Abstract:
Rohingyas—an ethnic and religious minority of Rakhine
State—have long been subject to unspeakable suppression
and atrocities from the Myanmar authorities [1]. These
Rohingya populations were stripped off their citizenship
rights, forcing them to live as stateless citizen within their
own country. In addition, there were serious discrimination,
marginalization, and denial of their enjoyment of basic
human rights, which led to repeated mass migration to
Bangladesh [2]. Since August 2017, there have been further
escalation of violence and suppressive activities in the
Rakhine State, which resulted in massive exodus of nearly
a million of Rohingya population into Bangladesh. They
joined to >200,000 residual Rohingyas who are already liv-
ing in two megacamps in the south-east district Cox’s
Bazar [3, 4].
Despite the remarkable efforts from the Government of
Bangladesh, United Nations, and their partners, the majority
of the Rohingya refugees are still living in desperate and
overcrowded conditions. Makeshift life in camps poses
challenges to their cultural, religious, and gender norms,
traditions, and identities. Although the basic health services
are generally adequate and well-organized, the mental health
and social care services are quite rudimentary [4]. Conse-
quently, the mental health and psychological conditions
among refugees remained unaddressed, rather they continue
to deteriorate further. These limitations of mental health and
psychosocial support (MHPSS) services are making the refu-
gees psychosocially vulnerable and putting extra pressure on
their already unstable minds [4].
