Rohingya Muslims struggle against famine as world watches silently

Myanmar’s persecuted Rohingya minority continues to struggle against famine, disease and lack of access to clean water in sprawling camps in neighboring Bangladesh as the Muslim world remains silent in the face of their plight, exacerbated by an unsparing monsoon season that batters their flimsy improvised shelters.

Turkey leads the list of most generous countries that donated humanitarian aid since the start of the Rohingya crisis, providing close to $850 million in aid through its agencies, followed by Qatar, Lebanon and Bangladesh as the world continues to turn a blind eye to the plight of hundreds of thousands of Muslims who have to struggle with famine amid shortages of drinking water.

Absent from the list are global superpowers such as the U.S., failing to provide direct humanitarian assistance to Rohingya Muslims.

Rohingya children living in sprawling camps in neighboring Bangladesh remain among the most vulnerable as famine continues to claim lives while the world watches on in silence.

Children routinely have to struggle with finding clothes to cover their tiny bodies as they walk barefoot for miles in the rain and mud in the midst of an unsparing monsoon season that exacerbated their plight under recurring food shortages and lack of proper shelters.

Since Aug. 25, 2017, more than 750,000 refugees, mostly children and women, have fled Myanmar and crossed into Bangladesh after Myanmar forces launched a crackdown on the minority Muslim community, according to Amnesty International.

More than 40 percent of the displaced Rohingya are under age 12, according to the UN, and many others are elderly people requiring additional aid and protection.

The settlements in Kutupalong and Nayapara in Bangladesh’s Cox’s Bazar district host nearly all who arrived from Myanmar.

The Rohingya, described by the UN as the world's most persecuted people, have faced heightened fears of attack since dozens were killed in communal violence in 2012.

The UN documented mass gang rapes, killings -- including of infants and young children -- brutal beatings, and disappearances committed by security personnel.

In a report, UN investigators said such violations may have constituted crimes against humanity.