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Rohingya refugees rebuilding their lives in Chicago

Chicago has one of the largest number of Rohingya refugees that have been resettled in the US.

Rohingya community of Chicago
Rohingya mothers play with their children during a 'Mommy and Me' class at the Rohingya Cultural Center of Chicago. The class teaches children structured play, mothers how to bond with their children and prepare the children for school. [Allison Joyce/Getty Images]
Published On 24 Jan 2019

Chicago has one of the largest number of Rohingya refugees to have been resettled in the United States.

More than 1,600 Rohingya are based in Chicago, having spent years in Malaysia after fleeing persecution and violence in Myanmar in the 1990s and 2000s.

Rohingya are an ethnic, mostly Muslim minority who have faced decades of discriminatory policies and violence in Myanmar where the government considers them illegal immigrants from Bangladesh.

The Rohingya Cultural Center of Chicago was founded in 2016 by Nasir Zakaria, a Rohingya refugee who settled in the US in 2013.

The centre provides English lessons and Quran classes, as well as computer training, translation services and assistance with resettlement paperwork.

It also organises football teams for the youth.

Last December 2018, the US House of Representatives passed a resolution labelling the Rohingya crisis as “genocide”.

President Donald Trump has capped the number of refugees that can be resettled in the United States in 2019 at 30,000, the lowest ceiling a president has placed on the refugee programme since its creation in 1980.

Rohingya community of Chicago
Rohingya mothers leave a 'Mommy and Me' class at the cultural centre. [Allison Joyce/Getty Images]
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Rohingya community of Chicago
Rohingya refugee Zulah participates in an English class. Zulah was resettled in Chicago in 2014. She fled Myanmar after the military killed her husband, taking a boat to Thailand and then travelling overland through the jungle with no food or water to Malaysia. She has two daughters who are still living in Myanmar and often tell her of the violence and harassment they are experiencing. [Allison Joyce/Getty Images]
Rohingya community of Chicago
Children do their homework during a tutoring session. At more than 1,600, Chicago has one of the largest communities of Rohingya refugees that have been resettled in the US. [Allison Joyce/Getty Images]
Rohingya community of Chicago
Sakinah, 23, cleans up after English class while her children, four-year-old Shafi Rukh Khan and one-year-old Nur Sharifah play. [Allison Joyce/Getty Images]
Rohingya community of Chicago
Rohingya refugees Aisha and Naznin work at their mother's restaurant, the Tea Leaf Garden in Chicago. In 2018, Rohingya refugee Nasimah and her friend opened the restaurant, which serves halal Rohingya, Malaysian and Burmese food. Nasimah escaped to Malaysia in 1977 and was resettled with her family in Chicago in 2012. Her son Mohammad said: "Everything is better here in the US. We are able to go to school." [Allison Joyce/Getty Images]
Rohingya community of Chicago
Rohingya refugee Aisha works the register at her mother's restaurant, the Tea Leaf Garden. [Allison Joyce/Getty Images]
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Rohingya community of Chicago
Children pray at the Rohingya Cultural Center of Chicago. Most refugees in Chicago fled persecution and violence in Myanmar in the 1990s and 2000s and lived in Malaysia for years before they had the opportunity to be resettled in the US. [Allison Joyce/Getty Images]
Rohingya community of Chicago
Children make a model of a Native American cabin during homework session. [Allison Joyce/Getty Images]
Rohingya community of Chicago
Rohingya football players travel to a game in Chicago, Illinois. [Allison Joyce/Getty Images]
Rohingya community of Chicago
Maimunah Shukor, 25, holds her daughter, three-year-old Norfarzana while her siblings chat in the kitchen. The Shukor family arrived in Chicago in 2014 from Malaysia. Mohammad Shukor fled Myanmar in 1978 after the military shot him and arrested his father, who died in jail. He fled to Thailand by boat and spent five years there before making his way to Malaysia with his family. In Malaysia, he and his family were denied education, had to work illegally, and were frequently arrested and harassed by authorities. [Allison Joyce/Getty Images]
Rohingya community of Chicago
Mohammad Shukor and his wife Noor Jahan pose for a photo in their home in Chicago, Illinois. The Shukor family arrived in Chicago in 2014 from Malaysia. [Allison Joyce/Getty Images]