only job is teaching hebrew to palestinian students so he has no problem with his children learning alongside jewish classmates he campaigned to set up just such a kindergarten but he doesn't want them to learn what he sees as a militaristic israeli curriculum nor have the rights denied by what he calls a racist law sorry for sit com you know northern israel. without is there are these are our top stories and advisory board to the u.s. food and drug administration has recommended the pfizer coronavirus vaccine should be authorized for use and it's another step towards rolling out an immunization campaign in the worst affected country in the world hong kong pro-democracy activists and media tycoon jimmy lie has been charged under a controversial security law the allegations include that he's colluded with foreign forces lives already in jail after being denied bail on

a separate charge to make up holland has moved from hong kong this is the most serious charge against him and the only one under the national security law several people there a couple of dozen people have been already arrested under this national security law but only a handful have had charges against him in this particular case he was arrested in august and a massive police swooped on his media headquarters now he's the founder possibly the biggest and only pro-democracy media out local media outlets left in hong kong morocco has become the 4th arab nation to agree to normalize ties with israel the u.s. brokered the deal promising in exchange to recognize morocco his claim over the just speeded western sahara region. european union leaders meeting at a summit in brussels have just agreed to cut carbon emissions by at least 55 percent by the end of the decade the reduction compared to 1900 levels is seen as

a big step up from the current goal well has been a record 7 percent diff in ca 2 emissions this year this according to preliminary figures from the global carbon project there are scientists says the drop which they say is temporary is largely because of coronavirus lockdowns shut down industries and transport and missions fell 12 percent in the u.s. and 11 percent in europe but only 1.7 percent in china. doctors in india are going on strike anger that additional medicine practitioners have been granted permission to perform surgeries last month the government said are invented doctors would be trained to perform more than 50 procedures in his medical association is condemning what it calls a retrograde step of mixing modern and alternative medicines those are your headlines more news here on al-jazeera a softer inside story. the usa is always of in place for people around the world this has been going on for a number of them but you can't be a report from an international perspective to try keep your mobile audience how

this could impact their life this is an important part of the world and others it is very good to bring the news to the world. the rango are experiencing a severe mental health crisis a report finds the crisis is said to be life threatening and has been overlooked so could this be a wake up call and what does it take to deal with this crisis this is inside story . hello and welcome to the program i'm a homage they escaped terrifying events during the 2017000000 more military crackdown but we're seeing the refugees are still haunted by memories of burned villages killings rape and torture the suspected genocide has led to a severe mental health crisis for the survivors that's the finding of the fortify

rights organization about a 1000000 of the running the muslim minority now live in the crowded camps of bangladesh's cox's bazaar many have said they feel humiliated there and they now face being sent to a remote island reported to be unsafe with poor living conditions and a lack of proper facilities stephanie decker reports. the numbers are staggering it's not surprising a new report on the mental health of the right has found that most of those surveyed suffer some form of mental health problems almost 90 percent indicated they suffered some symptoms of depression and just over 60 percent reported symptoms that suggest post-traumatic stress disorder or p.t.s.d. a lot of the elements of distress radek stress disorder depression what we're seeing in our research is that they are what is underlying this distress is the systematic raised in the unmarked violent experience in myanmar and the everyday living stressors of being in

a refugee camp so these are much more systematic drivers of distress that are much more complicated to address. range of volunteers conducted surveys among households and in community workshops to come up with the findings the report adds that these mental health symptoms including p.t.s.d. depression and anxiety increase the difficulty of refugees to function for example just over 91 percent of those all sed so they found it challenging to carry out common daily activities such as men tending basic hygiene engaging in social or religious activities or performing any other daily tasks around a 1000000 have lived in tough conditions in these camps in the far south east of bangladesh for 3 years now. they fled neighboring me and maher in august of 2017 during a minute to crack down the torched villages and lead to soldiers being accused of mass killings rape and torture. earlier this year the international criminal court

ordered measures to prevent the genocide everything of muslims in myanmar genocide is a charge that has been strongly denied by me in mars peace laureate aung san suu kyi quoting the events in internal conflict triggered by writing a militant attacks on government security posts. but the stories of atrocities and persecution number in the hundreds of thousands each hut has a tragedy in what is the world's largest refugee camp the future of these people remains uncertain and now many are facing a controversial move by bangladesh's government to challenge in island in the bay of bengal. most have no identity papers no home and no future and that's adding to the worsening mental health of young and old stephanie decker for inside story. all right let's bring in our guests matthew smith is chief executive officer at 45

