Struggle on in the hills

Shing Rao Mro wants to go to school. He wants to study. But poverty compels him to work on the jhum field with his parents to help put food on the table.

The 10-year-old boy lives in remote Kumra Mro Para in Bandarban's Ruma upazila. Shing, like many other children of the area, never went to school, mainly due to extreme poverty. Every morning, the boy has to go to the field with his parents.

Moreover, there is no school in the village. The nearest one is about 15km from there.

“I want to go to school but there is no school here,” Shing said while working on the field. Asked what he wants to be when he grows up, Shing replied, “I want to be a teacher.”

A good number of children in the Chittagong Hill Tracts are deprived of basic education. They eventually follow in the footsteps of their parents who toil on the field -- day in, day out -- to survive in the hills.

Against such a backdrop, indigenous communities across the country will observe the International Day of the World's Indigenous Peoples today.

Around 25 families live in Kumra Mro Para (village). They hardly get access to fundamental rights.

These families are also deprived of healthcare services as there is no healthcare centre in the village. The only such centre is several miles away. They also allege that health workers do not want to visit remote areas.

Pregnant women and children are the worst victims, as they do not receive appropriate and timely treatment.

Talking to this correspondent, Shing Lok Mro, karbari (village chief) of the village, said, “We cannot send our children to school and it is really painful. But what can we do? There is no school near our Para.”

Villager Nia Pue Mro said, “We really have no choice. If anyone from our para becomes critically ill, chances are he or she will die without proper treatment.”

Khum Lay Mro, another villager, said, “My seven-month-old baby died of pneumonia on July 01 due to lack of treatment.”

There are 40 children, aged between seven and 12, in the village and all of them are growing up without receiving any education.

The Article 14 of the UN Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples states that: “Indigenous people have the right to establish and control their educational systems and institutions providing education in their own languages, in a manner appropriate to their cultural methods of teaching and learning.”

Although the Article 15 (a) of the Constitution of the People's Republic of Bangladesh says about the provision of basic necessities of life, including food, clothing, shelter, education and medical care, many families living in remote hill areas are deprived of these necessities. Surprisingly, a good number of them do not have any idea of their fundamental rights.

“How will we become literate? There is no school here. We only dream that our children become educated,” said Yong Nung Mro, 52, karbari of Yong Nung Mro Para where 30 families live.

Kaiya Mro alleged, “Local representatives visit us only during the time of election and that's all. They never fulfil our demands.”

Contacted, Shai Sai Marma, chairman of Galengya union parishad, said it is unfortunate that most of the children of Kumra Para do not go to school as the nearest school is around 15km away. “It is a long journey for them.”

“We have already communicated with State Minister of Chittagong Hill Tracts Affairs Bir Bahadur U Shwe Sing who promised to establish a school in the area as soon as possible,” he added.

Aung Thoai Ching Marma, chairman of Ruma upazila, said, “Children at many paras do not go to school as the educational institutions are far away. Teachers too don't come regularly. It's a big challenge for us to get 100 percent enrolments.”