Young women walk next to a dirt road balancing their belongings on their heads.

Chapter V

Surviving

I feel like I’m out in the middle of the sea, and I can’t find land.

—Saiful, a Rohingya man

During the violence in 2017, more than 700,000 Rohingya fled to neighboring Bangladesh. Many walked barefoot and bleeding from injuries they had no time to treat. They carried young children on their backs. They only had the possessions they managed to stuff quickly into plastic bags.

Struggling to adjust to the loss of their loved ones, Rohingya in refugee camps face a new normal. They rely upon humanitarian assistance for basic needs like food and shelter. Children, mostly unable to attend school, try to recover from the trauma they witnessed. Some of the women struggle to recover from the trauma of surviving gang rape. Most long to return home.

The same military that attacked the Rohingya launched a coup in Burma in early 2021. Since then, it has brutally attacked democracy advocates, peaceful protesters, and others. Under this climate of increased violence, the Rohingya cannot safely return home.

Rohingya arrive in Bangladesh after crossing the Burmese border in September 2017. Photo: Greg Constantine

From Their Perspective

We walked on very narrow and windy paths, and I fell, but there was no other way. So I kept walking by holding onto branches, sometimes with thorns on the side, and arrived at a road. Later, we crossed the stream and it was onto the jungle and the mountains.

— Sumida, a Rohingya woman

Rohingya fled their villages for safety after the 2017 massacre. These videos show that journey.

  1. Rohingya wait for boats to take them to Bangladesh.

    Leaving Their Own Lives Behind

    Fearing for their lives, Rohingya left Burma with little notice. They brought the few possessions they could carry. Most lost everything. Families separated in the chaos. Women and children traveled without husbands, sons, and brothers—killed by the Burmese military. Those who survived tried to help elderly relatives make the trip. Once in Bangladesh, Rohingya had to make do with limited shelter and few supplies.

    In this photograph, Rohingya coming from Burma wait for small boats to take them to mainland Bangladesh.

    Photo: Greg Constantine

  2. Family members carry an older Rohingya woman to their hut in the refugee camps in Bangladesh.

    Family members carry an older Rohingya woman to their hut in the refugee camps in Bangladesh. Elderly Rohingya were some of the most vulnerable during the 2017 violence in Burma. For some it was impossible to walk the days or weeks it took to get from their destroyed villages to the border of Bangladesh.

    Photo: Greg Constantine

  3. A group of Rohingya in the back of a truck.

    Amina holds her sick child in the back of a truck during a heavy monsoon rain. The previous day, the Burmese military attacked her village in Burma. She left for Bangladesh shortly after with a group of other Rohingya. Now, they make the two-hour journey from the border to refugee camps. Women and girls like Amina made up more than half of Rohingya who arrived in Bangladesh.

    Photo: Greg Constantine

  4. Rohingya creating a makeshift tent out of bamboo and plastic sheeting.

    Rohingya scrambled to find somewhere to settle and rest once in refugee camps in Bangladesh. Many created makeshift tents and huts made from bamboo and plastic sheeting. This woman and her family spent days walking through the jungle to reach Bangladesh after fleeing their village in Buthidaung.

    Photo: Greg Constantine

  5. A Rohingya woman sitting on the ground, covered in a blanket.

    Dilara, 22, and her children arrived in Bangladesh after the Burmese military destroyed her village in Maungdaw. Sick for more than ten days, she wrapped herself in a heavy blanket to battle the chills from a high fever. Rohingya like Dilara faced crowded living conditions and a lack of clean water, sanitation, and medical care in the refugee camps. Those conditions put them at risk for any number of diseases.

    Photo: Greg Constantine

  6. A crowd of Rohingya gravitating toward a truck of donations.

    Desperate for food, more than 1,000 Rohingya gravitate toward a truck filled with donations of rice in September 2017. The surge of Rohingya out of Burma in 2017 overwhelmed international relief agencies and sparked a humanitarian crisis in southern Bangladesh.

