With gang violence and child marriage, childhood is short in Rohingya refugee camps

Over one million Rohingya live in squalid and sprawling camps in Bangladesh. Prospects are more than bleak for these refugees from Myanmar. Gang violence is rife in the camps and the number of child marriages is growing. In Camp 3, in the Ukhia region near the border with Myanmar, crowds of girls and boys are watching a play. On the stage, a man strikes a woman. Shouts ring out – both from the actors and, even louder, from the young audience. Domestic violence is the theme of today’s performance, which is being put on by a group of volunteers who themselves live in the camp. Plays like this one are a key part of ongoing efforts to educate and raise awareness among the residents of refugee camps in Bangladesh. They are intended especially for minors, who now make up half of the camps’ population. Many of them have known nothing other than the life of a refugee. There is no formal schooling for them in the 33 Rohingya refugee camps, which are scattered around the border region south ...