Many Rohingya children like these, photographed in February 2017, live in overcrowded makeshift sites in Bangladesh having led violence in Myanmar. © UNHCR/Saiful Huq Omi Rohingya orphans seek safe space to heal UNHCR is working to identify and assess the best interests of unaccompanied children who recently arrived in the refugee camps of Bangladesh. UKHIYA, Bangladesh – At their age, Asif and Suleman* should be running around, kicking up dirt, giving their parents trouble. Instead the young brothers sit like statues, staring blankly with dull eyes. Suleman is 12 and Asif eight, but they look much younger than their peers. In recent weeks, their daily routine has consisted of religious school and private English lessons. No play and only sporadic sleep. “I have dreams of happy children playing,” said Suleman unexpectedly. “But in my dreams we can’t play with them. I’m always afraid. If something falls on the ground or there is a sudden noise, I jump and remember what happened.” The boys are among many distressed Rohingya children who have arrived in Bangladesh since October last year, when a security crackdown in Myanmar’s northern Rakhine state tore them from their families. More than 70,000 people are estimated to have led to Bangladesh from October 2016 to February 2017; as many as half could be children aged under 18 years. Suleman and Asif were playing in their backyard when their home was raided. They ran away, unable to save their little brother who was playing in the front of the house. They believed their parents were shot and killed in the attack, but do not know if their brother survived. Fleeing with some neighbours, they were eventually taken to their uncle Mustafa in Bangladesh, who had led earlier in October with his family. Today they live in a makeshift shelter and have received some rice and relief supplies. Beyond their immediate needs, these boys will need psychosocial counselling to help them overcome the loss of their loved ones and the violence they have witnessed. In Kutupalong and Nayapara refugee camps, multiage play spaces have been set up to help address mental distress. “Play is essential for all children to build a foundation for learning, but it is particularly important for refugee children because of its therapeutic role,” said Marzia Dalto, UNHCR’s Protection Officer in Cox’s Bazar, Bangladesh. “When properly managed, safe and 5