Burma Task Force Releases Report #LetRohingyaLearn

On Monday June 21, 2021, Burma Task Force, a program of the Human Rights Advocacy NGO Justice for All, is launching its report “Let Them Learn: Confronting the Need for Rohingya Education.” Examining the extreme lack of educational opportunity as a human rights crisis in Burma, Bangladesh, Malaysia and India, the report is linked here for your convenience.

As a persecuted minority in Myanmar (Burma), Rohingya Muslims have long faced drastic limits on access to school in their homeland of Rakhine State. But this policy continues to deprive Rohingya refugees after they have fled genocide.

“Rohingya are one of the most persecuted people in the world,” observed Imam Malik Mujahid, Chairman of Justice for All, the UN accredited NGO. “There has been systematic attack on education rights. When the world permits the destruction of a people through erasing its hopes for the future, it is complicit in genocide.”

The coronavirus pandemic has exacerbated the poverty and isolation of these displaced Rohingya. In this crisis, the Bangladesh Government should completely cease internet shutdowns and restrictions on mobile phones, to allow distance learning.

In addition to keeping the Rohingya people in poverty, the current lack of educational opportunities may lead to alienation, criminal activities, child marriage and trafficking.

Based on a review of the literature and on interviews with stakeholders, the report finds that many Rohingya volunteer teachers are already helping the next generation but require more resources. Burma Task Force joins other NGOS and calls on all donors and host nations to provide that support without delay.