Statelessness & Citizenship Review 2021 3(1) MSF also notes that reducing healthcare and other services impacts mental health and creates other spill-over effects, such as an increase in physical violence. 21 Muhammad adds that the mental health dimension of health is critical. Particularly at risk is the mental health of the youngest generation, because they are deprived of many basic needs, including education. According to Muhammad, these youths have an understandingly bleak outlook on the future, due to the absence of alternatives and long-term opportunities. The Bangladeshi Government has also denied Rohingya refugees access to formal education. As Human Rights Watch asserts, ‘the denial of education to Rohingya children is an entrenched policy that Bangladesh has imposed for decades.’ 22 The existing informal children’s centres in the camps have been closed since the beginning of the pandemic. According to Muhammad, although more than a year has now passed, no alternative has been presented and implemented to educate Rohingya refugees formally. D Lack of Access to Reliable Information In September 2019, internet and mobile phones were banned in the refugee camps. 23 In the quickly evolving scenario of a pandemic, reliable information is needed. Lack of access to vital communications channels results in people missing out on crucial information required to make informed decisions. In 2020, Fortify Rights requested that Bangladesh lift restrictions on internet and mobile communications. 24 The Government restored the internet in the camps at the end of August 2020. 25 However, fear that it could be cut at any time remains. People are worried that they will lose their lifelines to friends and family in the diaspora and access to local and international news. The construction of a fence around the camps’ perimeter was recently completed, further limiting sources of information and freedom of movement in an already confined and congested geographic area. Fortify Rights reported that the barbed-wire fencing is restricting movement and creating psychological distress for the Rohingya refugee population. 26 According to Muhammad, there is a growing sense of panic among the refugees, as they are concerned that the encirclement of the camps is creating a concentration camp-like setting. Indeed, when massive fires ripped through the camps in March 2021, witnesses described that people could not physically escape the fires due to the fencing. 27 21 22 23 24 25 26 27 Médecins Sans Frontières (n 11). Human Rights Watch, ‘“Are We Not Human?” Denial of Education for Rohingya Refugee Children in Bangladesh’ Human Rights Watch (Report 24 July 2020) <https://www.hrw.org/report/2019/12/03/are-we-not-human/denial-education-rohingyarefugee-children-bangladesh>. Fortify Rights, ‘Bangladesh: End Internet Blackout to Protect Public Health of Rohingya refugees and Host Communities’ Fortify Rights (2 April 2020) <https://www.fortifyrights.org/bgd-inv-2020-04-02/>. ibid. Humayun Kabir Bhuiyan, ‘3G, 4G Internet restored in Rohingya camps’ Dhaka Tribune (online, 28 August 2020) <https://www.dhakatribune.com/bangladesh/rohingyacrisis/2020/08/28/3g-4g-internet-restored-in-rohingya-camps>. Fortify Rights (n 23). Voice of America News, ‘Bodies recovered from site of massive fire at Rohingya refugee camp in Bangladesh’ VOA News (online, 24 March 2021) <https://www.voanews.com/southcentral-asia/bodies-recovered-site-massive-fire-rohingya-refugee-camp-bangladesh>. 152