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• 1 2021-05-12T14:48:39-04:00 Convention on the Rights of the Child 11 Bangladesh's role in this convention image_header 1434 2021-05-18T21:40:12-04:00 Rohingya refugees flee to Bangladesh looking for safety and better lives, but are faced with continuing discrimination and hardship¹. Most notable in this displaced population is the majority percent of children, who deserve care and attention not only as the largest group, but also as the future of the Rohingya people². In addition, Bangladesh, as a signatory of the 1990 Convention on the Rights of the Child, agrees to ensure that children’s rights are worked towards and realized³. The convention requires that refugee children receive protection and services that ensure their quality of life to the same extent as children native to the country⁴. Doing so allows these children to realize the full extent of their “physical, mental, spiritual, moral and social development”⁵. More specifically, in Article 28, the convention refers to the right of a child to education. All children, this article states, have a right to equal access to education that develops all aspects of “the child's personality, talents and mental and physical abilities…to their fullest potential”, not to mention that it should instill a respect for their heritage and identity⁶. However, a majority of Rohingya children continue to be barred from formal education, and so can in no way be receiving these educational benefits they should be guaranteed⁷. Rohingya refugee children’s rights are plainly being violated time and time again, but no clear actions are being made toward actual changes.
• 1 2021-05-12T14:52:04-04:00 Advocacy Material #2 10 Op-Ed plain 1434 2021-05-19T16:51:39-04:00

  Of the 750,000 Rohingya refugees living in Bangladesh, 400,000 are children¹. They have escaped from the destruction of their homes and villages at the hands of the Burmese government by walking for days, or by making the dangerous trek across the Bay of Bengal. When they finally reach Bangladesh, they’ll settle in the refugee camps of Cox’s Bazar, left with severe emotional trauma after witnessing unspeakable atrocities.

  These children deserve access not only to basic necessities to survive, but also have the right to education, which can give them a safe place to process the horrors that they have experienced, and to begin to recover from them, while also growing into contributing members of their communities, able to help advocate for the Rohingya people and their condition both as refugees and as native citizens of Myanmar.

  While the Bangladeshi government has been hesitant to support Burmese curriculum in their schools, a recent update to government policy supports teaching Myanmar’s curriculum to primary school students². Now is the time to capitalize on these legislative changes, before these students fall even farther behind due to the combination of Covid-19 and pre-existing factors brought about by their exile from Myanmar. As such, non-governmental humanitarian organizations in the region need to offer their wealth of financial and material resources to help facilitate this process.

  With more research, an apt anecdote about a specific Rohingya child benefitting from targeted educational programs could be inserted into the op-ed here. For reference, see the second section of this article, titled “Renewed hope for Rohingya refugee children”. (For whatever reason, you'll need to click "Remove this header" at the top right to be taken to be able to see the article).

  Access to education, aside from being a fundamental human right guaranteed by the 1990 Convention on the Rights of the Child, is also fundamental to any child’s future success³. It’s not something that can be put off or delayed, because lost or squandered time is difficult to make up. We’ve all had the unique opportunity to see this phenomenon in the last year, when all children have been forced out of school, or into unusual school circumstances, for some amount of time. So now, we can all empathize with the difficulties that Rohingya children face, and understand that education can’t be delayed. Organizations need to create action plans now, to outline how they intend to support Rohingya children and meet their needs - academically, socially, and psychologically.