A few evenings ago I was sitting in the Gulshan Park, deep in thought. My hands were holding either side of my face when an elderly man came up and put his hand on my shoulder and asked me in a soft voice, "Excuse me dear sir, is everything alright?" Feeling a bit surprised and embarrassed, I said, "Thanks so much. World Refugee Day is in a few days' time on June 20th and I am sitting here and remembering those days of 1971 when thousands of lives were lost not only because of lack of good food but particularly because of the rain and the cold which had affected the Bangladesh refugee camps of the north-eastern Indian states and all of West Bengal." "And I sit here thinking that the world has forgotten the Rohingya refugees."

Although, in 1971, we had been witnesses to the illness and death associated with cholera earlier in the year, seeing small children die for the lack of food, clothing and blankets was, somehow, more distressing. Later that year at an inter-agency meeting in Calcutta, organizations working in the refugee camps estimated that, in the camps where those agencies were working, up to 5,000 babies and small children were dying each day. And now in 2024 we know that many donor countries have reduced their funding for the Rohingya refugees citing unprecedented demands on their funds related to Gaza, Sudan and Ukraine. In the past even the World Food Programme (WFP) reduced the weight of the per capita ration for the Rohingya refugees on more than one occasion due to shortage of funds. However, it is some sort of a relief to hear that the WFP will be increasing the per capita ration again from July 2024.

Oxfam, for whom I was working in 1971, ran a campaign appealing to the public in the United Kingdom to "Take a blanket off your bed" or "Buy yourself a new sweater for Christmas and throw your old one to Oxfam" The Post Office, in a rare gesture of support, did not charge postage for any parcels addressed to Oxfam.

Throughout October and November, in Calcutta, we bought warm clothing and locally woven blankets for the refugee camps and many Indian Bengali families also donated excess warm clothing and blankets including beautifully embroidered 'nokshi kantha'. Sometimes delivering these and other supplies by road was taking too long as the border roads were choked with military vehicles, and so we hired World War II vintage cargo planes, DC-3s and DC-6s to land at old World War II landing strips and the landing strip of the Cooch Behar Maharajah. On top of everything, the Pakistani forces had, in November, started sending shells over the Hili border and 17 shells hit the refugee camp where Oxfam supported volunteers were working and the nearby village.

Now, even as early as June or July, is the time to start planning for the supplies of blankets and clothing needed for the Rohingya refugees for the winter of 2024/25.

In an attempt to make things even clearer to the reader, this is what the renowned Gandhian leader, the late Narayan Desai**, said at that time, "Going a little closer, you see a number of other problems. Thousands of women with just half a piece of cloth to wrap their bodies, thousands of children slowly succumbing to malnutrition, millions dreading the advent of winter winds along with pneumonia." Another relief worker, Pat Bennett, wrote, "You know how bright children normally are. Well, some of the children in the camps were just little lifeless bodies, hardly able to move in their mothers' arms, let alone smile."

In addition, the well-known Canadian journalist, the late Ernest Hillen, wrote in July that year in the Canadian 'Weekend Magazine', "Unprecedented numbers of people are suffering and dying, and the numbers are growing, there is widespread famine, and there is the real threat of war. The blame for the catastrophe rightly enough belongs to the men who run the West Pakistan Government. The shame belongs to all of us. Almost from the start, the world community could have stopped it. And it must be stopped now - by whatever manner or means. Our children will inherit enough shame."

It is so very sad to be able to say that what the late Ernest Hillen wrote in 1971 "the world community could have stopped it" rings so true when we consider the current Rohingya Refugee crisis as well as the tragic Russian war in Ukraine and the death and destruction in Gaza and Sudan. The world community is found wanting in most situations like these and should feel deeply ashamed.

And as far as the Rohingya situation is concerned there are very serious aspects that need to be urgently acknowledged and addressed:

-fires occurring regularly and damaging houses and facilities

-financial desperation of the refugees is leading to an increase of crimes, the formation of armed groups and child marriage

Be that as it may, if readers believe that they cannot help those suffering thousands of miles away, they should look around them and see that there are many desperately poor families here in Bangladesh who are finding it difficult to manage with the prices rises of the last two years. We do not need to wait for religious festivals such as Eid, Puja or Christmas to remind us to be generous towards those in need. They are suffering now in the Rohingya camps, increasingly so when the weather gets wetter and colder later in the year. Therefore, please see how many smiles you can bring to the faces, of young and old. Be kind and generous!

(Recipient in 2012 of Bangladesh's 'Friends of Liberation War Honour')

Author Julian Francis, awarded the Friend of Bangladesh Liberation War honour in 2012