By 9NEWS
Rohingya refugee children are too scared to leave their
tents at night for fear of being attacked by wild elephants, snakes, rapists,
thugs and human traffickers.
The finding was revealed in a new report released by the
Save the Children foundation marking the six-month anniversary of the Rohingya refugee crisis,
which has already seen at least 688,000 Rohingya refugees displaced into
Bangladesh. More than half of them are children.
The refugees have been living in temporary camps
comprised of bamboo and plastic tents since the August 25, 2017, crackdown by
Myanmar military, which was touted as an anti-terrorist "clearance
operation".
Those children who survived the ensuing violence —
including the murders of family members and the destruction of their homes —
continue to live in fear and turmoil.
Many have told researchers they face harassment by men at
camp toilets, attacks by "forest men" while collecting firewood, and
dangers posed by wild animals.
"Everybody suffers when collecting firewood. There
was once a girl who was raped when collecting firewood at night," one girl
is reported as saying.
Other children said they avoided leaving their homes or
made sure to travel in groups in order to avoid being kidnapped by human
traffickers.
At least 32 trafficking cases have been reported so far,
though aid workers suspect many incidents have gone unreported.
"The overwhelming message from these children is
that they are afraid … afraid of being taken in the night, afraid of what the
future holds," Bangladesh Director for Save the Children Mark Pierce said.
"They have gone from living in a community where
they know the neighborhood, have close friends, a routine, a good variety of
food and safe places to play, to a chaotic, overcrowded and frightening place.
"Many are orphaned and lost, living in a perpetual
state of anxiety."
Save the Children, together with World Vision and Plan
International are propsiing a raft of measures to help protect children living
in the Rohingya camps.
They include a review of current camp safety patrols,
raising awareness about the risk of trafficking, adjusting camp layouts and
signage to prevent children becoming lost, and empowering teenage girls to feel
safer.
The call comes just a day after one of several bombs
targeting government offices and other places in Myanmar's troubled Rakhine
state were detonated.
Three bombs exploded and three unexploded devices were
seized in Sittwe, the state capital. One police officer was reportedly injured.
One of the explosions was in front of a high-ranking
government official's residence, state police officer Aung Myat Moe said.
Last month, local police fired at protesters in the
ancient city of Mrauk-U, killing at least seven Rakhine Buddhists and injuring
a dozen.
Communal violence in Sittwe in 2012 displaced more than
120,000 Rohingya Muslims now confined to camps outside of the city, where most
Rakhine Buddhists remain.
Also read here:
Also read here:
Six months on: New report reveals extent of fear and distress experienced by Rohingya children who fled to Bangladesh. https://lnkd.in/gAZPdT9