Ahmed and Mohammad were once neighbours in Myanmar, 25 years ago. Then Mohammad escaped violence in his village in 1992 to the country o Myanmar.
They both lost contact, never spoke to each other again.
After the latest outbreak of violence in which government forces started a relentless police action against the Rohinga minority, Ahmed decided that it is time to escape to neighbouring Bangladesh, where estimated over 600 000 Rohinga’s fled.
When Ahmed arrived with a truck that brought him from the shores of Bangladesh to the Kutupalong refugee camp, he discovered Mohammad in the crowed. Older, now walking on a stick, but still his old neighbour Mohammad.
He approached him, asking if he cold provide them with a place to sleep as him and his family had nowhere to go. Mohammad immediately agreed and eventually they spent 7 days together in the small little hut that he has built 25 years ago.
Eventually Ahmed acquired a plot of land where he will built his own shelter for him and his family.
The History of violence against the Rohinga in Myanmar is an on-going story, just finding its peak in the latest campaign of the government against the muslim minority.
Rohinga rebel forces have been fighting an insurgency against the central government in Yangon, claiming that they fight for equal rights and opportunities for the marginalised group. The eventual victims of the retaliation are the average farmers and traders. The Burmese society considers the Rohinga not even true “Burmese” but just “intruders” from Bangladesh.
Most of Myanmar is Buddhist while the Rohinga’s are muslim, sharing language and culture with the population of bordering Bangladesh.
