Where is my education? Where is my identity?
“I want education. I want to study in high school so that one day I could be a doctor. This is my one and only dream. And this is my right. But I don’t know how to fulfill it. I am over qualified for BRAC learning centre and they referred me to another school which is yet to establish.” – says MD Jia, a twelve years old young adolescent boy from Shofiullah Kata, camp 16 who wants to study more. But, schools or learning centres in Rohingya camp only provides lessons up to grade two. In Bangladesh there is no school for them.
Jia along with his mother and four siblings fled from Myanmar last August, during the sudden Rohingya mass refugee influx and lost their father on the way in hill. They assumed he died as they were chasing by Burmese army. Currently Jia is running a small shop to earn some money to cover daily expenses of the family. And to set up the shop his mother was forced to vend her gold ear rings.
Jia and his family have been living in the Shofiullah Kata, camp 16 in Bangladesh since 2017 and continues to struggle to survive. Days in camp turn out to be tougher day-by-day for Rohingya children. Being the eldest son of his mother Jia take responsibility of his family’s livelihood at the age of twelve. Lack of guardians push them for hazardous daily chores like collecting firewood (very essential commodity in great demand in the camp) from nearer forest. Jia and his friends walk through the jungle for two and half hours to collect firewood.
Jia states that, “Due to my mother’s age limit we didn’t receive any LPG and we collect relief cloths, plastics and branch of tree from different camps to use as fuel to cook food regularly. My younger sister was seriously ill due to plastic smoke during cooking. Therefore, I use to go to forest to collect firewood which is less harmful than plastic for health.”
“We are living a miserable life here. We are refugee here and I don’t want to keep this status anymore. I definitely want my identity back and I will go back to Myanmar one day. But before that we must get to be registered as Myanmar national.” - says Jia with anxiety in his face.
Read MoreJia along with his mother and four siblings fled from Myanmar last August, during the sudden Rohingya mass refugee influx and lost their father on the way in hill. They assumed he died as they were chasing by Burmese army. Currently Jia is running a small shop to earn some money to cover daily expenses of the family. And to set up the shop his mother was forced to vend her gold ear rings.
Jia and his family have been living in the Shofiullah Kata, camp 16 in Bangladesh since 2017 and continues to struggle to survive. Days in camp turn out to be tougher day-by-day for Rohingya children. Being the eldest son of his mother Jia take responsibility of his family’s livelihood at the age of twelve. Lack of guardians push them for hazardous daily chores like collecting firewood (very essential commodity in great demand in the camp) from nearer forest. Jia and his friends walk through the jungle for two and half hours to collect firewood.
Jia states that, “Due to my mother’s age limit we didn’t receive any LPG and we collect relief cloths, plastics and branch of tree from different camps to use as fuel to cook food regularly. My younger sister was seriously ill due to plastic smoke during cooking. Therefore, I use to go to forest to collect firewood which is less harmful than plastic for health.”
“We are living a miserable life here. We are refugee here and I don’t want to keep this status anymore. I definitely want my identity back and I will go back to Myanmar one day. But before that we must get to be registered as Myanmar national.” - says Jia with anxiety in his face.
