VOA慢速英语--罗辛亚人在难民营艰难的进行教育

Rohingya Struggle to Continue Their Education in Refugee Camps

One morning in January, Kefayat Ullah walked to his school in southern Bangladesh, just as he had done most days over the past six years.

Kefayat had always been one of the top students in his class. But on this day, the 16-year-old was told he had been expelled. The school’s headmaster told him that he and more than 60 of his classmates were no longer permitted to attend school.

The reason? A government investigation¹ had identified them as Rohingya refugees.

“We went back home crying,” Kefayat said.

?Rohingya are mostly stateless Muslims from neighboring Myanmar, also known as Burma. More than 730,000 Rohingya fled across the border after Myanmar’s military launched an offensive against suspected rebels in late 2017. The United Nations has said the violence was carried out with “genocidal intent.”

Thousands of children, like Kefayat, were born in Bangladesh after their parents fled earlier waves of violence in Myanmar.

For years, schools in Bangladesh quietly welcomed Rohingya, who live along the southern coast in the world’s largest refugee settlement.

But the growing number of arrivals has tested Bangladesh’s government. Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina has said the country is not able to fully² welcome all of the refugees.

Myanmar has said it is ready to welcome back the refugees. However, the country from which they fled still is dealing³ with ethnic⁴ tensions and violence. The United Nations says conditions are not right for them to return.

'Hungry for education'

In some countries, governments permit refugees to study in local schools or permit groups operating in the camps to teach the national curriculum.

But Bangladesh has not recognized the majority of the Rohingya as refugees. And it does not give Bangladeshi birth certificates to children born in the camps.

The government has also prevented centers in the camps from teaching Bangladesh’s education curriculum, says the U.N. children’s agency, UNICEF.

The recent school expulsions mean that hundreds of thousands of Rohingya may miss out on critical years of education.

“Many students are depressed⁵ and frustrated⁶,” said one 21-year-old. He asked not to be named because he was continuing to pass as Bangladeshi so he could go to university.

The young man added, “Yes, we are somehow pretending to be Bangladeshi students. Yes, we have got some education. But now, where will we go? The world should think about this: if we can’t study, our future will be damaged. We are hungry for education.”

Jamal Uddin is headmaster of Leda High School, where Kefayat was once a student. He said of the decision to expel Rohingya, “We are very sorry and disappointed.” He added, “The government is providing everything for the Rohingya -- why not education?”

But other people support the decision. They include the school’s founder⁷, Kamal Uddin Ahmed. He said the arrival of the Rohingya has created big problems for the local community. Some have blamed Rohingya for bringing drugs and crimes to Bangladesh.

“How do you think I feel? We don’t mind the Rohingya, but we mind our lives,” Kamal said.

In January, the head of Bangladesh’s Refugee Relief and Repatriation⁸ Commission wrote to school headmasters in and around the city of Cox’s Bazar.

In the letter, commission chief Abul Kalam noted⁹, “It has been seen the trend of Rohingya children’s participation¹⁰ in getting education has been increasing.” He also noted that some Rohingya were using false identity documents so they could go to school.

Abul said, “It is advised to monitor strictly¹¹ so that no Rohingya children can take education outside the camps or elsewhere in Bangladesh.”

He told the Reuters news agency that Rohingya were getting an education from learning centers operating within the camps.

Secret studying

But many children and their parents describe the learning centers that international agencies operate as offering mostly unstructured learning and playtime.

A temporary school run by Rohingya volunteer teachers opened in February. However, the lead teacher said they had no official permission to operate.

Karen Reidy is a communications officer at UNICEF, which leads education programming in the camps. She said her group was working on making other countries’ curriculums into a “learning framework” for refugee children.

“There’s a risk in the camps that we will see a lost generation of children if we don’t manage to catch them with education, with skills and training at this critical point in their lives,” she said.

At the Nayapara camp, Kefayat and other expelled students tell stories from their years of secret study in Bangladeshi schools. Some of their classmates were cruel to them, said Kefayat.

“They used the word ‘Rohingya’, ‘Burma’ to tease us,” he said. “Nevertheless, we were happy. We need education.”

