'We have no future here' Rohingya teenager says on life in the world's largest refugee camp

The Current21:08Rohingya refugee fears the world has forgotten their plight

READ TRANSCRIBED AUDIO

WARNING: This story contains distressing details.

Enam Uddin was 12 years old when he and his family, along with roughly 742,000 people, were forced to flee Myanmar in August of 2017 for Bangladesh following a deadly crackdown against the ethnic minority group by the country's military. 

"What I remember is that, in my age, the Burma government have been persecuting us since 2012. They didn't allow us to practice our religion, Islam. They didn't allow us to attend university. They didn't give us freedom. We couldn't even visit our relatives from one village to another," Uddin, who's now 18, told The Current's Matt Galloway. 

Accounts of arson, rape, and mass killings of the Rohingya — amounting to what experts and rights groups describe as genocide and crimes against humanity — took place during the crackdown and have since been brought forward to the International Court of Justice and the International Criminal Court.

"They raped our mothers and sisters. Our brothers and sisters were killed. Many children were thrown into the fire," Uddin said. 

Outrage by the international community over the atrocities that unfolded at the height of the crisis gave Uddin hope that life in Cox's Bazar, Bangladesh, was going to be a temporary endeavor that would see him and his five siblings back home in months.

"But when I saw that there was no chance of repatriation…. At that time I feel that I couldn't go to my home within a very short time," Uddin said. 

Nearly six years into his stay at the refugee camp, Uddin and others say they feel like the world has forgotten them. The possibility of returning home faded further following Myanmar's military coup, which took place in February 2021 and saw the ousting of the civilian government and imprisonment of its leader, Aung San Suu Kyi. 

With nearly one million Rohingya now estimated to live in Cox's Bazar, overcrowding and poorly constructed shelters have made the refugee site prone to diseases and large fires, with the latest blaze erupting last Sunday, leaving more than 12,000 people homeless, half of whom are children. 

Ignored and forgotten

Teen years are normally a time of self-discovery and preparation for young adulthood. For Uddin, the last six years have been a repeated cycle of optimism of one day returning home, the disappointment of inadequate international support, and desperate efforts to survive the violence and lawlessness that run rampant in the refugee camps.

"The life of the refugees is very horrible. I call it a murderous life. There are very less access to basic human rights," said Uddin. "There is very less freedom of movement. Also, there is no formal education. That is one of the most important things for the human rights."

"Sometimes I feel that the world has forgotten us because it's been too late to resolve our crisis … and also the humanitarian assistance are reducing day by day." 

Now at 18, with no clear path in sight of what will happen next, Uddin said it's becoming increasingly difficult for him to hold onto his dream of becoming a doctor and achieving his goal "to work for my community and to transform them into a peaceful, educated and brightful community."

"But I don't have that kind of future,"Uddin added.

Compounding crises

Imposed travel and work restrictions by the Bangladeshi government have made it nearly impossible for the Rohingya to freely move outside the camps or seek legal employment. The policy by the government is intended to disincentivize what they fear might be permanent integration into Bangladeshi society. 

"The government of Bangladesh and the people of Bangladesh have been extremely hospitable. We must challenge ourselves to find any other country under similar economic circumstances, like Bangladesh — very poor itself — hosting a million refugees like this," Domenico Scalpelli, World Food Program Country Director for Bangladesh, told Matt Galloway.

"At the same time, the government is careful not to implement solutions which they might view as permanent integration. What they view as the ultimate solution is repatriation back home to Myanmar."

The policy has made much of the population reliant on humanitarian assistance for basics such as food. But recently that too is under threat as aid groups continue to fall short of their funding goals and are now rationing supplies to meet people's needs.

"If significant contributions do not come forth urgently, then there's a high risk of malnutrition increasing and going beyond the emergency threshold level," Scalpelli said. 

What the future holds

For Uddin, repatriation is too long of a wait. He's now willing to be resettled in a third country, should the opportunity arise.

"As I'm a student, I'm a dreamer. I'm ready to take that chance. But most of the Rohingya do not agree with that because they want to repatriate to their country," Uddin said.

Canada and much of the international community has long expressed the goal of repatriating the Rohingya as the primary solution to the crisis. But in a report detailing the federal government's strategy, resettlement is briefly mentioned as a pathway that's being explored. However, mass resettlement programs to Canada are yet to take effect. 

In the meantime, Uddin is using social media platforms to rally for more international support. 

Written and produced by Niza Lyapa Nondo.