Covid -19 Rumors’ in the camps, ‘Messaging in   Rohingya language ‘

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Cox Gazette | Online Desk April 9, 2020, 02:52 AM

Rohingya does not have any written language .They communicate verbally .They has need specific communication tools to understand the content to tackle the rumors. One of the Humanitarian Working Group publish it in their humanitarian feedback bulletin. Its base on Community Feedback summary which Focused on Covid-19 .

Different humanitarian agencies work together to make feedback bulletin .The process start from the BBC Media Action .They started to make the question to the other agencies how rumors tackled or arise the onset of the Covid-19 outbreak in Bangladesh, BBC Media Action has asked agencies working in this response to share the rumor’s being reported to them by their fieldworkers and service providers in the camps. To better understand how and why the rumors’ circulate, Translators without Borders (TWB) spoke with Rohingya community members and community volunteers working in the camps.

They conducted eight interviews; four with camp residents and four with community volunteers working for different NGOs in the camps.

Rumor suddenly spread inside the camp. Within in moment its spread  cause nobody cross check .Few of the idea figure out by working group from their community 

1. Patients who are referred for treatment outside of the camps will be shot or killed by the government if there are too many cases of the virus.

 2. There is also a rumors that two community members have already been executed in these circumstances.

3. ( The only way to stop the disease is to kill the infected person.

4. ( No medication is available for Covid-19, so there is no point seeking medical treatment. ( If anyone contracts the virus in the camps, they will be confined by security forces and mistreated even killed, and their home and block will be shut down.

 

Last week I heard that there was a weird-looking baby born in Cox’s Bazar at night time, and immediately soon after being born, but before he died, the baby said that if you want to stay safe from Coronavirus, you should drink red tea and dig some soil out in your compound. You will find some coal; soak it in water and drink the water after some time. Then you will be safe from coronavirus.” – Rohingya woman, mid-twenties

Official sources known by the community are seen as the most reliable I don’t trust any information other than health professionals' advice.” – Rohingya woman, mid-twenties

Effective communication is essential, especially for vulnerable populations in crisis situations. Providing the right information in the right format can save lives.

 It is essential to approach situations with an underlying understanding of the language and communication needs and preferences of the community. I trust the information that is disseminated through loudspeakers. If it was wrong, they would have been stopped by the government officials.” – Rohingya man, mid-twenties Rohingya is a predominantly verbal language. So, most Rohingya people living in the camps can only understand information presented verbally or in audio formats. All community members interviewed said they prefer to receive information about Covid-19 in audio formats, particularly over loudspeakers. Community volunteers confirmed that. Interviewees identified tom-toms and the loudspeakers carried on CNGs as one of the most trusted formats of information dissemination.

WHO advice for the Rohingya camps about isolation, quarantine and seeking treatment for other respiratory illnesses. Rohingya camp also lockdown cause of Covid 19

There is different taskforce or agencies to tackle the rumors but still nothing enough .Rohingya  activist says ‘All message need to disseminate by the Rohingya language and Rohingya loves to listen the audio ‘