Rohingya Refugee Children Need Special Education – Bangladeshi PM

Prime Minister of Bangladesh Sheikh Hasina has appealed to the international community for its continued support in providing special education for the children of Rohingya refugees living in temporary camps in Bangladesh.

"We have to understand that these children fleeing conflict, ethnic cleansing and genocide are carrying heavy psychological trauma. They cannot be expected to accustom themselves to a normal school setting as the forcibly displaced Rohingya children are now living in a different cultural setting," Sheikh Hasina said while addressing a roundtable on "Investment for Education of Women and Girls" at the UN in New York.

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Sheikh Hasina was of the opinion that educational programs in specially crafted environment would help the Rohingya children keep their original identity intact while they prepare themselves for their future once they return to their country (Myanmar).

More than 65 million people remain displaced and the number is increasing every day. A majority of them are women and children, she added.

Earlier, the UN chief, during his visit to refugee camps in southeast Bangladesh, had also stressed that more international aid was needed for Rohingya refugees in Bangladesh.  

"The international community must do more to support nearly one million Rohingya refugees living in heartbreaking conditions in Bangladesh," UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres had remarked.  

Meanwhile, the US has pledged to give $185 million as aid to Rohingya refugees in Bangladesh.  

India has also been helping Bangladesh by sending relief consignments as a humanitarian gesture.  

According to an estimate, more than 700000 Rohingya Muslims have fled Myanmar's Rakhine state into Bangladesh following a crackdown by the Army of Myanmar in the western state of Rakhine in 2007 after militants from amongst the Rohingyas attacked some defense establishments.