“Share them with the world.”
A story of a gathering place, of preservation, of magazines of resistance and declarations of truth.
“For over 100 years, my family has safeguarded these documents. Not just as pieces of paper, but as living proof of our identity, our history and our rightful place in Myanmar. These records carry the voices of our ancestors and the weight of generations who refused to be erased.”
Solim
December 15, 2024
It was March 2023 just before the start of the holy month of Ramadhan. Habi Zullah and Ro Anamul Hasan— two members of the Rohingya archival team—had already spent months seeking out materials from Rohingya in sections of the refugee camps in southern Bangladesh. Solim was one man who had already shared a few documents to the project. This was the first time Habi, Anamul and I had met Solim together. He was skeptical, or at least it felt that way. Guarded would be a more accurate description.
We sat on the floor and talked. The heat in Solim’s hut was sweltering. Several small electric fans pushed the hot air around the room. He shared some old, original National Registration Cards of his grandfather, father and mother with us. After some time, Solim had come to embrace our visit. We asked if he had more. He went into another room in his hut and came back carrying a jute (burlap) tote bag. The opening zipped and had a lock. He sat down, unlocked it and pulled out several large plastic bags. Each bag protected stacks of fragile papers and faded family documents. Land and taxation documents dating back to the 1930s. Employment documents of relatives dating back to the 1920s. Old birth certificates. Solim’s son generously provided us some snacks, watermelon and tea.
For the next hour, Solim sifted through one document after another. Placing a page of an old land document on the floor between us, pointing out dates and other details. He repeated this over and over again. The documents and his narration guided us through the history of his family.
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Solim - Documents
Solim was well connected with other men his age in the camp. He carried a beat up, Nokia-like cell phone. No games, apps, email, social media, internet. Just a durable, unbreakable phone with a monochrome display. His thumb pushed buttons up and down as he scrolled through names and phone numbers saved on his phone. During our first visit, Solim made a number of calls. Not long after each call, a new Rohingya man would show up to Solim’s hut. Each man carried his own bag of documents, eager to share them with us. At one point during our first visit, ten of us sat together on the floor. The men compared family histories through their portfolio of documents. Most had never shared these documents with others. Solim asked us to come back the next morning. He said he would find others.
The next day Habi and I arrived and several men were waiting outside of Solim’s hut. Solim had called them the night before. Solim’s son let us in. He said Solim had woken up early that morning and had already been gone for well over an hour. He was not home but would return soon. Not long after, Solim arrived home, sweating and breathing deeply as if he had walked quite a distance. He carried another bag.
“I’ve kept these for a very long time,” Solim said. “I don’t keep these things here. In Myanmar I hid them and I needed to hide them here too. Someone outside of the camps keeps them for me.”
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We sat on the floor. The other men waiting outside sat down with us. Solim’s son brought us more snacks, watermelon and tea. Solim opened up the bag and took out a stack of papers. They were torn and ripped and had a heavy smell of stale smoke. When he opened the bag, Habi and I looked at each other. We couldn’t believe it. I knew Rohingya liberation groups had printed their own magazines but I had never seen one. Then, Solim handed us a stack of 34 original issues of the magazine Arakan, ‘The Original Mouthpiece of the Arakan Rohingya Islamic Front’. The issues span from 1992 to 1995, a time corresponding to the years immediately after Operation Pyi Thaya or Operation Clean & Beautiful Nation, which forced over 250,000 Rohingya out of Burma into Bangladesh.
Rohingya armed liberation groups from the 1970s through the early 2000s published their own magazines and journals. The publications served as a voice for Rohingya to the international community. Magazines included historical pieces, analysis of current events in Burma and in depth updates on the persecution of the Rohingya community throughout these decades.
We spent the day with Solim. A steady stream of older Rohingya men rotated sitting on the floor, eager to share their family documents with us. At the end of the day, Solim looked at the stack of magazines, turned to Habi and I and said, “Share them with the world.”
Months later, Habi and I revisited Solim. His home became a gathering point where other men, who had preserved and carried similar treasured documents to Bangladesh during the violence of a genocide in 2017, met with us.
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Recently, Habi met with Solim. “Solim always checks in with me,” Habi said. “He is always excited to hear about the project. He said he never had a chance to share these magazines with anyone before, until he met us.”
Habi continued, “When I saw him, Solim also wanted to say this…”
“We preserved these documents with the belief that one day, they would serve as undeniable evidence against the lies that deny our existence. Sharing these documents is not just an act of trust, it is a declaration of truth. It is a stand against injustice. For too long, the world has turned its back on the Rohingya, but these papers tell a different story. They prove we were there, that we belonged, and that we will not be forgotten. My heart is heavy with the pain of what has been lost, but it is also filled with hope. Hope that this history will no longer remain hidden. Hope that justice will one day be served.
“These documents are our shield, our voice, and our proof. I have done my part, as my forefathers did before me. Now, I pray the world will finally listen.”
“History upholds the romance of past human experience. It is the mirror of life and measure of its performances. It is through this Mirror that others can know of a people, who can as well know themselves through this mirror and also guide themselves with Propriety. The correct assessment of a people's past history determines the pace of its present progress and the pattern of its future activities.”
Rohingya essay: ARAKAN: A Short History of Its Past and Present
Author - Unknown - Published , April 1, 1984
INSAF Magazine
Another Rohingya elder, Aman Ullah, contributed additional copies of older publications and magazines from Rohingya liberation groups printed in the 1970s, 1980s into the early 2000s.
In 2025, this collection of magazines will be fully digitized and made available.
This piece was written by Greg Constantine & Habi Zullah. Published - December 17, 2024