In September, the JEP published a ‘Letter from Ukraine’ – written by Leila Osman, who is working in Kyiv as part of a Jersey Overseas Aid-funded UN project. Today, we hear from Amber Mezbourian, who is Jersey’s fifth United Nations Junior Professional Officer and has been working in Cox’s Bazar, Bangladesh, with the External Relations team of the UN’s Refugee Agency, UNHCR, for almost 12 months.
The Junior Professional Officer programme provides young professionals, sponsored by their respective governments, an extraordinary opportunity to embark on a career within the UN system.
Jersey was the 19th country to join the programme and through Jersey Overseas Aid, has funded two-year placements for islanders with UNHCR in Cox’s Bazar, Bangladesh; Tyre, Lebanon, Cairo, Egypt and Ukraine.
IN September, thousands of demonstrators took to the streets of London for an anti-immigration march organised by far-right activist and convicted criminal Tommy Robinson. Sentiment against asylum-seekers has been growing in recent years, fuelled by increasing numbers of people from Africa and Asia making often-perilous journeys to Europe.
But seeking asylum is not a crime – it is a fundamental human right, protected under international law. Most refugees seek safety in neighbouring countries, hoping to one day return home. In fact, nearly three quarters of the world’s refugees are hosted by low- and middle-income countries, many of which face significant challenges of their own.
Since January, I’ve been living in Cox’s Bazar, a small coastal city in south-east Bangladesh. It’s one of the country’s most popular domestic tourist destinations, with busloads of visitors arriving daily to enjoy the long sandy beach and bustling markets.
Just 30 kilometres away, however, lies a very different reality: the world’s largest refugee settlement. More than one million Rohingya refugees are crammed into an area nearly five times smaller than Jersey, with a population density of 48,000 people per square kilometre. In comparison, Jersey averages around 895 people per square kilometre.
The Rohingya are a stateless ethnic minority from neighbouring Myanmar. For decades, they’ve experienced persecution – denied citizenship, barred from education and jobs, and restricted in their movements.
In 2017, brutal violence by the Myanmar military forced hundreds of thousands of Rohingya to flee their homes. Many people walked for days through dense jungle or undertook dangerous boat journeys to seek protection across the border in Bangladesh.
The United Nations described the atrocities they faced as a ‘textbook example of ethnic cleansing’, with entire villages burned, and rape, torture, and killing carried out on a mass scale.
The conflict in Myanmar continues, and around 150,000 people have arrived in the refugee camps over the past 18 months.
UNHCR – the United Nations Refugee Agency – works with the Government of Bangladesh and other partners to provide shelter, food, clean water, healthcare, and protection to Rohingya refugees, who depend almost entirely on humanitarian assistance to survive.
Thanks to support from Jersey Overseas Aid, I’ve joined UNHCR’s External Relations team through the UN’s Junior Professional Officer programme. My role involves strategic communications, organising donor visits to the camps, and reporting on the impact of our work.
The refugee camps are tightly packed and precarious. Shortly after I arrived in Cox’s Bazar, a colleague showed me a ‘hazard calendar’ outlining the cycle of risks throughout the year – cyclones, floods, landslides, and fires.
During the rainy season, heavy downpours can trigger landslides that destroy shelters and endanger lives. Children in particular are at risk of drowning in swollen ponds and streams.
We’re now into the dry season, when a stray spark from a stove or discarded cigarette can quickly spread through the cramped bamboo and tarpaulin shelters. UNHCR trains refugee volunteers to respond to fires, but the narrow roads and steep hillsides hinder access for their equipment.
One of my first tasks was to report on UNHCR’s emergency response to a fire that killed a five-year-old child, injured multiple people, and destroyed around 50 shelters. This was a sobering introduction to the challenges of refugee life.
Rohingya refugees are not officially allowed to work or to leave the camps. Over half the population is under the age of 18, meaning a whole generation is growing up behind a barbed wire fence, with little experience of the world beyond and limited opportunities for the future.
Those Rohingya who remember life in Myanmar dream of returning home. But unless the situation there significantly improves, it is not safe for them to go back. Instead, they remain in limbo.
Just weeks into my posting to Bangladesh, the US government – the world’s largest humanitarian donor – announced a freeze on foreign assistance, followed by sweeping cuts. The UK and other countries have also slashed humanitarian budgets. The ripple effect was immediate, with organisations around the world scaling back operations and laying off staff.
UNHCR estimates that 11.6 million displaced people globally risk losing direct assistance in 2025.
In Bangladesh, Rohingya refugees face deteriorating conditions. Funding cuts threaten vital services like education, healthcare, and food. UNHCR has had to make difficult decisions over what to prioritise, leaving some basic needs unmet.
As countries increasingly look inward and scale back foreign assistance, people will continue to seek safety across borders from violence, persecution, and other hardships.
Jersey has a proud history of looking outward, supporting people far beyond its shores. For such a small place, Islanders have consistently shown they can make a big difference. Jersey Overseas Aid offers many ways to get involved, including through volunteering placements, internships, and the UN’s JPO programme.
While the future of humanitarian work may feel uncertain, I’m grateful for this opportunity to contribute to UNHCR’s lifesaving response in Bangladesh.
Now more than ever, the international community must uphold its obligation to share responsibility for refugees more fairly and show solidarity and compassion to those in desperate need.
