250 schools in camps prone to landslides
Media: The Independent
A total of 250 child-friendly schools (CFS) in Rohingya refugee camps in Cox’s Bazar are vulnerable to landslides in the rainy season. Over 26,000 refugee children are learning basic education and being given psychological support in these UNICEF-run schools. Contacted, Mohammad Abul Kalam, Refugee Relief and Repatriation Commissioner, told The Independent: “There are 1,200 schools and mosque-based learning centres in the camps. These CFSs and mosque-based learning centres face risks of landslides and floods in the monsoon. The government, UN agencies and partners are working hard to relocate the Rohingyas to safer areas.” In the CFSs, children get basic education. They are taught Burmese and English. There are two types of learning centres in the camps. One is based on mosques, where children are taught Arabic, while the other is set up by the UNICEF.
The children attend classes for two hours in the CFSs, which are considered safe haven for these vulnerable children who witnessed brutal crackdown in their native land.
UNICEF gives them story books as part of the psychosocial support. The kids also socialise with other children and adults. They also get safe drinking water and biscuits.
The Rohingyas fled from Myanmar’s Rakhine state following the military crackdown in August 25, 2017. Over 1.1 million Rohingyas have taken shelter in the camps in Cox’s Bazar.
As much as 58 per cent of these refugees are children.
Benjamin Steinlechner, a communication officer of UNICEF, told The Independent: “As many as 250 learning centres are prone to landslides and floods. We are relocating these learning centres.”
Most of the Rohingyas are living under tarpaulin sheds and in bamboo shelters on steep sandy slopes in the overcrowded camps. Around 200,000 people face serious risks of flood and landslides in the coming cyclone season and monsoon. Humanitarian agencies, including IOM, UNHCR and WFP, have already started relocating these refugees.
The government has allocated around 500 acres of additional land for relocation. According to Bangladesh Met Office, the rainy season usually starts from April and peaks in July. Cox’s Bazar, located in the southern part of the country, is a disaster-prone area.
