Of shattered dreams and life under tarpaulin
It was October 2017. A 13-year-old Kahed Ullah had to leave his home in Buthidaung, Rakhine with 13 other family members in the face of a brutal crackdown by the Myanmar military.
The memories of brutalities are still fresh in Jahed's mind, who is 19 now.
Though once owners of fertile lands, destiny forced them to be refugees.
After crossing the border, they first took shelter at a makeshift camp in Teknaf. "We had to depend totally on relief for food, water, medicine. I never lived in such a vulnerable situation, but I had to accept it," Jahed told The Daily Star.
Jahed was in sixth-grade when they had to flee. Now, he finds himself in the role of a volunteer for an NGO within a Teknaf camp.
"I wanted to be educated and do a job to pursue a good living. That dream is now shattered. Now our only aim in life is survival," Jahed said.
"I still want to return to my homeland, reclaim our lost property, and rebuild for a better future. We are all anticipating the arrival of that hopeful day," he added.
Although the government has taken some initiatives to improve the Rohingya refugees living conditions, their struggle still persists.
According to UN officials, about 300,000 Rohingya children in the camps have been enrolled for education under the Myanmar curriculum.
The government has recently launched vocational training to develop skills of the Rohingya youths so that when they return to Myanmar, they can earn a decent livelihood.
"If the young Rohingya populations are not educated and trained, they will remain frustrated. So, we are focusing on education and vocational trainings," a UN official told The Daily Star.
Md Hossain, a community leader in the camp, says he is pleased with the educational facilities provided for the children, but the lack of skills training and a source of income is a serious issue for them.
He said the food ration for the Rohingyas has been cut down to Tk 840 from Tk 1200 per person [$12-$8] this year.
"Ration cuts had put us in a tight spot. We had to cut fish and meat from our meal. I am struggling to run my nine-member family properly," said the 42-year old Hossain.
Amidst the sprawling expanse of the camp's cramped shelters, Hossain expressed the profound weariness that accompanies such living conditions. The notion of persisting under tarpaulin roofs for years appears untenable to him and his fellow displaced residents.
"How can one live like this for years?" he asked.
He expressed disappointment at what he said was the 'absence of international pressure' on the Myanmar government to secure their citizenship, ethnic identity, and safety within their ancestral Rakhine territory. "We want our recognition and citizenship. We want to go back to Myanmar and live a life with dignity," he said, echoing the collective yearning for a restoration of their rights and a life of honour.
Mohammed Zubair, chairman of the Arakan Rohingya Society for Peace and Human Rights, said though some improvements have been made in the camps, the challenges of living as refugees remain a daunting task for many.
"Bangladesh is not our country. Our country is Arakan. We want to go back there," he added.
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