KUTUPALONG, Bangladesh: Abdul Hasan can spend hours watching old videos he shot on his cellphone.
“My heart aches for my village, my home,” the 16-year-old Rohingya refugee from Myanmar said in a camp in neighboring Bangladesh. “That’s why we have brought these memories, this video, from Myanmar.”
Since late August, hundreds of thousands of Rohingya Muslims have fled to Bangladesh to escape attacks by Myanmar security forces. But before fleeing from advancing soldiers, few Rohingya had time to grab many of their belongings. Instead, they poured across the border into Bangladesh bringing with them little more than horror stories of marauding forces and memories of terrifying treks through the forests.
Their old lives — homes, cattle, villages, everything — are gone. All they have left is their memories.
But if they’re lucky, some of those memories are stored on the cellphones many refugees managed to bring with them.
It’s the closest Hasan gets to experiencing his old life and country. One video shows him having what he calls a “coconut party.” A song hailing the bravery of a Rohingya rebel leader plays in the background as Hasan and his friends eat coconuts, and laugh as they throw them at each other.
“When I watch this video, I think of my country, Myanmar. It really breaks my heart so much,” he said.
The government of Buddhist-majority Myanmar has refused to accept Rohingya as a minority group, even though some have lived in the country for generations. Rohingya were stripped of their citizenship in 1982, denying them almost all rights and rendering them stateless.
In late August, attacks by Rohingya militants triggered a brutal and indiscriminate response by Myanmar’s military, sending more than 630,000 Rohingya fleeing to nearby Bangladesh.
Mohammad Fahid, 15, said he often finds himself looking through old photos and videos on his phone. He misses his friends. He misses school.
“I shared a lot of good times and laughter with my friends. I can’t do that here anymore,” he said. “We could go to school, now we can’t. So that is why I have kept these pictures. To remember.”
There is little work for the adults in the camps, and almost no schools for the children, who make up nearly 60 percent of the refugees. There is plenty of time to scroll through cellphones.
But not all the phone memories are happy.
Mujib Ullah is sitting with his sisters in their new home, a dark one-room shelter made from bamboo and plastic sheets. Ullah, 22, is showing a video of people in the Myanmar village of Borgiyabil frantically trying to extinguish the flames after soldiers lit their homes on fire with Molotov cocktails. The villagers used buckets of sand and water to try to put out the fires, but the homes kept burning, Ullah said.
A few hours after shooting his video, Ullah returned to his own village nearby and found his neighbors coming out of their homes. Everyone thought the soldiers had left. Suddenly gunfire rang out. Soldiers they hadn’t spotted were firing into the crowd.
“Some people were able to save themselves, others could not,” Ullah said. “My brother could not save himself. He was riddled with bullets.”
Heartbroken Rohingya refugees return home to Myanmar, even if only in videos
Heartbroken Rohingya refugees return home to Myanmar, even if only in videos
UN experts concerned by treatment of Palestine Action-linked hunger strikers
- Eight prisoners awaiting trial for alleged offences connected to the group have taken part in the protest
LONDON: UN human rights experts have raised concerns about the treatment of prisoners linked to Palestine Action who have been on hunger strike while on remand, warning it may breach the UK’s international human rights obligations.
Eight prisoners awaiting trial for alleged offences connected to the group have taken part in the protest, reported The Guardian on Friday.
Among them are Qesser Zuhrah and Amu Gib, who were on hunger strike at HMP Bronzefield from Nov. 2 to Dec. 23, and Heba Muraisi, held at HMP New Hall. Others include Teuta Hoxha, Kamran Ahmed and Lewie Chiaramello, who has refused food on alternate days due to diabetes.
Zuhrah and Gib temporarily resumed eating this week because of deteriorating health but said they plan to resume the hunger strike next year, according to Prisoners for Palestine.
In a statement issued on Friday, UN special rapporteurs, including Gina Romero and Francesca Albanese, said the handling of the prisoners was alarming.
“Hunger strike is often a measure of last resort by people who believe that their rights to protest and effective remedy have been exhausted. The state’s duty of care toward hunger strikers is heightened, not diminished,” they said.
Three of the prisoners were in hospital at the same time on Sunday, with Ahmed admitted on three occasions since the hunger strike began.
The experts said: “Authorities must ensure timely access to emergency and hospital care when clinically indicated, refrain from actions that may amount to pressure or retaliation, and respect medical ethics.”
Prisoners for Palestine has alleged that prison staff initially denied ambulance access for Zuhrah during a medical emergency last week, with hospital treatment only provided after protesters gathered outside the prison.
“These reports raise serious questions about compliance with international human rights law and standards, including obligations to protect life and prevent cruel, inhuman or degrading treatment,” the experts said, adding: “Preventable deaths in custody are never acceptable. The state bears full responsibility for the lives and wellbeing of those it detains. Urgent action is required now.”
Families and supporters have called for a meeting with Justice Secretary David Lammy, while lawyers claim the Ministry of Justice has failed to follow its own policy on handling hunger strikes.
Government officials are understood to be concerned about the prisoners’ condition but cautious about setting a wider precedent.