Kefayat dreamed of completing his education and becoming a reporter “to help our community,” he said. Now, he watches his onetime Bangladeshi classmates travel to and from class in their clean white clothes.

“We feel sad when we see the local students studying in a nice place, quietly,” he said. “Now we are always worried and thinking – what will we do?”

I’m Ashley Thompson.

And I'm Jonathan Evans.

Words in This Story

headmaster - n. the person who is head of a school

intent - n. an aim or purpose

curriculum - n. the courses that are taught by a school, college, etc.

certificate - n. a document that is official proof that something has happened

frustrated - adj. very angry, discouraged, or upset because of being unable to do or complete something

pretend - v. to act as if something is true when it is not true

trend - n. a general direction of change

monitor - v. to watch, observe, listen to, or check (something) for a special purpose over a period of time

strictly - adv. used to describe a command, rule, etc., that must be obeyed

framework - n. the basic structure of something

1 investigation   

n.调查，调查研究

参考例句：

• In an investigation,a new fact became known, which told against him.在调查中新发现了一件对他不利的事实。
• He drew the conclusion by building on his own investigation.他根据自己的调查研究作出结论。

2 fully   

adv.完全地，全部地，彻底地；充分地

参考例句：

• The doctor asked me to breathe in,then to breathe out fully.医生让我先吸气，然后全部呼出。
• They soon became fully integrated into the local community.他们很快就完全融入了当地人的圈子。

3 dealing   

n.经商方法，待人态度

参考例句：

• This store has an excellent reputation for fair dealing.该商店因买卖公道而享有极高的声誉。
• His fair dealing earned our confidence.他的诚实的行为获得我们的信任。

4 ethnic   

adj.人种的，种族的，异教徒的

参考例句：

• This music would sound more ethnic if you played it in steel drums.如果你用钢鼓演奏，这首乐曲将更具民族特色。
• The plan is likely only to aggravate ethnic frictions.这一方案很有可能只会加剧种族冲突。

5 depressed   

adj.沮丧的，抑郁的，不景气的，萧条的

参考例句：

• When he was depressed,he felt utterly divorced from reality.他心情沮丧时就感到完全脱离了现实。
• His mother was depressed by the sad news.这个坏消息使他的母亲意志消沉。

6 frustrated   

adj.挫败的，失意的，泄气的v.使不成功( frustrate的过去式和过去分词 )；挫败；使受挫折；令人沮丧

参考例句：

• It's very easy to get frustrated in this job. 这个工作很容易令人懊恼。
• The bad weather frustrated all our hopes of going out. 恶劣的天气破坏了我们出行的愿望。 来自《简明英汉词典》

7 Founder   

n.创始者，缔造者

参考例句：

• He was extolled as the founder of their Florentine school.他被称颂为佛罗伦萨画派的鼻祖。
• According to the old tradition,Romulus was the founder of Rome.按照古老的传说，罗穆卢斯是古罗马的建国者。

8 repatriation   

n.遣送回国，归国

参考例句：

• The Volrep programme is the preferred means of repatriation. 政府认为自愿遣返计划的遣返方法较为可取。 来自互联网
• Arrange the cargo claiming and maritime affairs,crews repatriation,medical treatment,traveling so on. （六）洽办货物理赔，船舶海事处理，办理船员遣返，就医，旅游等。 来自互联网

9 noted   

adj.著名的，知名的

参考例句：

• The local hotel is noted for its good table.当地的那家酒店以餐食精美而著称。
• Jim is noted for arriving late for work.吉姆上班迟到出了名。

10 participation   

n.参与，参加，分享

参考例句：

• Some of the magic tricks called for audience participation.有些魔术要求有观众的参与。
• The scheme aims to encourage increased participation in sporting activities.这个方案旨在鼓励大众更多地参与体育活动。

11 strictly   

adv.严厉地，严格地；严密地

参考例句：

• His doctor is dieting him strictly.他的医生严格规定他的饮食。
• The guests were seated strictly in order of precedence.客人严格按照地位高低就座。