rights he joins us from the east coast in the united states in vancouver we have yes i mean ola president at working a human rights network tom andrews is u.n. special repertoire on the situation of human rights in myanmar and he joins us from washington d.c. welcome to each of you matthew let me start with you in my entire career as a journalist i have never encountered such horrific descriptions of atrocities as i did when i 1st traveled to cox's bazaar in 2017 and started interviewing rohingya refugees about what happened to them back in may and more we're talking about pain and trauma on a scale so large that to this day it is still almost unfathomable now fortify rights has released a new report where you delve in to the mental health impact that this campaign of brutality and violence against the writing the has had on refugees tell us more about your findings. you know my experience is similar working in human rights over

the last 15 years in myanmar and we certainly have never seen any levels like this either which of course is not to say that other communities in myanmar not in what this what this report provides is quantitative data on rohingya human rights experiences with human rights violations not only in myanmar but also in bangladesh and what's unique about it i think is that it it delves into. the quantitative side of this the scale you get a real sense of the scale through the quantitative methods that were employed so we're focusing on traumatic events daily functioning symptoms of mental suffering including as was mentioned post-traumatic stress disorder. post-traumatic stress disorder p.t.s.d. is a very serious mental condition it can severely imperil one's ability to live a normal and constructive life and the figures are off the charts what we found was that according to the united nations 12 months after an emergency situation whether

that be a situation of war or a natural disaster or in this case of millions being an act by a military in myanmar 15 to 20 percent of the adult population are expected to experience some type of mental health disorder the figures among the writing to are much much higher so this is certainly not a scale that is consistent with the gravity of the crimes that we knew were taking place and we knew have taken place and it is something that is in urgent need of attention yes i mean anybody who is visited the camps in bangladesh or spoken to are going to refugees or read about what transpired knows that are refugees who've been so traumatized need better access to mental health care how difficult is it for him to refugees to get that care. there is almost no sustained. type of mental health support at this moment in the camps and given the timeline

that this has been the 3rd tier of people living inside the crowded camps that the destitute situations there are there isn't really a support system nor is there a sustained effort or or some sort of effort that will allow refugees to be able to access the health care in the language that they're comfortable with often there is already are you know a very exhaustive health care system that's at work but not nearly answering to the needs of the refugees that's on physical health and there are a lot of fundings that are going into these facilities but it's still not enough to care for you know the general refugees population so mental health is in the back burner and it's not even talked about in the ways that it needs to be which is why

this report is really really jarring tom i want to ask you about the rangar who are back in may and more. many groups many rights groups many humanitarian organizations have said in the past couple of years that they believe that a genocide is ongoing and man more against the rancor that potential possible war crimes are still being committed against the rangar in me and more what are the conditions currently like for them and men. i want to say 1st of all that it's so important for the international community to pay close attention to what is going on both in bangladesh and in me and more with respect to the ring the community inside me and more there are more than 600000 members of the rainbow community living in reconning state more than a 100000 of them live in spread out in 20 camps. internally placed displaced persons camp some refer to them as internment camps living in very very

difficult conditions they do not have access to rights that you and i take for granted they have very very limited in what they are able to do it that they're in an unsustainable situation and they're in danger the villages even those outside of the camps are exposed they are being heavily guarded by the military so their movement and their right to to move around the country is extremely limited and access to basic services to health care education all the fundamentals of life that again we take for granted are missing in large part in many areas of rakhine state so it's a it's a very very. unacceptable and unsustainable situation in recurrence date for the range of community matthew what needs to happen going forward to ensure that rohingya refugees get access to that much needed mental health care. well you know

the the the typical response to a situation such as this where there is a tremendous need for. psychosocial support would be humanitarian and i think at this point for the running of population for the ring a refugee refugee population. the purely psychosocial. response to this is absolutely critical but it's not sufficient what really needs to take place is some action with regard to the root causes of this problem what we learned in speaking with. and what we learned through this this this quantitative study was that the root causes of the mental harm that wrecking our experience in. pertained to genocide pertained to systematic pervasive human rights violations that are continuing in me in march. and also relates to issues such as impunity and

so if the authorities. if we really want to address the mental health crisis you know we're calling upon governments not only the government that actually govern the myanmar but the international community really needs to focus on not only the psychosocial humanitarian needs but also dealing with the serious human rights violations and that can include holding perpetrators accountable the individuals who are responsible for genocide the architects of the genocide are still roaming free in myanmar and that needs to change those individuals need to be held accountable. citizenship needs to be restored the living conditions for writing in refugee camps in bangladesh as well as in myanmar need to be improved so these are some of the areas it's obviously a lot that needs to take place it's not insurmountable this is something that the international community can and should do yasmin last week there were around 1600 rohingya refugees that were tramp. for by bangladesh's government to the

