By: Camp Correspondent
Kutupalong Refugee Camp, Cox’s Bazar – July 6, 2025
The body of Ziaur Rahman, an 8-year-old Rohingya boy from Camp-6, was recovered on Monday morning, a day after he went missing while crossing a bamboo bridge during heavy monsoon rains. His tragic death has sent shockwaves through the refugee community, adding urgency to growing concerns over child safety and the deepening education crisis in the camps.
Ziaur, a Grade 2 student at a UNICEF-supported community school run by the Jagorani Chakra Foundation (JCF), was returning home after delivering food to his father, a local shopkeeper. Around 10:00 a.m. on Sunday, July 6, he attempted to cross a narrow, rain-slick bamboo bridge in low visibility. He slipped and fell into a rapidly swelling stream below.
Despite desperate efforts by residents to locate him, it wasn’t until early Monday that local volunteers found his lifeless body downstream.
Children at Risk, Every Day
Ziaur was the first son of Nur Kashim and Sehena Begum. His death has left not only his family devastated but the entire community shaken. It underscores the perilous daily reality for thousands of Rohingya children—forced to navigate unsafe paths, unstable bridges, and treacherous floodwaters simply to assist their families or pursue an education.
His death follows a series of similar tragedies in the camps. Just two days earlier, 14-year-old Abdullah, son of Halu Mia from Camp-2E, drowned after being swept away by floodwaters while collecting spinach near Custom Road. His body was discovered the next morning under a bridge by fishermen.
In yet another heartbreaking incident in Camp-18, Mohammed Reyas, a Class 4 student and son of Md Anowar, was struck and killed by a CNG auto-rickshaw while playing near a road — an accident many blame on the lack of safe spaces for children after the widespread closure of learning centers.
A Crisis of Safety and Education
The daily risks faced by Rohingya children are being compounded by a collapse in education services across the camps. Due to major international funding cuts, more than 6,400 learning centers have been shut down, leaving nearly 300,000 children without access to schooling.
Without schools to attend, many children now spend their days unsupervised in overcrowded shelters or roaming the streets, exposed to dangerous environments, exploitation, and trauma.
The few remaining education centers — such as Ziaur’s — are struggling to stay open. They lack basic resources, trained teachers, and institutional support. Aid workers warn that unless emergency funds are secured soon, even these last havens of learning may be forced to close.
A Cry for Urgent Action
The deaths of Ziaur Rahman, Abdullah, and Mohammed Reyas are not isolated incidents. They reflect a systemic failure to protect the most vulnerable members of the Rohingya community — its children.
Local leaders and humanitarian workers are urgently calling for:
- Immediate repairs and reinforcement of bamboo bridges and walking paths
- Creation of safe, supervised spaces for children to learn and play
- Emergency funding to keep existing education programs alive
Without decisive and immediate intervention, more children may lose their lives — not just to monsoon floods and road accidents, but to despair and neglect.
Every Rohingya child deserves not just survival, but safety, dignity, and a chance to dream.
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