This year Rohingya refugee children continue to be denied their right to an education. While this is true in most Asian nations which host Rohingya refugees, the policies of the Bangladesh Government are increasingly restrictive, in defiance of international norms and agreements they have signed, like the Convention on the Rights of the Child. And how is refusal to provide education compatible with Islamic traditions?
In recent months volunteer-run schools have been closed, including the largest school in the camps. Not only are Rohingya forbidden to find employment, but small businesses have been forced to close and their contents seized. Bangladesh police harass camp residents. At the same time, camps have become more dangerous, and a series of fires continues to make life miserable for these genocide survivors.
In April 2022 our Bangla translation of the 2021 Let Rohingya Learn report will be released. Sad to say, in the absence of popular outrage in Bangladesh, we can point to no improvements since the original report was released almost one year ago. However, our colleagues at Human Rights Watch have issued a short report on camp restrictions, and Amnesty International has reported how the Bangladesh government is refusing to allow Rohingya a voice in decision-making. The United Nations should be more openly critical of current Bangladesh policies. International donors, including the USA, should insist that one tenth of their humanitarian funding goes directly to support Rohingya education.
Persecuted and displaced, Rohingya genocide survivors have been scattered in numerous countries, with the largest population now in the camps of Cox’s Bazar, Bangladesh. Rohingya lack legal rights in their refugee host nations….
“It is long past time that the United States… call the crimes by their accurate name. Genocide!” Senator Ed Markey (D-MA), a champion for Rohingya and human rights.
Human Rights Watch Associate Director
Since one million Rohingya have taken shelter in the Bangladesh refugee camps, it’s not been as easy to survive as they had thought it would be. The camps are very crowded and the shelters densely built. As the shelters are narrow and small, even sleeping areas are limited…..
My name is Sharifah Shakirah, I was born in Buthidaung Township, Rakhine State of Burma/Myanmar. I was persecuted in my own homeland for my religion and ethnicity, I was not only made stateless but my Rohingya name and…
Kept imprisoned in refugee camps, how do Rohingya keep hope alive? Every day, Rohingya refugees work as volunteers to help each other.
The Bangladesh Government does not always seem to understand that Rohingya can help themselves through running their own schools and small businesses….
Living in a refugee camp is like being in limbo. In jail, at least a prisoner has a release date to look forward to. To refugees, there is no future in sight. I was detained repeatedly as I tried to save my life by seeking safety in another nation…
