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Once Upon A Time
Portraits of the past challenging the present
“Look! Look at how long we have been here. Look at who we were. What does it tell you?”
Mohammed, Rohingya elder (2023)
Old photographs, family collections, documents, letters and illustrations contributed by Rohingya are combined with historical materials from a variety of public and private archives. These memories of family and evidence of historical existence as a community have been displaced and separated into pieces all over the world, just like the Rohingya community. This project brings these materials and stories from the past back together again into the present.
“This is the evidence that we are the citizens of the country.”
“Rohingya had government jobs.”
“We were teaching in schools, working as engineers, as doctors, as professionals.”
“We have voted in Burma’s elections and had rights to own our own land.”
“We had political parties.”
“There is proof Rohingya were in Burma before 1823."
“I graduated with a degree from college.”
“We are citizens of Burma.”
“We feel all of our documents and the documents of our forefathers are the most important things we have.”
“Among the advisors who wrote the Constitution included Rohingya.”
“Rohingya existence is always at stake.”
“They have been erasing the existence of the Rohingya gradually and systematically step by step by confiscating these documents.”
“They did all of this in order to erase our people from the country. Isn’t that what one calls genocide?”
“We fought with the British against the Japanese.”
“We are very much a part of the Burma Union. It is our contribution to our Nation.”
“Aren’t the old National Registration Cards of our parents enough evidence?”
“Myanmar is my home and that is where I want to go back to.”
“Since the beginning, we were Rohingya.”
“This is our homeland.”
A Collective Voice
These are sentences from interviews with numerous Rohingya
1965
Early 1960s
1950s
1950s
1950
“Yes, Burma is our country, but for Rohingya, Arakan has always been our homeland.”
Nur, Rohingya elder (2019)
1960
1971
1968
1950s
1980
1980
1978
1961
“This is my history. Our history. Rohingya history. It shows who we are and shows to the world we are people of Burma.”
Abdu, Rohingya elder (2023)
1980
1961
1953
1955
1953
“When I start a conversation with Ek Khaale, this melts the heart of listeners. It lets them know a painful story of the past will be told ahead.”
Anamul, (2023)