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A Rohingya woman looks at herself. She says her heart is heavy away from home. The photo was taken by the artists of the “Rohingyatographer” collective, who want to show everyday life in the refugee camp in Bangladesh.

Photo: Ishrat Bibi / Rohingya Photographers

»A million refugees live in this tiny corner of the world. And slowly they are being forgotten," says Sahat Zia Hero, 29. He is sitting in a café in Balukhali, one of 33 camps in the Cox's Bazar region of Bangladesh, together they merge into the largest refugee camp in the world. Hundreds of thousands of people have been living here in a very small space for seven years. An acute emergency solution has become a permanent city.

Most of them fled here in 2017. Even before the violent coup on February 1, 2021, the Rohingya were discriminated against, persecuted and killed by the Burmese military. The UN classifies the crimes against the Muslim minority in Myanmar as genocide.

Sahat, like most people, crossed the border into Bangladesh on foot from western Myanmar. He used to photograph sporting events in his homeland - now he works as a photographer in the camp, capturing everyday life and the culture of his compatriots with his camera. Together with David Palazón, a Spanish artist, he founded the “Rohingyatographers” in 2021 to show the world that “we are human,” as he says. “It’s about telling our own story,” says Sahat. The collective publishes illustrated books, organizes exhibitions and teaches other refugees how to take photographs.

Student Ishrat Bibi, 22, is one of them. Until 2017 she lived in Boli Bazar, western Myanmar. At that time she had just passed her final school exams, being the only one in the family. As a reward, her brother gave her a smartphone. »I was overjoyed at the time.«

When the military begins to forcibly push the Rohingya out of the country, Ishrat's family also has to leave everything behind. The then 16-year-old recorded the path through jungles, fields, rivers and mountains with her smartphone. “Why are you taking photos?” her parents would have asked her. "This is the saddest moment in our lives - and you're taking photos?" But she couldn't stop. »I knew I had to capture these memories. And at some point I’ll be able to show the world what we’re going through.”

Arriving in Balukhali, Cox's Bazar, Ishrat taught children English and Burmese. And she continued taking photos. When she became part of the Rohingyatographer in 2021 and the first pictures of her appeared in the Rohingyatographer magazine and later also in international media, it filled her with pride, says Ishrat. “I think I can let photography speak for me and use it to stand up for my people.” Images are a language that everyone understands. The money she earned from the photos gave her the opportunity to attend a university in Bangladesh. She is studying health sciences. However, most Rohingya remain denied access to education.

The 23-year-old wants to change that. After her first successes, she began to motivate other young women. Ishrat believes it is important that women also take photographs. Most people in the camps are conservative and very religious. Many women did not feel comfortable being photographed by men. It is precisely the women who shape the culture of the Rohingya, the crafts, the food, says Ishrat. »I think women's stories are beautiful.«

Working with the smartphone camera is also a means of expressing oneself publicly without having to show one's face. “Women can speak up without speaking,” says Ishrat. Without a man being able to forbid them so easily.

What challenges do women face in the camps? “I don’t know where to start,” sighs Ishrat. “There are so many.” They are simply not safe here. Young women are often married at the age of 13. Parents are afraid that their daughters could be kidnapped. Domestic violence is increasing. According to a study by the International Rescue Committee, 94 percent of women in Cox's Bazar had already experienced domestic violence in 2021. Amnesty International also warns that young women are increasingly becoming victims of human traffickers and forced into prostitution.

In general, the situation on site has deteriorated noticeably since 2017. Food is scarce; Due to a lack of aid payments, food rations were reduced several times. Human rights organizations report violence, disease outbreaks and hunger. Fires happen again and again. Most recently at the beginning of 2024, when around 5,000 people lost their homes: According to the UN Refugee Agency, around 900 huts were destroyed. Most of the camp is makeshift made of bamboo and plastic. During the rainy season the huts regularly sink into the mud.

Meanwhile, Bangladesh is keeping the refugees in the camps with security forces and barbed wire fences. Since 2020, the government has also been transferring Rohingya to Bhasan Char, a remote island off the country's coast. Many of them even volunteer for money. But according to Human Rights Watch, access to food and medicine is also severely limited on Bhasan Char, and people are even more isolated than in the camps on the mainland.

The Rohingya are not recognized as citizens in either Myanmar or Bangladesh. “We have no freedom of movement, no access to work or money,” says photographer Sahat. People's hopelessness is increasing. The prospect of returning home also dwindles with every passing year. "The military coup has changed the psychological state of the people here." Many are struggling with depression.

“When my father was still alive, he said every day: I want to go back to Myanmar,” says student Ishrat. "But hope kills people." She no longer believes in a return, especially since the military coup. »How are we supposed to get back there? They live in hell there.” In Rakhine State, where the majority of Rohingya once lived, there are still armed clashes between the Burmese military and rebel groups. Min Aung Hlaing's troops use airstrikes and bombings.

The Burmese junta is officially meeting to discuss possible repatriations. These have already been celebrated and announced sporadically in the past. But the international community and spokesmen of the democratic opposition government doubt that these efforts can be taken seriously. In addition, the security of the Rohingya in their own country is massively threatened by the very military regime that is responsible for the 2017 genocide.

Ishrat only sees a future outside of home and wants to give women access to education and thus more freedom here in the camp. After graduating from university, she wants to start a new learning center and teach girls.

Photographer Sahat also wants to create perspectives for the next generation with his work. »I had to give up my own dreams. But I don't want the young people who grow up here to forget who they are and what they want." And photography can help them not to lose themselves and their own identity. »We create something together – and feel that it has an impact.«

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