4. LOSS OF LIVELIHOODS AND FOOD SECURITY “ I feel so emotional when I think about it. Malaysia was my home nearly all my life. It was a place of safety and warmth. Since the arrival of COVID-19, xenophobia has increased. Rohingya in Malaysia are barred from Mosques and markets. They are systematically excluded from employment and evicted from their homes. We don’t know what will happen to our community in Malaysia without work. SHARIFAH SHAKIRA Lockdowns in both camp-based and urban refugee situations have resulted in the loss of livelihoods and food security within Rohingya households in multiple countries. This also has a knock-on impact on Rohingya in Myanmar and elsewhere who are reliant on remittances from their families abroad. Without legal status and work permits in Bangladesh, Malaysia, India, Thailand and elsewhere, Rohingya are generally only able to access precarious work in the informal economies. Without legal status, there are few social safety nets and no social security in situations of external shock. The COVID-19 pandemic and the resultant lockdowns have accordingly hit Rohingya families hard, resulting in loss of income, loss of homes and food shortages. Some Rohingya have been compelled to continue working despite the lockdown, putting themselves and their families at much higher risk of infection. Around the globe in times of food shortage or food insecurity, women within households tend to suffer disproportionately from hunger and malnutrition. Likewise, in the times of COVID-19, Rohingya women are more vulnerable within the household, tending to eat after children and men, and are thus more likely to go without food. In Bangladesh, camp-based refugees are reliant on food rations. Camps have been under lock-down since March and NGO staff have had very limited access to the camps. In some areas of the camps, food shortages have been reported due to these restrictions. Meanwhile opportunities to supplement income through, for example, volunteer work in the camps, have slowed. In India, Rohingya refugees live in a mixture of small urban-based camps and in rental apartments. They do 17 10 not receive relief aid and are entirely reliant on their incomes from working in the informal and unorganised sectors of the economy. The loss of livelihoods as a result of the lockdown has had a devastating impact on Rohingya households, where they are facing food and financial insecurities. Many of those living in rental apartments are struggling to pay rent, leading to harassment from landlords or loss of their homes. Rations that have been distributed to the poorest communities in India have not always reached Rohingya. Rohingya unable to work in areas such as Jammu, Hyderabad and Haryana have become dependent on community-based donations. In Malaysia, historically Rohingya have found relatively safe refuge with some living there for 30-40 years. Since the start of the COVID-19 outbreak, Rohingya in Malaysia are facing unemployment and homelessness. Refugees in Malaysia live mostly in urban environments and, without humanitarian aid, they are reliant on work in the informal economy for household income. Rohingya Women’s Development Network found that Malaysian employers have stopped hiring foreigners and explicitly refuse to hire Rohingya. The Malaysian Immigration Department has placed banners in public places, threatening fines or imprisonment for anyone found to be hiring, protecting or renting properties to refugees. Elom Empowerment are providing crisis support for 730 families in the Selayang area of Kuala Lumpur. All the households are facing unemployment due to these new COVID-19 associated forms of systematic discrimination against refugees. The rise of hate speech and xenophobia has led to attacks on Rohingya refugees in their workplaces or on the way to work.17 Government orders have banned refugees from There are recorded examples of vigilantes entering workspaces and threatening Rohingya workers.