Meet Nur

Turning a dark past into a future to look forward to

When Nur^* became separated from his family during an attack on his village in Myanmar, he never thought it would be the last time he’d see them. 

Since then, he has seen and experienced horrors than no child should see; bloodshed, torture, the decimation of his community and the loss of loved ones. 

He says that the people of his village were taken away and put in a vehicle, and he describes how they were beaten. He saw people he knew and loved taken away and has not seen them since.

Nur, eleven years old, is deaf. 

When Rohina^* found him, lost and afraid in the aftermath of the attacks, she felt compelled to take care of him. 

“When I saw him, I patted him on his head and he cried a lot and hugged me,” she says. “Then I took him to my home and fed him. I was looking for his other relatives in Myanmar but I could not find them. Now, he doesn’t go anywhere without me.”

Nur now lives with Rohina and her family in a camp in Cox's Bazar, Bangladesh. He regularly attends a Save the Children Child Friendly Space and is particularly popular with the staff who work there. He is smart, friendly and somehow remains positive.

The Child Friendly Space gives Nur somewhere to play, to draw, to learn and to make new friends. It’s a place where he can feel safety and comfort, and where he can forget about the horrors he’s had to endure.

These places and the staff who run them only exist because of support from people like you. 

It will take time for Nur to recover. “The fear that he felt in Myanmar is still gripping him,” Rohina says. "At night time, I have to keep him beside me all the time.”

He will always remember what was taken from him. But with support, at least he can begin to dream of a brighter future. 

In the meantime, he his making new friends and making an obvious impression.

“Save the Children staff love and are affectionate to Nur. If he is absent from the centre, staff come to the house looking for him and asking us where he is. He comes here regularly; he plays here with other children. He can draw pictures. They take good care of him and to see it I feel peace.” 

^*Names changed to protect identities
Images: Jonathan Hyams