SIRAZUL Islam was born in a refugee camp in Bangladesh and spent almost the first decade of his life there.

Living with his parents and six siblings in a makeshift shelter made of bamboo sticks and a plastic covering, all Sirazul knew of the world was being fenced in, with restricted movement and a constant fear of danger.

There was no education for children in Kutupalong camp, and the family lived on UN food and clothing handouts. “We were allowed to breathe - not live,” says Sirazul. “It was very crowded, no private space, and poor sanitation, with many people sharing a bathroom - there was faeces out in the open.”

Sirazul is from the Rohingya community; his parents fled genocide and persecution in Rakhine State, Myanmar, previously known as Burma. When Sirazul was eight, he and his family came to the UK and settled in Bradford.

Now 21, and studying law at Manchester University, Sirazul is Youth Director for the British Rohingya Community, raising awareness of the culture, traditions and plight of Rohingya people.

Through his advocacy work, he became a consultant on Pilot Theatre’s new stage adaption of of The Bone Sparrow, based on Zana Fraillon’s moving novel about a Rohingya refugee boy who has spent his entire life living in a detention centre in Australia. The production team has worked with people from the British Rohingya community, based in Bradford. There are 350 Rohingya people here in the district.

Sirazul is now Assistant Director of the play, and his own story mirrors that of protagonist Subhi, whose world is confined by fences of the detention centre. “Like Subhi, I lived in my imagination,” says Sirazul. “It was the only thing I had that they couldn’t take away. We didn’t feel safe in the camp - there was a constant threat that something could happen to you. There was a fear of authority; you could be taken away at any moment. You meant nothing to them.

“We lived in basic conditions. It was all I knew. We weren’t allowed to go anywhere. I knew nothing of the outside world. We were grateful to the Bangladesh government for allowing us to escape genocide, but we were denied basic human rights.”

Sirazul’s family came to the UK with the UN Gateway Protection Programme, which re-settles refugees. They flew to Manchester then travelled to Bradford. “We stayed in a hotel for two days then a house in Little Horton,” recalls Sirazul. “The journey was frightening; I had never been out of the camp before, I had never seen cars or buses. The traffic was noisy. I was scared of the journey, and what was at the end of it.”

Initially, life here was difficult:. “There was no-one like us, the food was different. We had to let go of our past life and assimilate to a new community. But Bradford is a diverse, welcoming place and we had help from schools, the council and housing association.” Two weeks after arriving, Sirazul started at St Joseph’s Catholic Primary School. “I didn’t know any English, I had a translator with me. The other children wondered why a grown man sat next to me in the classroom.”

He quickly learned English and enjoyed school. “Education is very well respected in our culture,” says Sirazul. “You never know the worth of something until you don’t have it. There was no education in the camp. We got a chance of a decent life, but we had to leave behind extended family and friends I’d grown up with.”

The Bone Sparrow has been developed with Bradford’s SBC Theatre, which makes work with, about and for people seeking sanctuary. Sirazul hopes it will raise awareness of the reality of refugee camps and migration. “Every day we look at statistics, it numbs people,” he says. “This play humanises the issue. In rehearsals I see how hard the actors are working to do this. It’s important to raise awareness; my goal in life is to make a difference. I was lucky - now I want the same for other people.”

Director Esther Richardson says: “Sirazul loved the project and really understood it. He gave us notes and we decided quite quickly that he needed a much deeper involvement.

“I really hope it gets people doing what they can to support refugee charities and the people on the frontline. Under Priti Patel, we’re going to pursue the ‘Australian solution,’ and making sure people have an awareness of that is very important. And raising awareness specifically about the Rohingya.”

Pilot Theatre specialises in making “grown-up work for young audiences”. In adapting the book, S Shakthidharan had “tried to use simple language, not make things more complicated than they need be, but at the same time not dumb anything down and be open about the reality of this situation.

“I love the paradox of an audience saying: ‘This is clearly not my story. And yet, somehow it is’. As an immigrant, I’ve grown up finding ways to relate to white stories, to connect to the Western cultural machine. It’s lovely to turn that around and show that universal stories exist through Rohingya boys as well.”

* The Bone Sparrow is at York Theatre Royal, February 25 to March 5. Visit pilot-theatre.com