Rohingya in Australia spoke about the violence they experienced in Myanmar
Representatives of the Rohingya community in Australia spoke about the consequences of the violence they endured during the Myanmar military’s campaign in Rakhine State in 2017. Refugees who received humanitarian visas after staying in camps in Bangladesh are also expressing concern for relatives who remain abroad, according to ABC News Australia.
According to the report, in 2017, the Myanmar military launched a campaign of violence in northern Rakhine State—the homeland of the Rohingya. More than 700,000 people were forced to flee to neighboring Bangladesh. The Rohingya are a Muslim ethnic group that has lived for centuries in predominantly Buddhist Myanmar and has been subjected to killings, forced evictions, and other crimes.
Saddam Hussein told ABC through interpreter Robi Alam that during the military’s siege of his village in 2017, he sustained several gunshot wounds to his legs while trying to let his livestock escape. According to him, it took the family seven days to reach the border with Bangladesh because they had to carry the wounded man. At the Cox’s Bazar camp, he received hospital treatment on multiple occasions over the course of four years and later moved to Australia on a humanitarian visa. Hossein also said that he lost his father and two uncles and is worried about his brother, who remained in the camp in Bangladesh.
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Shofika Begum, who also arrived in Australia after staying in a camp in Bangladesh, said that during the attack on her village in 2017, she witnessed the murders of members of her family, including her sister. According to Alam, Begum is worried about another sister and two brothers in the camp, as well as two brothers in Malaysia. She said that memories of what she went through still keep her awake at night.
Robi Alam, who was born in the Cox’s Bazar camp and spent the first ten years of his life there, is the president of the Rohingya United Youth Network and a community representative. He noted that stories of violence are widespread among community members, and preserving Rohingya identity has become a priority for many. In Kingston’s Logan district, the community is holding an event to mark Genocide Remembrance Day, organized by several Rohingya associations.
