“have been constructed using untreated bamboo in direct contact with the ground, creating perfect conditions for pests and rot. The above factors mean that the vast majority of bamboo within the camps will need to be replaced within the next 0-20 months,” according to humanitarian agencies.2™ The government said it is considering to allow concrete foundations for learning centers.2%2 However, the walls and roofs of learning centers are still primarily from bamboo and have had to be replaced.?33 “We couldn’t even treat them [with weather-resistant chemicals] to make them last for two years,” an NGO education official said, due to government restrictions. Architects designed a monsoon-resistant, two-floor bamboo structure, a pilot of which had been inaugurated by government officials, “but it needs a lot of bamboo, and is not as durable” as a metal-walled structure such as a caravan, an education specialist said.2*4 At the time of Human Rights Watch’s research trips to Cox’s Bazar in February and June 2019, the only permanent structures in the camps were the offices of Bangladeshi Camp-In-Charge (CIC) officials, seconded from the Ministry of Disaster Management and Relief to the Refugee Relief and Repatriation Commission (RRRC) to oversee the camps. “The government still regards this as temporary and is resisting permanent [school] structures. The only things that are permanent are the CIC offices,” a humanitarian official said.2%5 The humanitarian groups working in the education sector reported that about 1,600 out of 3,000 learning centers had access to water and toilets. Children whom Human Rights Watch interviewed in February 2019 were attending about 40 different learning centers. They said their facilities did not have electricity, desks, or chairs. Most did not have toilets nearby; some had toilets but no water.2** Teachers from 18 learning centers in the camps, which Human Rights Watch visited, said there was no drinking water and no bathroom facilities for children, which interrupted children’s learning. “We have a water tank but 211 9019 Joint Response Plan for the Rohingya Humanitarian Emergency, January-December, p. 45. 212 Human Rights Watch interview, Refugee Relief and Repatriation Commissioner, February 18, 2019, Cox’s Bazar. 213 Human Rights Watch interviews, Refugee Relief and Repatriation Commissioner, February 18, 2019, and humanitarian education officials, Cox’s Bazar, February 15 and 17, 2019. 214 Human Rights Watch interview, BRAC education director, February 19, 2019, Cox’s Bazar. 215 Human Rights Watch interview, senior humanitarian education official, Cox’s Bazar, February 17, 2019. 216 Eg. a learning center in Camp 7. Human Rights Watch interviews with facilitators and observations, February 5, 2019. “ARE WE HUMAN?” 58