This is a photo of Mohammed Ali and Soyed Alom, two remarkable Rohingya refugees I interviewed last year with a research delegation to Bangladesh. When I think about the older Rohingya people I met, I'm struck by how much they've survived – decades of discrimination and persecution, fleeing from violence, living in overcrowded camps. And now they face COVID-19.

 

When our researchers recently spoke with refugees living in the camps, they found that older people were scared and lacking basic information about the pandemic. 

 

Older people are often excluded from informal camp meetings due to physical constraints and have difficulty hearing megaphone announcements about the virus. Most had heard second-hand information, with little detail other than the virus was very dangerous, and they needed to “live clean”.

 

Older refugees face a devastating combination: they're the group most at-risk of COVID-19, and yet are so often overlooked in the response. Please give what you can today and every dollar will be doubled.

 

 

Your support means we can continue calling on governments, donors, and humanitarian organizations to put older people at the centre of their planning and response to crises like COVID-19. To include them and their needs, prioritize critical information sharing, and put preventative measures into practice.

 

Numerous marginalized communities face heightened vulnerabilities during this pandemic, and they must not be left out of the response. What the spread of this virus should teach us is that globally we are all connected, and we can all help one another – so let’s start today, on #GivingTuesdayNow.

 

In unity and solidarity,
 

Alex Neve

Secretary General

Amnesty International Canada

 

P.S. I’m so thankful for incredible people like you, who never give up on those who need your help. We know this is a challenging time. If you are able to give today, your donation will be generously matched. Thank you!