island of basilan char which is this remote island in the bay of bengal and bangladesh his government says the only running to refugees who wanted to go to that island were taken but many humanitarian groups have expressed concern and they have opposed the move how worried are you about the fact that around 600 refugees were taken there and do you know if there were refugees who were taken there against their will well this is definitely a very concerning moment i am still very worried about the situation as a whole. there have been a few videos a few different footage that come out of the us and char soon after the move and it hasn't really given us the ideal picture that the bangladeshi government have painted and the. situation right now is that

a lot of the people within months and char are you know subjected to a lot of fear and intimidation which is a very very ironic moment where fear and intimidation was as huge part of the genocidal campaign by the miramar military and so this is no way of dealing with the refugees when they are you know seeking a safe haven now. the situation of how people were actually being moved was very very vague and very complicated in a way that they are told not the full truth and at times distant from ation actually became integrity to how they were lured into moving and i'm using a very very loaded word i understand but that the idea that refugees are

actually subjected to a very very traumatized existence and all they're looking for right now is a way out and we as an international community and people that are looking are on are absolutely almost stagnant in a way we're not trying to actively addressing some of the issues that they're dealing with on a day to day basis some of the refugees actually were absent directed to very little resources especially since the lockdown in april many many families have not been able to actually get enough food rations and so they were told some of the cases they were told by the authorities that yes you're going to be given enough food you're going to be given enough care and if the if the authorities are looking for people to resettle the people in bus and troll we consider it 1st and also some of the information gotten and this is no way of dealing with refugees at all you're actually using their vulnerability to your advantage. you know good to keep them

out of sight out of mind tom the united nations has also expressed concern about these relocations of refugees the u.n. issued a statement saying that it had not been involved in preparations for the transfer to boston char they urged any relocations abbas in charge should be preceded by comprehensive technical protection assessments have you gotten any more information about all this well 1st of all mohamed i think it's really important to recognize bangladesh is actually correct that the only durable solution to this crisis is for the reading a community to go where they want to go namely home and this crisis began in the in march the solution of this crisis is and it's critically important that the international community do everything possible to make sure that the conditions exist for the safe dignified and sustainable return of their anger to where they want to go to to home bangladeshi showed extraordinary compassion and generosity their anger will literally running for their lives over the border into bangladesh

they welcome them they provided them with a safe haven and now there's a real humanitarian crisis that that's going on because of the mega camps in cox's bazaar and bangladesh is correct and looking for alternatives options and also for being willing to voice the basic basic fundamental solution of this problem i am in mark what the united nations is calling for and what i believe is exactly in everybody's interest is for an independent affectionate to be made bosham trial and where as you pointed out 6100 reading the refugees were taken last week to make sure that the passivity is are safe sustainable. that people will be protected access issues are addressed and then also to make sure that the people who are there are their bomb apparently this is an important component of the bangladesh policy that only those who are there only wrangle who go to bush and trial and voluntarily will go there only those who want to remain a bomb internally will remain there this is a very important principle and i think it's an. and for us to provide independent

verification that the policy of the bangladesh government is being carried out on the ground so i think that it's in everyone's interest for there to be a a an open clear independent look at these conditions and the writing of population that's now in washington matthew you heard tom there talk about the importance of trying to get independent verification of what the conditions are like on boston char to be speaking to the refugees that have been taken there but you know fortify rights has also expressed a great deal of concern about these relocations to boston char your organization has said that you have testimony from summering to refugees that suggests that some of these relocations may have been coerced how concerned are you and do you think that we're any closer to seeing bangladesh's government allowing organizations such as yours or the united nations to go there and independently assess the conditions on bus on char. that's right mohammed several weeks ago we actually sent

a letter to the foreign secretary by the dash with 4 other human rights organizations requesting access to the island we've not heard back from the government we did want to send a delegation there ourselves which of course would not involve any sort of technical assessment but it would provide us with an opportunity to assess the human rights situation on the island and to speak with people who are already there and we do know we have documented that a number of running to have already experienced what amounts to coercion to transfer to the island some are going to have been misled and they've been promised things like resettlement to 3rd countries if they move to boston char which of course is not happening but beyond that i think in terms of the larger predicament of having upwards of a 1000000 refugees in cox's bazaar district transferrin 100000 from that population to a remote island is certainly not a solution to the broader treasure that the bangladesh authorities