    Photo: Greg Constantine

  7. The sun setting over refugee camps in Southern Bangladesh.

    The sun sets over the refugee camps in southern Bangladesh. The camps are now home to nearly one million Rohingya refugees.

    Photo: Greg Constantine

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A woman's face is barely visible behind a head scarf.

A 25-year-old Rohingya woman conceals herself for privacy behind a head scarf.

Photo: Greg Constantine

Violence Against Women

Gang rape by Burmese soldiers accounted for 80 percent of the sexual violence against women in 2017. A 25-year-old Rohingya woman describes being beaten and raped by police during their attack on her village on September 1, 2017.

The military separated the women from the younger girls. The older women were taken out of the house. There were four of us left, and all four of us were raped. We were raped by at least fifteen military soldiers. The next day the military left. We walked seven days through the hills and forest before we arrived in Bangladesh.

  1. A family is lined up for a family photo. Six members of the family are highlighted.

    Lost Families, Lost Futures

    They killed eight people in my family. There is no chance my family will recover. When they killed them, they killed the future of my family.

    — Sayed, a Rohingya man

    Tula Toli

    Soldiers killed more than 700 Rohingya in the village of Tula Toli. Six members of this family were killed. They are (from left) Sawmira Bibi, age unknown, Farez Alam, 50, Hafez Rahman, 13, Sura Khatu, 48, Abdu Rahman, 27, and Abdullah, 5.

    Photo: Greg Constantine

  2. A family stands for a family photo. Two members of the family are highlighted.

    Chut Pyin

    Soldiers killed around 350 people in the village of Chut Pyin on August 25, 2017. Two members of this family were killed. They are (from left) Jamir Hussein, 15, and Ali Ahmed, 55.

    Photo: Greg Constantine

  3. A family stands for a family photo. One member of the family is highlighted.

    Inn Din

    The Burmese military executed ten Rohingya men in the village of Inn Din on September 2, 2017, including Rashid Ahmed, 18.

    Photo: Greg Constantine

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A white piece of paper with a colorful drawing on it.

What Children Saw

Children under 12 make up around 40 percent of Rohingya refugees in Bangladesh. Some of these children have used drawings to process the violence they witnessed in 2017.

This picture shows soldiers attacking a Rohingya home and killing the family members inside. Photo: UNICEF

Many cell phone showing pictures of people. A hand holds one phone in the middle.

Generations Gone

Rohingya survivors believe the Burmese military targeted some people because of their status within their communities. Those singled out included teachers, religious leaders, business owners, and students.

Now families safeguard memories of their murdered relatives in the photos they keep on their cell phones.

Photo: Greg Constantine

  1. A man watches, slumped over his crutches, as family and friends carry his wife's body.

    How Lives Have Changed

    I feel like I’m out in the middle of the sea, and I can’t find land.

    — Saiful, a Rohingya man

    Rohingya persist in the camps in Bangladesh because they are afraid to go home. The small population of Rohingya who remain in Burma face continued persecution. Burmese authorities have not guaranteed the safety of those who return and have not committed to restoring their rights.

    Physical Effects of Violence

    Fifty-five-year-old Nozo lost both legs when the Burmese military attacked his village in 2016. Now in Bangladesh, he is unable to walk in his wife’s funeral procession. He watches, slumped over his crutches, as family and friends carry her body to a cemetery.

    Photo: Greg Constantine

  2. Men stand in a line under a covering.

    Relying on Humanitarian Aid

    Rohingya men wait in long lines to receive food rations at camps in Bangladesh. They are unable to work to provide for their families.

    Photo: Greg Constantine

  3. A man sits next to a bed where a young girl is laying.

    Failing Health

    Abdul attempts to comfort his sick daughter, Noor. She contracted diphtheria because in Burma she, like many Rohingya, was denied basic healthcare, including life-saving vaccinations.

