Social Hub provides Yassin with a new lease of life
Adolescent Rohingya boy finds hope at EU Social Hub in Cox’s Bazar
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The Social Hub is a welcome sight along the dust-ridden roads leading to one of Cox's Bazar's Refugee Camps. At the tail-end of winter, the driest time of the year in Bangladesh, everything along the way is covered in a thick coat of red dust.
The hub structure is painted brightly and covered in children's artwork, with laughter wafting out of the entrance.
Adolescent Rohingya boys can be seen playing a game of Chinese Whispers in a room to the left. Smaller groups play carrom board outside. When asked what they like about the programme, some talk about the games, art and lessons learned in their peace-building sessions. Most, however, talk about sports.
Standing alone in that hallway, Yassin, is a very serious-looking 15-year-old for one so young. He looks older and taller than the other boys his age.
Yassin has been frequenting the social hub for up to nine months now and is eager to gain knowledge.
The boys speak of the importance of tackling social issues using terms such as “eve-teasing”, “child-protection” and “peace-building”.
"Since coming to the social hub, people in the camps come to me when they have questions or need help for solving problems because they feel that I am a good source of information," he boasts.
Yassin says that is why he is so eager to learn, because the more he absorbs, the more he can do with his life.
He says that he dreams of becoming a doctor when he is older. "It’s something I have been thinking of ever since I came to Bangladesh because I want to help my community."
Overall, Yassin seems to be very grown-up for a 15-year-old. He admits that he hadn't even heard of football or carrom board until he started coming to the social hub.
Perhaps it is this facility which is most special about the hub. It allows a boy to be just that - a boy.
Fleeing his homeland in Myanmar three years earlier, Yassin and many others like him have had to grow up quickly.
The hub helps them salvage some of that lost childhood, despite the upheaval around them.
In the hallway of the hub near where the boy is standing, a wall is covered in beautiful drawings of all kinds.
He looks up at those and beams. When asked, the boy shyly says it is his favourite place in the centre.
“I like all the artworks, some are also mine, " he says, with pride in his voice and breaks into a wide smile.
And that is when one truly sees Yassin, the 15-year-old boy.
Disclaimer: Some names and identifying details have been changed to protect the privacy of individuals.
This UNICEF programme supported by the European Union Instrument contributing to Stability and Peace (IcSP) aims to enhance peaceful co-existence among adolescents and youth, to strengthen social cohesion and bridge gaps between Rohingya and Bangladeshi communities. You can download a digital brochure and poster of the project here.
This publication was produced with the financial support of the European Union. Its contents are the sole responsibility of UNICEF and do not necessarily reflect the views of the European Union.
