Balukhali-Kutupalong, in Cox’s Bazar in south-eastern Bangladesh, photographed here by Gabriele Cecconi, is currently the world’s largest refugee camp.
Summer 2017 saw the latest mass exodus of the Rohingya people from neighbouring Myanmar, with over 1.3 million individuals displaced by targeted violence in their homeland. One of the country’s many ethnic minorities, the Rohingya Muslims, have faced persecution for decades, with a new wave of attacks in the Rakhine State provoking what the UN has described as the world’s fastest growing refugee crisis. The UNHCR estimates that following their journey from Myanmar, over 900,000 people have landed in makeshift camps in the city of Cox’s Bazar, where the two largest hubs have overflowed into the surrounding areas. It is not this plight of displacement that Italian photographer Gabriele Cecconi has focused on in his work on the area, but rather the complex and precarious living conditions that the refugees endure on arrival.
Along with the terrible conditions that the refugees have to endure, there's the widespread ecological devastation caused by the presence of the camp.
Unchiprang refugee camp, Teknaf subdistrict, Cox’s Bazar, Bangladesh. A child comes out of a huge water well in Unchiprang refugee camp. © Gabriele Cecconi
Unchiprang refugee camp, Teknaf subdistrict, Cox’s Bazar, Bangladesh. A tree stands alone in the middle of the camp. © Gabriele Cecconi
Balukhali-Kutupalong refugee camp, Ukhia subdistrict, Cox’s Bazar, Bangladesh. Marjon, aged 35, with her two-year-old son, Muhammed. Both of them suffer from acute respiratory infections. © Gabriele Cecconi
Balukhali-Kutupalong refugee camp, Ukhia subdistrict, Cox's Bazar, Bangladesh. Rohingya workers cross a flooded canal due to the rains in one of the new parts of the camp. © Gabriele Cecconi
Balukhali-Kutupalong refugee camp, Ukhia subdistrict, Cox's Bazar, Bangladesh. Sixty-year-old Abdul Salam inside a hole he excavated to build a latrine. © Gabriele Cecconi
Musoni refugee camp, Teknaf subdistrict, Cox's Bazar, Bangladesh. A group of children play in the top of a degraded hill in Musoni camp. © Gabriele Cecconi
Balukhali-Kutupalong refugee camp, Ukhia subdistrict, Cox's Bazar, Bangladesh. A view of Kutupalong refugee camp at sunrise. © Gabriele Cecconi
Moynarghona refugee camp, Ukhia subdistrict, Cox's Bazar, Bangladesh. Rohingya await the distribution of water and food in Moynarghona camp distribution center. © Gabriele Cecconi
Balukhali-Kutupalong, Ukhia subdistrict, Cox's Bazar, Bangladesh - Rohingya build a tube-well in Balukhali refugee camp. © Gabriele Cecconi
Balukhali-Kutupalong refugee camp, Ukhia subdistrict, Cox's Bazar, Bangladesh. Noor Hossain is a 30 years old Rohingya who was attacked and injured at the chest by an elephant in Lambaja, Kutupalong, on March the 3rd. © Gabriele Cecconi
Balukhali-Kutupalong refugee camp, Ukhia subdistrict, Cox's Bazar, Bangladesh. A funeral takes place in the Balukhali camp. Shak Karim, 65, died because of Acute respiratory infections. © Gabriele Cecconi
Balukhali-Kutupalong refugee camp, Ukhia subdistrict, Cox's Bazar, Bangladesh. A bamboo shelter in Kutupalong refugee camp. © Gabriele Cecconi
Balukhali-Kutupalong refugee camp, Ukhia subdistrict, Cox's Bazar, Bangladesh. Khotiza Begum, 67 inside her new shelter. © Gabriele Cecconi
Balukhali-Kutupalong refugee camp, Ukhia subdistrict, Cox's Bazar, Bangladesh. Some Rohingya sheltering from the wind and the sand in a makeshift tent in Balhukali camp. © Gabriele Cecconi
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