The Right to Remember
The phrase “never again” reflects a collective social promise that genocide should never occur on our watch. Images of past mass atrocities, like the Holocaust, linger in our minds as a distant, long ago time where xenophobia showed the worst of humanity. The sad reality is that after the 1948 Convention on the Prevention and Punishment of the Crime of Genocide, the world witnessed genocide in 14 different countries.
One of the most recent cases of genocide is that of the Rohingya people at the hands of the Burmese military. On August 25, 2017, the Burmese junta started a clearance operation in Rakhine State aimed at the destruction of the Rohingya. Over 700,000 fled into neighboring Bangladesh to seek refuge, but not before they witnessed rape, murder, and destruction of their villages. The images of violence remain in the minds of Rohingya refugees as they now face an uncertain future in Bangladesh.
In the five years that have passed, not much has changed for those who fled. Most remain in crowded camps in Cox’s Bazar, Bangladesh, where they joined previous generations of Rohingya refugees who were targeted years prior. Their desires for freedom, education, and livelihoods remain unchanged, as does their vision of repatriation as full citizens to the country of their birth.
The Rohingya don’t want us, or their own communities, to forget what happened or fail to understand the ethnic identity that made them targets of a brutal regime. In a Bangladeshi camp, the Rohingya Cultural Memory Center preserves cultural artifacts and stands as a symbol of resistance to the Burmese military who thought the Rohingya people could be destroyed. The Rohingyatographer Magazine is another effort to show the world the culture and current conditions of the people.
However, their voices aren’t always promised the freedom to share their thoughts. Refugees who wish to come together in Cox’s Bazar to commemorate Rohingya Genocide Remembrance Day must seek government approval. In years past, Rohingya struggled to recognize the day in their own way when Bangladeshi police confiscated 200 t-shirts the Rohingya printed as a unifying symbol for one gathering. The last two years, the commemorations have been relatively quiet due to Covid and camp restrictions. Rohingya leaders were relieved to announce that officials granted permission for some form of gathering on August 25, 2022, marking the fifth year since the genocide occurred.
My question to all of us — should the Rohingya really need permission in order to commemorate the lives lost of their own people? Communication at the margins of society is a struggle, but limiting grief and voices of remembrance seems a cruel act for any state to impose. We must hear the voices of those most impacted, especially in these circumstances where we cannot forget that once again the international community failed to preserve life and prevent genocide.
We at MIRR Alliance stand with the Rohingya today, and every day, as they seek justice, accountability, safety, and bright futures.
To learn more, please follow the voices of Yasmin Ara (@YasminA28296584), Ro Yasin Abdumonab (@md_yasiein), and Rohingya Update (@Rohingya_update) on Twitter.
