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<\/a><\/p>\nUKHIYA, Bangladesh \u2013 At their age, Asif and Suleman* should be running around, kicking up dirt, giving their parents trouble. Instead the young brothers sit like statues, staring blankly with dull eyes.<\/p>\n
Suleman is 12 and Asif eight, but they look much younger than their peers. In recent weeks, their daily routine has consisted of religious school and private English lessons. No play and only sporadic sleep.<\/p>\n
\u201cI have dreams of happy children playing,\u201d said Suleman unexpectedly. \u201cBut in my dreams we can\u2019t play with them. I\u2019m always afraid. If something falls on the ground or there is a sudden noise, I jump and remember what happened.\u201d<\/p>\n
The boys are among many distressed Rohingya children who have arrived in Bangladesh since October last year, when a security crackdown in Myanmar\u2019s northern Rakhine state tore them from their families. More than 70,000 people are estimated to have fled to Bangladesh in the last five months; as many as half could be children aged under 18 years.<\/p>\n
”\u00a0<\/span>I\u2019m always afraid.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n [Many Rohingya children like in the photograph, \u00a0living in makeshift sites and striving hard for survival in Bangladesh after fleeing violence in Myanmar. Photo by AW]<\/strong><\/p>\n Suleman and Asif were playing in their backyard when their home was raided. They ran away, unable to save their little brother who was playing in the front of the house. They believed their parents were shot and killed in the attack, but do not \u00a0know if their brother survived.<\/p>\n Fleeing with some neighbours, they were eventually taken to their uncle Mustafa in Bangladesh, who had fled earlier in October with his family. Today they live in a makeshift shelter and have received some rice and relief supplies.<\/p>\n Beyond their immediate needs, these boys will need psychosocial counselling to help them overcome the loss of their loved ones and the violence they have witnessed.<\/p>\n In Kutupalong and Nayapara refugee camps, multi-age play spaces have been set up to help address mental distress. in\u00a0ay is essential for all children to build a foundation for learning, but it is particularly important for refugee children because of its therapeutic role,\u201d said Marzia Dalto, UNHCR\u2019s Protection Officer in Cox\u2019s Bazar, Bangladesh. \u201cWhen properly managed, safe and imaginative play can help to reduce stress and optimize brain development. It can provide healing opportunities for children\u2019s emotional trauma and offer hope to break the cycle of physical and emotional violence.\u201d<\/p>\n Asif, 8, and Suleman, 12, say their parents were killed in the violence near Maungdaw, Myanmar.<\/p>\n<\/a><\/p>\n