Myanmar's Rohingya children face injury, losing family

World
Europe

An estimated 270,000 Rohingya refugees have arrived in Bangladesh in the last two weeks, according to the United Nations. As more asylum seekers flee violence against the Muslim minority in Myanmar, the attention is beginning to shift to the children making the dangerous journey.

Abdullah is one of the few lucky enough to be reunited with his family after a near-death experience while fleeing to Bangladesh. Lucky, however, doesn't mean he can escape the pain of his gunshot wound.

"I was bleeding and could not even lift my hand," Abdullah said in the Kutupalong Refugee Camp in Ukhia, Bangladesh. "I had to find a stick and with the support of the stick I slowly walked with other people to come here. After I arrived, I was taken to the hospital."

Seven days later, he was spotted by a relative in the hospital where he was undergoing treatment.

Even surrounded by the comfort of his family, he still has nightmares. His father works to relax the boy as he goes through the pain of bandaging his injury every day.

"When the memories of those days come to my mind I feel very scared. I am petrified just thinking about the bullet," Abdullah said.

Others are not as lucky. Yasmin Akhtar also completed the journey from her village to a new country filled with strangers. She had no one to come to look for when she arrived in Bangladesh, as all of her family members had been killed.

Rohingya refugees on the move to escape from Myanmar. /Photo by Ravinder Bawa

"A bullet killed my father when he went to the market during last year's violence," Yasmin said. "This time they burnt my mother. I was terrified and I hid in a paddy field when I saw a big group of people walking towards me. I joined that group and came here."

The girl now lives with a teacher, Mohammed Hussain, who spotted her all alone on a street.

"She was getting wet in the rain. It was raining heavily. She was crying and shivering. She could not speak a word so I brought her home and we gave her some food and clothes," Hussain recalled.

According to aid agencies, many children like Yasmin cross the border unaccompanied. They said a third of Rohingya refugees arriving in Bangladesh are minors, and it is a challenge to provide facilities for them.

Almost every Rohingya family carries a solar panel while escaping from Myanmar. /Photo by Ravinder Bawa

"These kids are alone, and that is very risky as they could be taken advantage of," according to Vivian Tan, a spokesperson for the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR). "They could get trafficked, and that's why it is very important to give them protection."

In addition to emotional and psychological support, the children need education, which is hard to come by in refugee camps like Kutupalong. Twelve schools have been converted into shelters, and the authorities say they will not reopen anytime soon.

Abdullah was enrolled in a school in Myanmar, but in Bangladesh has no school or even books. Like most children, he also searches the streets, trying to collect food packets for his family.

3105km