Today, Rohingya activists & their supporters commemorate #Black4Rohingya, a special day of wearing black to stand with them in their struggle for democratic, civil, & human rights. There is a spate of articles coming out deploring the hopeless situation of Rohingya refugees & ruing that they will never be able to return to their homeland in Arakan state, Burma. That isn’t how Rohingya activists see it. Like Palestinian refugees, they are engaged in a political struggle, protracted if necessary, to stop the genocide in Burma & regain their homeland where they can live as free & equal human beings.
If you cannot wear black today, there are other ways to stand with Rohingya refugees, especially by educating others about their historic political struggle against genocide & for human freedom. Today, nous sommes tous Rohingya.
This is a Rohingya child still living in Arakan/Rakhine state, Burma in Eid 2018.
(Photo by Phyo Hein Kyaw/AFP)