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Children’s TV show Sesame Street unveiled its first Rohingya Muppets to help thousands of refugee children overcome trauma and tackle the impact of the coronavirus in the world’s largest refugee camp in Bangladesh.
Six-year-old twins Noor and Aziz Yasmin will feature alongside famous series characters such as Elmo and Louie in Rohingya-language educational videos in the camps, according to Sesame Workshop, the non-profit organization behind. series.
“Noor and Aziz are at the heart of our efforts to bring early education … to children and caregivers … heavily affected by the twin displacement crisis and the Covid-19 pandemic,” said Sherrie Westin, President of Social Impact at Sesame Workshop.
“For most Rohingya children, Noor and Aziz will be the very first media characters who look and resemble them … [they] will bring the transformative power of playful learning to families at a time when it is needed more than ever.
According to UN figures, children make up more than half of the 730,000 Rohingya who arrived in Bangladesh in 2017 after a mass exodus from Myanmar and now live in camps in Cox’s Bazar.
Earlier this year, aid agencies said the risks of child marriage and trafficking increased in the camps as camp activities were curtailed and youth services were shut down amid the pandemic. .
Questions and answers
Who are the Rohingya and what happened to them in Myanmar?
Described as the most persecuted person in the world, 1.1 million Rohingya people live in Myanmar. They mainly live in Rakhine State, where they have struggled to coexist alongside Buddhists for decades.
The Rohingyas say they are descendants of Muslims, possibly Persian and Arab traders, who came to Myanmar generations ago. Unlike the Buddhist community, they speak a language similar to the Bengali dialect of Chittagong in Bangladesh.
The Rohingya are vilified by many in Myanmar as illegal immigrants and suffer from systematic discrimination. The Myanmar government treats them as stateless, denying them citizenship. Strict restrictions have been imposed on the Rohingya’s freedom of movement, access to medical assistance, education and other basic services.
Violence erupted in northern Rakhine state in August 2017, when militants attacked government forces. In response, security forces backed by Buddhist militias launched a “demining operation” which ultimately killed at least 1,000 people and forced more than 600,000 to flee their homes. Senior UN human rights official said army response was “clearly disproportionate” to insurgent attacks and warned Myanmar’s treatment of its Rohingya minority appears to be a “classic example” of cleansing ethnic.
When Aung San Suu Kyi came to power, there were high hopes that the Nobel Peace Prize winner would help heal the deep-rooted ethnic divisions in Myanmar. But she has been accused of staying away as violence is committed against the Rohingya.
In 2019, the judges of the International Criminal Court authorized a full investigation into the allegations of mass persecution and crimes against humanity. On December 10, 2019, the International Court of Justice in The Hague opened a genocide case brought by The Gambia.
Rebecca ratcliffe
Sesame Workshop described Noor as a passionate and curious girl who enjoys making up fun new rules for games, while her brother is a storyteller whose creativity can, at times, distract him from his daily chores.
Brac, a Bangladeshi NGO and partner in the program, said video segments will start soon. “It will definitely help Rohingya children stay connected to their roots,” said Brac spokeswoman Hasina Akhter.
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