Rohingya refugees in Sri Lanka protest planned closure of U.N. office, fearing abandonment
ABC News
A group of Rohingya refugees living in Sri Lanka has staged a protest outside the office of the U.N. refugee agency
COLOMBO, Sri Lanka -- A group of Rohingya refugees living in Sri Lanka staged a protest outside the office of the U.N. refugee agency Tuesday, saying they fear losing their living allowance once the agency's office in the island nation closes at the end of this year.
The protesters also want to be resettled in another country because Sri Lanka does not allow them to live there permanently.
About 100 Rohingya refugees live in Sri Lanka, most of them rescued at sea by the navy while they were trying to reach Indonesia after fleeing Myanmar for Bangladesh.
About 740,000 Rohingya were resettled in Bangladesh after fleeing their homes in Myanmar to escape a brutal counterinsurgency campaign by security forces. But the camps in Bangladesh are squalid, with surging gang violence and rampant hunger, leading many to flee again.
Ruki Fernando, a rights activist in Sri Lanka, said the refugees receive basic allowance from the U.N. agency and are provided with limited health care by the Sri Lankan government. However, the refugee children don't receive education and adults aren't allowed to work.
