Narinjara News
Eve Teasing leaves
Burmese refugee girl and brother out of school in Bangladesh
Dhaka, 22nd July 03: A Burmese refugee teenage girl, in a
Dhaka English Medium School named Darland
International School has stopped going to school since 13th of this month to escape some eve
teasers in Mirpur area where she lives with her
family. Thunn
Mra Khaing, aged 16, is an
eighth grader, intelligent and with good grades in the exams having good sense
of humour. She comes of a Burmese Rakhine
Buddhist background. Recently Narinjara
interviewed her. Excerpts are:
Narinjara: Why have you stopped going to school?
Thunn Mra Khaing: Before telling why I have stopped going to school,
I think I have to make some clarifications first. Four Bengali Muslim
boys in the area whose name and identity I don’t know have for some time been
teasing me on my way to and back from school. They are not from our
school, either. I again and again made protest to them for their bullying
moves. But day by day they have become more and more aggressive for
which I had no other option than stopping going to school.
N: Don’t your parents take you to school, then, for taking care of your
personal safety?
TMK: My mother took me to school in a few occasions. But one day
the boys came face to face with us. My mother asked them why they were
disturbing me. One of the boys became hostile and replied in a
threatening tone that they would see us, and that the consequences would not be
good if their moves are challenged. He was about to attack my mother,
even. When I confronted them and asked if they didn’t have sisters and
mothers the boys came to attack me! With acts of violence and terrorism
so rampant all around in
N: Haven’t you ever complained it to the UNHCR in
TMK:
N: Haven’t you taken the matter to the school authority?
TMK: Of course, I have. When complaining the matter to my teachers they
suggested avoiding those thugs. I don’t know how to avoid them since the
boys lie in wait for my going to school. On more than one occasions these
boys came to our school and hurled Molotov cocktails to terrorise
all. The teachers themselves are afraid of these thugs. So I don’t
know how or what protection can our teachers give me.
N: What about your brothers who go to school with you?
TMK: The thugs on a number of times have made physical attack on my elder
brother. Once my brother suffered a bloody nose.
My elder brother has also stopped going to school for fear of life while at
present my two small brothers are going. The thugs now keep on waiting
for me at two points and have started my small brothers about me.
N: As you have stopped going to school, what do you plan to do in future?
TMK: I want to resume my studies. My final exam is in December this
year. But I don’t think I’ll ever be able to sit for in it. I have
no intention to quit school, but well I don’t know what to do. I wish I
could just continue my studies for a future when I’ll be able to speak out for
the people of
N: Who is taking the responsibility of your education in the school?
TMK: UNHCR. I’m so grateful to them. Without their assistance
I don’t know where I would have been by now.
N: Can you please tell your father’s name?
TMK: Sure. Mratt Tun is my father and his
Burmese refugee ID card number is 01034.
In further talks with TMK’s mother Narinjara came to know that, in the area where they live
they have off and on been harassed by provocative comments while on way to
school. Though they have tried to remain as peaceful as possible there has been a number of confrontations with the teenage
thugs. Couldn’t there be an end to this kind of harassment, she
asked. #
N.B.
For further information in this regard please write to Narinjara,
[email protected], or call: 0880-18-255018