Rohingya Refugees
Once I Had a Home
In 1982, the Rohingya people were made stateless on the land they’ve lived on for thousands of years and became unlisted as one of the Myanmar (formerly known as Burma) government’s 135 “national races.”
Today, the Myanmar military rule refuse the use of the term Rohingya, instead referring to the Rohingya as “illegal immigrants.” The Myanmar military aggressions have officially been declared a genocide and experts state that the Rohingya are one of the most persecuted minorities in the world.
The Rohingya refugee camp in southeast Bangladesh is estimated as the largest in the world and currently houses almost 1-million people. Most residents are not allowed to exit the camp, so we came to them. Gangs operate within the camp and women are often exploited for sex work due to food shortages. Currently, families are provided .08 cents a day for meals, yet a single egg costs .11 cents.
There was no prompting from us as to what the singers should write about. Without fail, though, group after group sang about only two topics— the impact of the genocide and love songs.
Titles like “We Were Forced Across the River (My Mother Died from the Pain)” and “The Army Tortured Us & Raped My 12-year-old Cousin Before Killing Her” repeatedly and consistently revealed the horrors.
Though many female singers were invited to participate, none did so due to local religious customs that frowned upon women singing solo publicly.
For the male groups, the mandolin was the core instrument, and they used a mop-bucket drum and tree-twigs for mallets.
As one vocalist described the ordeal he’d faced being exiled from his land, his voice suddenly broke and he began quivering. Soon the emotion radiated to his bandmates and then others gathered. It’s rare to see a group of grown men weeping openly together, especially those so otherwise stoic. I was overcome, but refrained, turning away.
Their pain was not mine to claim.
- Producer Ian Brennan