A human chain was held to implement the 4-point demands of teachers working in Rohingya camps in Ukhia and Teknaf

Jamal Uddin - Cox's Bazar district representative.

More than 4 thousand host community teachers are working in the Rohingya camps of Teknaf and Ukhia upazilas with the funding of international donor organizations UNICEF, UNES CR and Save the Children.

Donor agencies have been treating them discriminatory for a long time. To get rid of the said discriminatory behavior and to implement the 4-point demand

With the demand, the working teachers have formed a human chain with banner festoons in different areas of Ukhia and Teknaf.

On September 12 at 10:30 am at Leda station in Camp 24 area, under the supervision of Camp 27 teacher Afsana Fatema Hossain and Camp 24 teacher Md. Ramzan Ali, the human chain started with the recitation of the Holy Quran. 22 at Unchiprang Station and Rohingya Camps of Ukhia Upazila, the people related to Ukhia Bus Station have held the human chain program separately.

The teachers in the human chain said that we teachers are giving our best by working hard in the sun, burning in the rain and sweating, but the representatives of the donor organizations are praising us by presenting reports on our activities at the end of the day and increasing their salaries and allowances month by month, but we are like the 3rd children of the local goats. Being discriminated against. And those of us who have been working in the Rohingya camps since 2017 have been paid 14,600 taka during our joining period and increased it to 15,800 taka in 2022.

Besides, no salary allowance has been increased.

Currently, we cannot afford these salary allowances in the rising market of commodity prices. Our demand is that the minimum salary of the teachers should be Rs 22,500, the teachers should be given maternity leave, the cluster system should be canceled, the festival allowance should be given with two bonuses for two Eids.

If these demands are implemented, we will withdraw our program. If the demands are not accepted, we have warned that more stringent anti-discrimination programs will be announced against the students. During the human chain, the teachers of Camp-27, Mohammad Yunus, Hamid Hosain Heavi of Camp 24, Rezaul Karim of Camp 26, Mainuddin of 24, Abdul Aziz of 26, Anukmarma of 27, Morshida Akhtar of 24, Belal Uddin of Camp 26 spoke. Sadia Akhtar of 25, Iftekharuddin, Sajeda Akhtar and Nurul Absar of 27 etc. It is to be noted that human chain was also held at the same time in Rohingya camps of Ukhiya upazila on the same demand, the teacher leaders said.