evacuation was successful in saving many lives – the challenge now is ensuring that people have the food and support they need to survive and get back on their feet as quickly as possible.

“Many people already had no savings left having lost their jobs or vital remittances due to lockdown. There are now no jobs in the cities and in the villages farms and crops have been destroyed due to the cyclone. People have nothing to fall back on.”

Oxfam and its partners have teams in the affected villages assessing where safe drinking water and food is most urgently needed. In some places the response has already started while in others distribution will start as soon as possible.

To prevent the spread of coronavirus during the cyclone response, Oxfam has helped distribute masks, provide handwashing facilities and disinfect cyclone shelters. 

In the low-lying coastal areas in Bangladesh, Oxfam has also prepared desalination plants to provide safe drinking water as the water sources have now been contaminated by the storm surge.  Salty water destroys crops and causes health problems.

Coronavirus continues to incite fear and threaten lives, and the risks of outbreaks of water-borne disease such as cholera also remain.

Aysha, a 55-year-old mother from a small coastal village in Barguna, Bangladesh spent the night in a cyclone shelter. She said:

“In the shelter, there were so many people and it was really hard to maintain social distance. I forgot about what might happen to me if my house was washed away by the tidal surge – I was more worried about the possibility of my family members getting infected by the virus.”

Notes to editors: 

Footage and photos available for Cox’s Bazar shot on 17-20 May including photos of rains in the camp, preparations including workers in PPE digging ditches and interviews with a female Rohingya refugee and Moury Rahman, Oxfam’s Senior Public Health Promotion in the camp as well as B roll of camp, people handwashing, social distancing, wearing masks.
In Bangladesh, Oxfam is providing water and sanitation and increasing hygiene awareness to 173,000 people in the Rohingya refugee camps in Cox’s Bazar and 9,000 people in the surrounding community. It also helping almost 400,000 people in the coastal districts. 
Oxfam India is working across 14 states to help five million people with hygiene training and over one million people with food during the coronavirus lockdown migration. 
There are over 135,000 Covid-19 reported cases in India and Bangladesh

‘Crisis on top of crisis’ as India and Bangladesh brace for super Cyclone Amphan – Oxfam

May 20, 2020

Cyclone Amphan, the strongest ever cyclone recorded over the Bay of Bengal, is expected to hit north-east India and Bangladesh tomorrow (Wednesday, 20 May) threatening millions of people in vulnerable communities already affected by Covid-19 outbreaks and lockdown.

Millions of people are being evacuated in India and 12,000 shelters have been prepared in Bangladesh to house nearly five million people in the expected path of the cyclone. Camps in Cox’s Bazar in Bangladesh, home to almost a million Rohingya refugees, are also likely to be hit and are especially vulnerable given the cramped conditions and an increasing number of coronavirus cases.

Oxfam, working with partners, is preparing life-saving assistance including safety equipment, clean water, sanitation, food and shelter for people in the cyclone’s path.

Pankaj Anand, Director of Programs and Humanitarian response, Oxfam India said:

“Cyclone Amphan is a crisis on top of a crisis. Many of the cyclone evacuation shelters are already being used as coronavirus quarantine centres or housing migrants who have returned to their coastal communities because of lockdown. People are worried there won’t be enough space in the shelters and that they might catch coronavirus in them.”

Dipankar Datta, Country Director, Oxfam Bangladesh said:

“It is already a huge challenge to contain the spread of coronavirus amongst the Rohingya refugees living in over-crowded camps, sharing water and toilet facilities. Cyclone Amphan is also a major threat to the millions of vulnerable Bangladeshis living in low-lying flood prone coastal areas.” 

Without assistance, people will be at risk not only to water-borne and other infections rampant during inclement weather, but also coronavirus, with their immunity compromised. Between the two countries, there are nearly 130,000 Covid-19 reported cases, including an increasing number of cases in Rohingya refugee camps in Cox’s Bazar.

In Bangladesh, there are fears that up 1.4 million people may be displaced due to the cyclone and 600,000 homes could be destroyed. Oxfam is working with partner organisations to help evacuate people to cyclone shelters, provide safe drinking water and dry food. To prevent the spread of coronavirus, it is distributing masks, providing handwashing facilities and helping disinfect cyclone shelters.

In the low-lying coastal areas, Oxfam is also preparing de-salination plants to provide safe drinking water because when the areas flood the salty water is undrinkable.

Parul Begum is a community leader in a small vulnerable coastal village in Bangladesh and supported by Oxfam partner, Society for Development Initiatives. She said that people are more concerned about coronavirus than going to the shelters for safety:

“This cyclone is one of the most powerful ones we have faced so far but people are really worried about how they will maintain social distancing in the cyclone shelters. We do not go to the shelters alone but also take our cattle with us. People are unsure about the hygiene and safety arrangements. Also, the cyclone shelters do not have adequate facilities for expectant and lactating mothers or sufficient privacy for women and girls.”

In India, Oxfam is working with local partners in communities in Odisha and West Bengal pre-positioning emergency supplies such as shelter material (tarpaulins, ground sheets, blankets), clean water, sanitation, hygiene kits, solar lantern and dignity kits for women and girls. It is also providing training to ensure that the cyclone response is carried out in a safe way to prevent coronavirus spreading further in the community.

Notes to editors:

· VNR available of Cox’s Bazar – footage shot Sunday 17 and Monday 18 May 2020. Contains interviews with a female Rohingya refugee and Moury Rahman, Oxfam’s Senior Public Health Promotion in the camp as well as B roll of camp, people handwashing, social distancing, wearing masks.

More footage and photographs from Cox’s Bazar will be available from Wednesday.

· In Bangladesh, Oxfam is providing water and sanitation and increasing hygiene awareness to 173,000 people in the Rohingya refugee camps in Cox’s Bazar and 9,000 people in the surrounding community. It also helping almost 400,000 people in the coastal districts.

· Oxfam India is working across 14 states to help five million people with hygiene training and over one million people with food during the coronavirus lockdown migration.

Spokespeople:

· India – Pankaj Anand, Oxfam India Director of Programs and Humanitarian response, can explain the current situation and plans for Oxfam’s response in Odisha and West Bengal.

· Bangladesh – Dipankar Datta, Country Director, Oxfam in Bangladesh, can explain the current situation and plans for Oxfam’s response in Cox’s Bazar and low-lying coastal areas.

· Atwar Rahman, Acting Humanitarian Programme Manager

· Cox’s Bazar – Moury Rahman, Senior Public Health Promotion Officer