are are experiencing are proceeding with regard to the refugee population there are areas in district that. that could have been flagged as as areas where refugees could possibly be relocated to to take off some of the pressure in the congestion the camps but certainly boston char it from our perspective at this point is not the answer tom let me ask you about young the lead she's the former u.n. special repertoire on the situation of human rights in myanmar she was barred by the me amar government not allowed to return and report on the ground for me and more because memoirs government apparently believe that she was being too critical . will you be able to travel to me and i know that right now because of colvin 1000 restrictions you're not able to go but have you been assured by memoires government you are actually going to be able to go there to go to places like rock kind state

to check on the conditions the rangers are currently living in. well out of the 1st thing i did on my very 1st day a special repertoire was to reach out to the government me and are making that very very dirty request and they told me that well obviously and under these conditions which the pandemic that will pandemic the conditions do not exist for you to be able to travel and come to come to the country. in the meantime i have been in direct contact with the government through their ambassador we've been engaging on a regular basis and we've built up i think credibility and trust i am the un special rapporteur on the situation of human rights i have an obligation to speak the truth about what i see with respect to these human rights issues and concerns but i'm also very very committed to being to engage with the government of myanmar to listen to them if i get anything wrong to admit it and apologize but to make

sure that disengagement continues and i think it's in the interest certainly of the government of me in law it's in everyone's interest for this dialogue to continue i spoke even before i became special up a tour to some officials in myanmar they said one of their biggest concerns is a lack of understanding that they have by the international community about their situation from their perspective and i think it's it bet is going to be revealed to the international community if that perspective their side of the story is going to be part of the narrative of this of this crisis that it is in their interest certainly to be open to. the special rapporteur on the situation of human rights and to the international community in general so i'm i'm hopeful that when conditions permit i will be returning to to meet more i think it's very important that i do yes me and i in 2013 i met a remarkable person in cox's bazar a rohingya refugee by the name of goal of

a harsh she was in her ninety's she was the head of 4 generations of family she had . she had fled man more rock and state 3 different times in her life because of the violence perpetrated against the rohingya and when i interviewed her she told me that she wanted to be able to die where her parents had died and i found out a few days ago that she passed away in the camps in cox's bazaar last july and obviously that's very sad she didn't get her last wish but as she was recounting her story she was telling me that she didn't think she would probably be able to go back home and i wanted to ask you about the experiences that you were hearing up from so many were hunger refugees especially the elderly ones who so desperately want to go home but know that they probably won't be able to go home that they might be dying in those refugee camps in bangladesh are you hearing that concern more and more from people oh yes this is one of the. coup or. conversation that i've had when i visited in february earlier this year

and resoundingly everyone that i have spoken to civil society groups. organization that are working within the refugee camps young people old men and women. everyone said almost in one voice that they all want to go home and i think that it's important to highlight the element of displacement that have come in to claim in our lives it has been the you know the theme within the refugees and rohingya lives actually in general we have always been displaced regardless of whether or not the current condition of our lives are ok or whether or not we are safe the existence that we you know as a human are living in embodying our. in that in

a way actually attached and detached with our homeland and we are almost living this double consciousness i think some of the people who might be familiar with the sociological theories at the arista by the name w.e.b. dubois will understand the work double consciousness and this is basically it this is how we're living we live our everyday lives knowing that there are so many things that could have been had we been given you know that the proper rights the proper treatment by our own government to care for us who were supposed to protect us and that we would have been able to thrive and florists but this is are now reality and it seems like the cycle of abuse and the generational trauma or the genocidal existence will always carry forward and i i

fear that this will carry forward 2 words he you know many generations in front of us all right we have run out of times we're going to have to leave the conversation there thank you so much to all of our guests matthew smith yes i mean a lot and tom andrews and thank you too for watching you can see the program again any time by visiting our website al-jazeera dot com and for further discussion go to our facebook page that's facebook dot com forward slash a.j. inside story you can also join the conversation on twitter our handle is at a.j. inside story from emergency room in the whole team here by phone now.

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. with the election behind us will the republican party dump truck fuel weekly take on us politics and society that's the bottom line 'd. after a long night a riot going a year leaders agree to a much more ambitious a mission is caught 55 percent by the end of the decades. ago that laura kyle this is al jazeera live from doha also coming up a u.s. government panel endorses the use of buys as coronavirus vaccine another big step towards a mass an occupation campaign. i'm calling media tycoon to beijing critic jimi law is challenged on the city's contentious national security lol.