Rohima* tells us how she found 11-year-old Nur* alone and terrified after their village in Myanmar was attacked and people were brutally murdered, including his mother.
*Names changed to protect identity.
Rohima* tells us "I found Nur*, alone and crying. I took him with me. I fed him and looked after him. And then I brought him with me here [to Cox’s Bazar, Bangladesh]."
After the violence in our village, no one was left. I found Nur all alone.
His mother died and his father was put in jail. His father is a moulovi [religious leader]. Since then we haven’t heard anything about him.
I was looking for his other relatives in Myanmar but I could not find them. As I have affection for him I kept him with me. He does not go anywhere without me. He loves me as well.
After one month staying with me in Myanmar, we came here [to Bangladesh].
I am working hard to look after him. I feed him rice and other foods.
Fleeing Myanmar
I could not bring anything. I came here with only the dress I was wearing at the time.
We hid sometimes behind a fish farm, sometimes along the riverside, sometimes in someone’s house.
Nur was just crying all the way here. He was exhausted by crying and he was starving. The boy is deaf.
I brought him here hugging him to my bosom.
I told my husband everything about this boy. He agreed to keep Nur with our family.
"He saw fighting, firing, slaughtering in Myanmar. He saw the scene when they attempted to kill me."
Nur’s difficulties in Cox’s Bazar
In Bangladesh, he does not know anything or anybody. I have to keep my eyes on him all the time to see where he is going and what he is doing.
He stays close to me still now. When I go out of his sight for a while he starts to cry and shout. The fear that he felt in Myanmar is still gripping him. At night time, I have to keep him beside me all the time.
He saw fighting, firing, slaughtering in Myanmar. He saw the scene when they attempted to kill me. He says that the people of his village were taken away and put in a vehicle, and he describes them being beaten.
He saw people taken from his village.
Sometimes he gets convulsions. He makes a big sound when he gets a convulsion. That is why I have to keep him close to me. He wets himself at night. He feels at peace when I stay near to him.
He remains mute when he plays with others. Some of them sneer, tease him.
My youngest daughter stays with him all the time when I am out of the house. My husband also looks after him.
How you’re helping Nur
Save the Children staff love him and that’s why he comes here [the child-friendly space – CFS] regularly. Now he plays with others.
Save the Children staff love and are affectionate to Nur*. If he is absent from the centre, staff come to the house looking for him and asking us where he is. He comes here regularly; he plays here with other children.
He can draw pictures. They take good care of him and to see it I feel peace.
Nur is intelligent. I can communicate with him. He understands when I show him something to do. He also understands what other people say.
He learned the lessons that the staff at the Child Friendly Space taught him. He understands their teaching. He has fewer quarrels when he comes here.
If I could hear, if I could speak, I would attend school to learn and get an education. If you give me a hearing aid I could speak.
A better life in Bangladesh
Since we arrived in Bangladesh we feel peace in our hearts. We suffered a lot back in Myanmar. We are happy to be here in Bangladesh.
Since we arrived here in the camp, Allah will keep us in peace. We could not sleep well back in Myanmar. We were always afraid of them coming.
We cannot pay back our debt to Bangladesh. We get peace a lot in Bangladesh. We can sleep well here. We can sleep free from fear here in Bangladesh. Thanks to Bangladesh.
What is Save the Children doing for children like Nur?
Amongst the Rohingya who have fled Myanmar since 25 August 2017 were several thousand unaccompanied and separated children. Some were separated from their families while fleeing Myanmar’s northern Rakhine State, where they often travelled long distances through rain and mud. Others became orphans when their parents were killed in the violence.
The sheer number of unaccompanied and separated children is a real concern as these children are in an especially vulnerable position, being at increased risk of exploitation and abuse, as well as things like child trafficking.
Save the Children has set up spaces in the camps for these children to receive 24-hour support while family-based care arrangements can be made either through family reunification or through placement with foster families in the camps.
We’re also running over 80 Child Friendly Spaces and 10 Girl Friendly Spaces, which together support over 40,000 children. Child friendly spaces provide children with a safe and nurturing environment in which they can play, learn and be children again while being protected from harms like kidnapping and trafficking.
We are promoting awareness raising amongst parents, community leaders and children around trafficking risks, both to prevent trafficking taking place, and ensure incidents are reported and addressed appropriately.
Finally, we also offer psychosocial support for severely distressed children, helping them deal with the traumatic experiences they have been through and recover.