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In Pictures

Gallery|Rohingya

‘Who will take us?’: Myanmar’s fleeing Rohingya Muslims

Forced out of their home country, Rohingya Muslims share their experiences of crossing to Bangladesh.

Stateless and unwanted: Myanmar''s fleeing Rohingya
Since August 25, more than 270,000 Rohingya Muslims have braved mountains and jungles to cross into Bangladesh. [Mahmud Hossain Opu/Al Jazeera]
By Mahmud Hossain Opu
Published On 10 Sep 201710 Sep 2017
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Cox’s Bazar, Bangladesh – Rohingya as old as 105 are pouring into Bangladesh in the hope of finding peace and some semblance of a future, as the Myanmar army and allied mobs lay waste to their homes and villages in the western region of Rakhine.

In lines stretching deep into the horizon, tens of thousands of Rohingya – 80 percent of whom are women and children – have crossed into southeast Bangladesh after making the long and arduous trek from the impoverished region of Rakhine state.

“It was the hardest thing I’ve ever done,” said Tahera Begum, 22, who gave birth to her second child in a forest on the way to the border.

Relaying accounts of massacres at the hands of Myanmar security forces and Buddhist vigilantes that started on August 25, the sick, wounded and elderly have received a cold and hostile reception by their closest neighbour.

“Who will take us?” Halima desperately asked after recalling how she was beaten by a mob in front of her children while fleeing to the border.

The Rohingya, an ethnic group the majority of whom are Muslim, who have lived in Myanmar’s Rakhine State for centuries, have suffered decades of repression under the country’s Buddhist majority.

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Stripped of their citizenship by the military junta in the 1980s, they have endured killings, torture and mass rape, according to the United Nations.

So far, at least 270,000 Rohingya have fled since August 25, bringing the total number who have sought refuge in Bangladesh since October 2016 to more than 450,000.

Stateless and unwanted: Myanmar''s fleeing Rohingya
The Rohingya have fled with a few of their belongings and cling to the hope that they'll be able to return soon. [Mahmud Hossain Opu/Al Jazeera]
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Stateless and unwanted: Myanmar''s fleeing Rohingya
Tahera Begum, 22, gave birth to her second child in a forest on the way to Bangladesh. "It was the hardest thing I’ve ever done," she said. [Mahmud Hossain Opu/Al Jazeera]
Stateless and unwanted: Myanmar''s fleeing Rohingya
Kamal Hossain, 25, carried his 105-year-old grandmother to Bangladesh after his village of Garotibil was burned to the ground. [Mahmud Hossain Opu/Al Jazeera]
Stateless and unwanted: Myanmar''s fleeing Rohingya
The refugees – most of whom are women and children - leave for a refugee camp at Unchinprang in the Bangladeshi town of Teknaf. According to aid agencies it is already full. [Mahmud Hossain Opu/Al Jazeera]
Stateless and unwanted: Myanmar''s fleeing Rohingya
Salma Khatun crossed into Bangladesh with her husband and five children. When this photo was taken, she and her children hadn't eaten for at least two days. [Mahmud Hossain Opu/Al Jazeera]
Stateless and unwanted: Myanmar''s fleeing Rohingya
Hossain Zohat, 22, was shot at by the Myanmar army as he was crossing the border. The bullets missed but he was hit by the fragments of a bomb thrown at him. Captured by the army, his sister had to pay a bribe for his release. He is currently seeking medical treatment at the Sadar Hospital in Cox's Bazar. [Mahmud Hossain Opu/Al Jazeera]
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Stateless and unwanted: Myanmar''s fleeing Rohingya
Mohammad Ayaz, 17, lost his entire family when the army invaded his village of Tolatuli. Wounded by a bomb, he fled with the clothes on his back before being picked up by the Bangladeshi border guard. [Mahmud Hossain Opu/Al Jazeera]
Stateless and unwanted: Myanmar''s fleeing Rohingya
Amanullah, 28, was working in the field when he heard shots being fired in his village of Barbuna. As he tried to reach his family, he was shot in the arm. He hid in the woods for two days before finally making it to Bangladesh. [Mahmud Hossain Opu/Al Jazeera]
Stateless and unwanted: Myanmar''s fleeing Rohingya
Smoke rises from an area in Myanmar, as seen from the Bangladeshi border town of Tumbro. [Mahmud Hossain Opu/Al Jazeera]
Stateless and unwanted: Myanmar''s fleeing Rohingya
Abdul Khalek fled his home with 12 family members and is currently residing in an open area in Bangladesh. In the photo he is digging to erect some sort of shelter. "You have to keep going to survive. You can’t sit around hoping things will happen for you," Khalek said. [Mahmud Hossain Opu/Al Jazeera]
Stateless and unwanted: Myanmar''s fleeing Rohingya
Halima was beaten by a mob in front of her children as she was fleeing to Bangladesh. Here she is waiting outside of the Kutupalang camp with others to find out where they can go next. "Who will take us?" she asked desperately. [Mahmud Hossain Opu/Al Jazeera]
Stateless and unwanted: Myanmar''s fleeing Rohingya
Rohingya refugees build makeshift shelters near the Balukhali camp in Cox's Bazar. [Mahmud Hossain Opu/Al Jazeera]
Stateless and unwanted: Myanmar''s fleeing Rohingya
A Rohingya child is carried in a sling as his family walk through rice fields in Teknaf near Cox's Bazar. [Mahmud Hossain Opu/Al Jazeera]
Stateless and unwanted: Myanmar''s fleeing Rohingya
Members of Border Guard Bangladesh (BGB) stand near No Man's Land. Myanmar's security forces have been accused of laying internationally banned landmines in the border region. [Mahmud Hossain Opu/Al Jazeera]


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