Childhood Interrupted: Children’s Voices from the Rohingya Refugee Crisis

Children’s experiences in Cox’s Bazar and the specific vulnerabilities they face are distinct from adults’. At the same time, children themselves are best placed to articulate their own needs and desires. Therefore through this consultation children from refugee communities – who identify themselves as Rohingya – and children from host communities were engaged in the children’s consultation organised by the three participating agencies, Plan International, Save the Children and World Vision International.

The children’s consultation took place between 2 December and 5 December 2017, in various refugee camps and host community locations. Teams from all three agencies conducted sessions with children between the ages of 7 and 17 as well as with mothers from the various communities.

The findings from the children’s consultation are presented in two ways. Part I is a fictional account written from children’s perspectives and takes the reader through a day in the life of children in the camps, touching on their day-to-day activities and experiences. This narrative is based on the children’s testimonies and key findings that form Part II of the report, which presents the consolidated analysis from the children’s consultation exercise.