    Photo: Greg Constantine

  4. Four young men sit next to each other on a bench.

    No Education

    Teenage boys pass the time in Kutupalong refugee camp. In Bangladesh, 97 percent of Rohingya youth ages 15 to 18 are denied any form of education in the refugee camps.

    Photo: Greg Constantine

  5. A baby lies in its mother's arms.

    Noor holds her 10-day-old son, Arfat, who was born in a refugee camp. Neither of them have citizenship or legal identity. Since 1994, Burmese authorities have not issued birth certificates to Rohingya children.

    Photo: Greg Constantine

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  1. An aerial view of grass surrounding brown rubble where buildings once stood.

    Stolen Rohingya Land

    On the charred grounds where Rohingya homes, schools, and mosques once stood, Burmese authorities have begun new construction. The government confiscated the land for use by military as well as Buddhist citizens. This will further erase evidence of Rohingyas’ lives there before the 2017 massacre.

    September 2017

    The military destroyed Rohingya homes (pictured right) in the village of Inn Din during the violence in August 2017. Buddhist homes (pictured left) remained intact.

    Photo: Planet

  2. An aerial view of buildings surrounded by grass.

    October 2018

    The military has begun constructing new infrastructure, including new military posts, on Rohingya land.

    Photo: Planet

  3. An aerial view of buildings surrounded by grass.

    October 2019

    The construction continues. No trace of a Rohingya community remains.

    Photo: Planet

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Aung San Suu Kyi looks to the right.

Aung San Suu Kyi, former State Counselor of Burma.

Photo: Nigel Waldron/ Collection/ Getty Images

Burmese Leaders Deny Genocide

Burmese leaders have denied the genocide of the Rohingya.

We are concerned to hear that numbers of Muslims are fleeing across the border to Bangladesh. We want to find out why this exodus is happening .... I think it is very little-known that the great majority of Muslims in the Rakhine State have not joined the exodus.

— Aung San Suu Kyi, State Counsellor of Burma, in September 2017

Aung San Suu Kyi is a Nobel Peace laureate who was the elected leader of Burma from 2015 to 2021. When she was in power, she denied allegations of genocide against the Rohingya and minimized the number of people affected.

She has been imprisoned since early 2021 by Burma’s military leaders, following a military coup. The military has attacked, imprisoned, and killed other democracy leaders and perceived opponents to their rule.

Min Aung Hlaing looks to the left.

Senior General Min Aung Hlaing, Commander-in-Chief, Burma’s Armed Forces.

Photo: YE AUNG THU/ Collection/ Getty Images

“Solving the Problem”

The Bengali problem was a long-standing one which has become an unfinished job despite the efforts of the previous governments to solve it. The government in office is taking great care in solving the problem.

— Senior General Min Aung Hlaing, Commander-in-Chief, Burma’s Armed Forces in September 2017

The current head of the Burmese military, Min Aung Hlaing, directed the violence against the Rohingya in 2016 and 2017. UN investigators have called for him to be investigated and prosecuted for genocide, crimes against humanity, and war crimes against the Rohingya and other ethnic minorities.

His words “solving the problem” can be understood by some to mean the annihilation of the Rohingya community in Burma.

On February 2, 2021, the Burmese military launched a coup in Burma and installed Min Aung Hlaing as the country’s leader. Since then, the military has brutally attacked democracy activists, peaceful protesters, and others. UN experts have said this violence may amount to crimes against humanity.

A banner reading We Want Justice.

Seeking Justice

I want to tell the citizens of the world that I am also a human being, and Rohingyas are also human beings.

What they did with a pen actually murdered our lives! After attacking us with a pen and erasing our existence, then they physically attacked us .... The world didn’t see how they have systematically destroyed us. The world just saw their physical attacks on us. There has been no Justice for us .... What they have done to us is genocide.

— Mohammed, a Rohingya man

A banner hangs in the office of a Rohingya community organization in a refugee camp in Bangladesh. Photo: Greg Constantine