KUTUPALONG REFUGEE CAMP, BANGLADESH—I knew her name. Dildar Begum. That’s all I had. I wanted to track her down in Bangladesh this week because Action Against Hunger Canada, the Toronto-based aid organization I help run, had used her story to illustrate the refugee crisis taking place here; she had put a human face on this calamity. In Toronto, I had naively thought it was possible. Surely, our team would remember her and know where she was. Maybe they were still treating Dildar or her children for malnutrition. Several weeks ago, a heavily pregnant Dildar fled her home in Burma on foot, escaping the persecution we now know is responsible for the deaths of thousands of Rohingya Muslims — Dildar, her aging mother and three young children in tow. Her fourth couldn’t wait for safety. Dildar gave birth to him in the bush in the no man’s land between Burma and Bangladesh. For seven days, the terrified family walked, desperately looking for safety — without food and water the entire time. They arrived at our clinic dehydrated, malnourished and traumatized. Our team treated and fed Dildar’s family, and took down her story. She hadn’t named her son. She had bigger priorities, like keeping him alive. Her story touched many of our supporters in Canada, who have been watching this tragedy unfold. I wanted to find Dildar and learn her boy’s name. It was not as easy as I thought it would be. I’ve spent three days in Kutupalong refugee camp, outside Cox’s Bazar in southern Bangladesh — one of the largest camps in the world. Over the past several weeks, more than 700,000 refugees fleeing violence, rape and slaughter have settled here.Think about that. That’s the population of Winnipeg or Edmonton. More than half are children. Dealing with crises is part of my job, so I should be used to it. But I am heartbroken and immensely affected by what I’ve seen in Bangladesh this week. So many kids. So m ...
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