Bard Global Degree Student Ata Ullah Documents News from Inside Rohingya Refugee Camp

Ata Ullah, a political science student in the Bard Global Degree program and Rohingya youth advocate, wrote an article documenting the grassroots journalism taking shape inside Cox’s Bazar, Bangladesh, the world’s largest refugee settlement where he lives. Ullah details a system where young people verify rumors, protect each other from surveillance, and document daily life on their own terms through WhatsApp circles, voice notes, and moderated storytelling pages. His account challenges the familiar narrative of refugees as passive or voiceless, revealing instead a generation of youth translators, facilitators, and archivists building their own information ecosystem one careful message at a time. “In an age of global polarization and distrust, it is tempting to see refugee camps only as places of silence and dependency,” writes Ullah. “The reality in Cox's Bazar complicates that picture. Within high levels of restriction, surveillance and fear, Rohingya youth are already practicing forms of dialogue-based journalism. They use their phones like micro newsrooms and safe meeting spaces; they correct dangerous rumors and reduce panic through calm, verified messages; they use stories, poetry, photos and short videos to highlight dignity, not just suffering; and they hold spaces—online and offline—where difficult issues like girls’ education and early marriage can be discussed honestly.”

Post Date: 08-06-2026