The Disowned and the Denied

The Disowned and the Denied: Stateless Rohingya Refugees of Burma

Saiful Huq Omi, 2009 Finalist

In 1978, a Burmese army campaign of killing, rape, destruction of mosques, and religious persecution drove 167,000 Rohingya across Burma’s porous border with Bangladesh. Under intense international pressure, the Burmese government eventually allowed many of the Rohingya who had fled to return. But from 1991 to 1992, a new wave of Burmese repression forced over 250,000 Rohingya to flee back into Bangladesh. Huq Omi's work documents the recent resettling of Rohingyas in the USA, UK, Sweden, and Australia and Europe.
“My home is not far from here, you just cross the river Naaf and there is my home by the riverside.” My guide, Abul Kalam pointed towards the other side of the river when we were coming back home after a long day of work.
After collecting wood from a nearby hill, a Rohingya refugee heads back to the camp.
Fatima Begum (pseudonym) wanted to save her daughter from an abusive stepfather. He tried to rape the twelve-year-old girl several times. Failing to do so, the stepfather took revenge. He stabbed Fatima seven times. A few days after this photograph was taken, Fatima died in a hospital in Dhaka.
Fatima Begum (pseudonym) wanted to save her daughter from an abusive stepfather. He tried to rape the twelve-year-old girl several times. Failing to do so, the stepfather took revenge. He stabbed Fatima seven times. A few days after this photograph was taken, Fatima died in a hospital in Dhaka.
There is not much for young people to do in the camp because they are not allowed to work. Playing cards is one way of passing time.
The ground water level is a big problem in and around the Nayapara camp. As a result water supply is quite irregular. Here, a man digs a well to get some fresh water—he has to dig deep.
Myanmar is on the other side of the mighty river Naaf. It was the main route for the Rohingyas when they fled the country for Bangladesh. They had to cross the river to take shelter in Bangladesh.
Refugees in need of treatment seek help at one of the medical centers inside the camps.
Myanmar is on the other side of the mighty river Naaf.
Photographer's Statement: 

After Burma gained independence from Britain in 1948, civil war broke out when many ethnic nationalities and the Communist Party of Burma (CPB) took up arms against the central government headed by U Nu. In Rakhine State, both Rakhine and Muslim groups formed armed opposition groups that fought against the government. It wasn’t until the early 1960s that the Tatmadaw, or Burmese army, captured the main positions of these groups, and reached cease-fire agreements with the Muslim organizations.

For decades, Burma’s military junta—led by members of the Burman ethnic majority—has refused to recognize the Rohingya, a distinct Muslim ethnic minority living in western Burma, as one of the country’s many ethnic nationalities. As a result, Rohingya have suffered human rights violations and a vast majority of them have been denied official recognition of citizenship.

Rohingya are subjected to countless forms of discrimination, including extortion and arbitrary taxation; land confiscation; forced eviction and destruction of their homes; and restrictions on marriage and movement. Rohingya continue to be used as forced laborers on roads and at military camps.

In 1978, a Burmese army campaign of killing, rape, destruction of mosques, and religious persecution drove 167,000 Rohingya across Burma’s porous border with Bangladesh. Under intense international pressure, the Burmese government eventually allowed many of the Rohingya who had fled to return. But from 1991 to 1992, a new wave of Burmese repression forced over 250,000 Rohingya to flee back into Bangladesh.

In Bangladesh, the UNHCR officially recognizes approximately 28,000 Rohingya as refugees. They live in squalid camps where medical care is inadequate, where the majority of children and adults suffer from malnutrition, and where employment within or beyond the camp is forbidden. Access to formal education is rare and women are vulnerable to sexual violence and forced marriage. The great majority of Rohingya in Bangladesh live outside the camps; they fight for survival in the face of ill health and abuse, including exploitation by recruiters for Muslim fundamentalist groups. Rejected by the Bangladeshi government and fearing persecution in Burma, it is estimated that close to half a million Rohingya are living illegally in Bangladesh.

Very recently with the support of the international agencies, donors and human rights organizations, Rohingyas have been resettling in the USA, UK, Sweden, and Australia and to few other countries in Europe.

saiful.huq.omi's picture
Saiful
Huq Omi

Soon after Saiful Huq Omi (Born 1980, Bangladesh) finishes his masters from the Tele Communication Engineering Department, he received his diploma from Pathshala and decided to become a photographer in 2005. He is represented by Polaris Images.

Omi's works have been published in Newsweek, Foto File USA, New Internationalist, Time Magazine, The Guardian, Asian Photography and Arab News. He has worked for International NGOs and Aid Organizations like UNICEF, UNHCR, Action Aid, and USAID and for many other local ones. Omi's photography has been exhibited in galleries of India, Bangladesh, Pakistan, UK, and USA and in the Netherlands and in Australia.

He is has won the All Roads National Geographic Award for his works on political violence in Bangladesh in 2006, as well as the FK award and award of excellence from China in 2008.

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