Reflective Thoughts upon the Preliminary Observation on the Rohingya Refugee Camps in Bangladesh: A Call for Greater Psychological Support

Abstract

This  paper  is  a  reflective  article  based  upon  the  author’s experience of providing the preliminary evaluation at the two Rohingya refugee camps – Kutupalang and Balukhali– in Bangladesh.The information for  this  paper  was  gathered  from  resources  using  the  interview  and observation methodologies. The author interviewed the refugees in the camps through English-Bangali and Bangali-Chittagonian interpreters, and local staffs who worked in the camps. In addition, the author visited the service centers in the camps, and witnessed the distribution process of donated supplies. Although there were several agencies providing supports for the refugees within the camps, the help was still far from sufficiency. The author aims to use this paper as a platform to call for a greater support, especially the psychological ones. The author classifies the needs into two categories: ( 1) the urgent needs, which include the issues of children without guidance; lacking cooperation among supportive organizations, and inaccessible information to the services; (2) the important needs, that are the exercise of power by authorities; the lack of psychological support for local staffs, and the perception of the locals toward the refugees.