In August 2017 the Rohingya refugee crisis hit the global headlines. Nearly 700,000 Rohingya refugees were forced to leave their homes due to discriminatory policies from the Myanmar government. It is estimated that 6,700 Rohingya’s were killed in the first month of attacks alone. Those who escaped walked for seven to eight days to reach Bangladesh and many perished while crossing the Naf River on the journey. Those who survived, settled, and set up their new homes. From October 2016, more than 1 million refugees followed and joined the camp which is known as Cox’s Bazar. As the headlines slowed down, from this displacement a mental health crisis arose.
More than 6 years on from being forced to flee, a UNCHR study found that among those who fled, there were 'high levels of mental health concerns: post traumatic stress disorder, depression which were leading to physical complaints, and associated functional impairment”' Street Child has been working with 17 local organizations to provide Mental Health and Psychosocial Support (MHPSS) to Rohingya children who have been impacted by their traumatic past.
A teenage beneficiary described his experience coming to Cox’s Bazar to a Street Child case worker:
'We fled from Myanmar with my family and with some of the neighbors during the attack of the Myanmar military. We walked for a long time. After 2 days we arrived in Bangladesh, we were hungry and had no shelter to stay. Several organizations helped us by providing food, shelter and medical facilities. In Myanmar we had a large house and a large playground but now we live in a small house. We saw our family members, relatives, and neighbours killed by the Myanmar military. The situation still makes us traumatized and for a long time we did not like to talk or share these feelings with anyone.'
Street Child has been working with local NGO Agrajattra since 2020 to help children like this. Limited knowledge on the importance of mental health is a significant challenge to the provision of mental health and psychosocial support (MHPSS) in the camp. To address this, Agrajattra trains case management workers to provide MHPSS support, awareness sessions and life skills classes. They have also helped to set up a Community-Based Child Protection Committee which is made up of community leaders, parents, teachers and volunteers from the Rohingya community.
However, one of the most successful implementations in the camp has been the creation of multipurpose adolescent and children’s hubs. Adolescents who benefit from case management support create their own support groups to help other children who have experienced similar trauma. The same beneficiary who described how his family fled spoke of how these hubs and support groups helped him and his siblings recover from their traumatic experience:
'To reduce our mental trauma Agrajattra and Street Child have established Shantihana (adolescents hub) where we can spend time talking and sharing our feelings to each other, it helps us to reduce our mental health trauma and keep ourselves energetic.'
These hubs are safe spaces where children can play games while being supervised by a caregiver. These spaces are also where awareness raising sessions and protection services are held. They are places of play and joy, decorated with pictures drawn by the children. Celebrations often take place at the hubs such as on International Children’s Day.
A young child described to a Street Child caseworker what they had learnt at the hub:
'We have learned from the awareness session and life skill classes that we should brush our teeth, cut nails and how to draw a picture. We have also learnt to be safe, for example don’t go to risky areas. Even playing with fire could be dangerous. We should wear a mask, wash hands with soap after using the toilet and before eating, we should maintain 3 feet distance to protect ourselves from the COVID -19 situation.'
Over the last 18 months, Street Child has supported over 10,616 Rohingya refugee beneficiaries in the refugee camp through door-to-door awareness sessions, hygiene kits distribution, life skill classes, counselling sessions, and case management support. However, thousands more Rohingya refugee children and adolescents remain to be reached.
Do not forget these children