Rohingya refugees, fleeing for their lives in Myanmar, have found an unlikely ally—solar panels.

In August 2017, the Myanmar army stepped up its decade-long harassment campaign of the Rohingya ethnic minority, forcing over 600,000 Rohingya Muslims to flee from their homes with the U.S. Holocaust Museum saying there is "mounting evidence" of a genocide. Leaving northern Myanmar for Bangladesh is difficult trek, often a 5- to 15-day walk through muddy and clogged roads, but bringing solar panels along has proved to be a requisite for many.

“This helped me a lot while we stayed in the jungle at night. Without this solar panel, we might not [have reached] Bangladesh,” Rashida Begum, 45, told Reuters.

Walking to Bangladesh over five days while caring for six children, her solar panel was the only possession Begum brought with her. “It was a difficult thing for me to carry this, but I did it thinking it would be useful for me.”

A Rohingya refugee woman waiting for a solar lantern to charge. While their refugee camps have squalid infrastructure, often lacking toilets, solar panels provide a rare sense of stability. INDRANIL MUKHERJEE/AFP/Getty Images Getty Images

Depending on size and how efficiently a solar panel converts sunlight into electricity, a typical American solar panel can produce between 250-325 watts of electricity. The ones being sold to Rohingya refugees are much less powerful, with a 20-watt panel going for 20,000 kyat (about $15). They're common sights in the Rohingya home state of Rakine, where the Myanmar government has not built an electric infrastructure. There is a similar lack of electrical infrastructure in the refugee camps. Solar panels have become part of an environment filled with candles and kerosene lamps that light up the night.

A solar panel resting on the roof of a temporary home for Rohingya refugees. INDRANIL MUKHERJEE/AFP/Getty Images Getty Images

While Bangladesh limits refugee movement, it has also provided 500 solar-powered street lights and 2,000 home system solar panels for the camps. The various arms of the United Nations working with Rohingya refugees are also using solar panels to help with medicine and water purification.

Source: Electrek, Reuters

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