Exodus to Bangladesh

During the past several years, I have been documenting the plight of the Rohingya Muslim ethnic minority by capturing their dire everyday life in Myanmar, Bangladesh, Pakistan, India, Thailand, Indonesia, Malaysia and the South-East Asia region. Portraying them as human beings deprived of their social, civil and human rights which are so often taken for granted in our society, my intention is to give them a face and increase the awareness of their plight and bring to our attention the too often unnoticed humanitarian crisis and ethnic cleansing of the Rohingya. The continuous decimation of the Rohingya by the South-East Asia area governments, their mistreatment and continuous discrimination against them are crimes against humanity happening even as we speak.

In Bangladesh, their situation is very precarious. The Rohingya live in squalid conditions, are unwanted and are mostly un-registered as refugees which means they do not have access to basic commodities, humanitarian aid, healthcare, education and work. Out of the more than half a million Rohingya refugees in Bangladesh now, less than 10% are officially registered as refugees. Latest arrivals from Myanmar are utterly traumatized, having no shelter and no psychological support. They dwell in newly self-made camps and form an endless community of mainly women alone with little children, having no news from family left behind or lost along the expulsion trail.