It has the desired effect – the safety alarms are designed to attract attention and scare off anyone preying on vulnerable women and girls, who make up the majority of refugees in the sprawling Rohingya tent cities. The colourful plastic sirens are being distributed to Rohingya women, girls and the infirm in Cox’s Bazar district, where an estimated 655,000 of the Muslim minority have arrived since August. The alarms, fitted with a torch and high-pitched siren, provide comfort for Rohingya women like 22-year-old Hazera Khatun, who frets constantly about the safety of her two daughters. Since then, they have distributed nearly 1,000 alarms to refugees – mainly women and children, but also the elderly and others vulnerable to abuse. Apart from showing refugees how to use the alarms, staff train aid workers and other Rohingya on how to respond should one sound in the camps.

Source: New Strait Times December 23, 2017 03:11 UTC