Bleeding Rakhine: Many girls didn't know that they have children in their wombs -- Doctor Tanjina Farhad Tonni
Dr Tanjina Farhad Tonni. She worked as an Intern Doctor at the Cox's Bazar Medical College Hospital from August 25 to July 2018. She has to serve the Rohingya every day as a part of her duty. Besides, she has also provided health care to the victims, women, men and children at the Rohingya camps. Dr Tonni described her one and a half year of horrible and surprising experience.
Dr Tanzina Farhad Tonni said that the Rohingyas came with bullets wounded body every day. Many of them had the injury to Bayonet on their whole body of. The most commonly reported diseases were found with bullets that were fired 10 to 15 days ago. It took them two weeks to get to the hospital. As a result, about a hundred per cent of the patients were infected.
Dr Tonni said, almost all the people had foot problems because of their long walks on barefoot. Especially older people have severe foot problems, their condition worse; many of them had infections. They had to undergo long dressing. The numbers of such patients were more in the first two to three months.
Many Rohingyas have come to Bangladesh to save their lives in November and December, she said. They had a lot of breathing difficulties in the cold. Many of them were suffering from cold as they passed their lives under the open sky.
Dr Tanzina Farhad Tonni said that many patients have been infected with Hepatitis B and Hepatitis C. Many of them had to taken to the operation theatre on an emergency basis, but they didn't have the chance to have a blood test.
Sometimes, the patient's blood flew away to the doctor’s eye during the operation, and the doctors themselves had to re-examine the blood. Because there were many patients among the Rohingyas who were HIV-AIDS positive. Some patients had to undergo emergency cesarean surgery, and they were very risky. About 35,000 pregnant Rohingyas entered Bangladesh in the Rohingya stream, she said. There was not a single day when the Rohingya women were not given birth to a child.
Dr Tonni, quoting the Rohingya women said that they became pregnant all year long to avoid sexual abuse by Myanmar Army and Border Guard Police. That's why Dr Tonni has been a witness to give birth to the 11th to 17th child while undergoing treatment.
In response to a question on the rape, Dr Tanzina Farhad Tonni said that many girls did not know they had children in their wombs. Fear and linguistic problems were also a barrier to explain the cause of the pregnancy of unmarried children. And many questions would not have been asked about the women who were being oppressed. However, the sign of abuse was evident.
Dr Tonni said she found two girls aged 12/13 with 7 to 8 months of pregnancy. It was amazing that a girl was so ignorant that she couldn't even think that she can have a baby in her belly. Later, she heard from her parents of the children, who had been subjected to brutal torture by the Border Guard Police-BGP camp. Later, both girls were taken to the camp by their parents.
Dr Tanzina Farhad Tonni said she had received many of the rape victims. Quoting the victims she said, the women were gang-raped and the Myanmar Army and Border Guard Police-BGP hurt their private part. As a result, most of the raped women had to undergo the treatment of the infection in their private part. Many of the raped women became infected with suppurated and get water in their uterus.
One day, an 11-year-old girl came to Kutupalang Rohingya refugee camp and reported her illness, Dr Tjonni said, she said Myanmar soldiers entered their house and killed her father and elder brother. Then they hacked her mother with a sharp weapon and threw her into the courtyard. Then they raped the little girl in the camp. After 3/4 days of torture, the inhumane animals poured hot tea on the girl's uterus. It makes the girl's uterus scar. Dr Tonni said that the Rohingya girl's period has not yet begun.
In response to a question on health problems of Rohingya children, Dr Tanjina Farhad Tonni said that hundreds of children are suffering from malnutrition. Surprisingly, Rohingya children were running in the Rohingya camp with malnutrition. Watching children playing in the camp never meant a sense of malnutrition.
Asked if she still remembers the suffering any of her victims, Dr Tanzina Farhad Tonni said that she had a patient named Abdullah who had bullet wounds. Abdullah said they were nine brothers. Myanmar Army shot dead eight of his brothers on the night of August 25. Dr Tonni said she was very sad to learn about the incident.
Abdullah had a lot of wealth in Rakhine, above 50 bighas of land. They had a cattle farm. The Myanmar Army killed 55 cattle in the field, she said. Abdullah said that the wealth they had was that they could have two generations like King. But now the wealthy Abdullah family is the most oppressed and in poor condition in the world.