Drawing on the past: Rohingya turn to the arts to revive culture at refugee camp

Short Url
Updated 08 December 2020
Follow

Drawing on the past: Rohingya turn to the arts to revive culture at refugee camp

  • Despite the difficult conditions at the squalid camps, where thousands of Rohingya are cramped in makeshift shelters

DHAKA: Mohammad Ershad says he often struggles to recall the names of his four children, blaming it on his 108 years of age and his life as a Rohingya refugee in Cox’s Bazar District in Bangladesh.

However, the calligrapher says he can “never forget” the sequence of events on the fateful day of Aug. 28, 2017, after a brutal crackdown by Myanmar’s military forced hundreds of thousands to escape across the border to Bangladesh.

“I can still hear the gunshots. All of a sudden, the military began firing, and people were running all over the place,” Ershad told Arab News.

“I gathered my relatives and neighbors and told them to pick whatever valuables they had and to run from that place,” he added.

All he took was his book of calligraphy.

“It’s my most valuable possession. I couldn’t leave it behind,” he said.

Today, the Balukhali camp’s “living legend” — who’s known for his extraordinary skills in calligraphy —says he draws on his past to keep the Rohingya culture and traditions alive as an ode to his “life back home.”

“When I sit with my calligraphy notebook, it’s as if I’m transported back to my homeland,” Ershad said.

Despite the difficult conditions at the squalid camps, where thousands of Rohingya are cramped in makeshift shelters, Ershad says he “writes for an hour every day.” Most of his writing is on Islamic stories and Hadith (narrations of Prophet Muhammad (PBUH)).

“I start after Fajr (morning) prayer, and write the texts every day,” he said.

Ershad was born in 1912 in the Udangpara village of Myanmar’s Maungdaw District.

He studied to become a Muhaddith — an expert in narrating the Hadith — at the Darul Uloom Deoband University (DDU), a religious school in Uttar Pradesh, India.

Ershad said he couldn’t remember the year when he graduated from the DDU or moved from Myanmar to India but is “very certain” of how it all began.

“A religious cleric visited my neighborhood to deliver sermons. I was very moved by his speeches and the very next day, boarded a train from Myanmar to India,” he said.

Decades later, at the age of 50, he started reciting the Holy Quran for Myanmar’s national radio from 1962-65.

“I served the community for 70 years and taught at the Rengun Sufia and the Jamia Forkania madrassas (Islamic seminaries) as well,”
Ershad said.

Besides teaching, Ershad was also given the task of designing “hundreds of academic certificates for the madrassa students in Myanmar,” after the school authorities recognised his talent in calligraphy.

“But I have yet to write anything about my last day in Rakhine (the state in Myanmar where the Rohingya fled from). I have made notes of it in another book, in case I forget ... maybe I’ll write about it someday,” he said.

Now he hopes to pass on his skills to his children so that “at least one of them can carry forward my legacy.”

“My eldest son learned calligraphy from me, and I also taught my daughter, but I can’t recall her name at this moment,” he said with tears in his eyes. 

Ershad is one of a few Rohingya artists, among the many thousands of refugees in the Cox’s Bazar camps, who use their creative expression to revive the community’s culture.

Bangladesh is hosting more than 1.1 million Rohingya who fled from persecution at the Myanmar military’s hands in the Buddhist-majority country.

The Rohingya endured decades of abuse and trauma in Myanmar, beginning in the 1970s when hundreds of thousands sought refuge in Bangladesh.

Between 1989 and 1991, an additional 250,000 fled when a military crackdown followed a popular uprising and Burma was renamed Myanmar. In 1992, Bangladesh and Myanmar agreed on a repatriation deal that led to thousands of Rohingya returning to Rakhine State.

The latest Rohingya exodus to Bangladesh resumed in August 2017 following a military crackdown on the ethnic minority group.

Recalling the trauma of past events, 60-year-old Qawali singer Bashirullah, a Rohingya refugee from the Balukhali camp, said his music was “an escape from reality.”

Bashirullah is a leading performer of the Tarana style of traditional music – where a singer creates impromptu lyrics based on a theme – for a genre that is still popular among the refugees at the camp.

Bashirullah was born in the Monglipara village of Maungdaw township and was fond of music from an early age.

“I learned  the Tarana style of music from a mentor in my neighbourhood. We used to perform at marriage ceremonies in Myanmar and earned $60 – $120 from each event,” he said, but “never charged poor families.”

“Our topics would often be about happy moments from our daily life, such as a wedding, birth of a child and so on,” he added.

While today his songs are still about Myanmar, they are not “as happy” but “keep the memory of our homeland alive,” he said.

Bashirullah says he watched several of his friends and neighbours die during the August 2017 attack.

“I escaped by bribing the soldiers and, along with ten members of my family, came to Bangladesh,” he said, adding that none of his children is interested in music “unfortunately.”

When he’s not performing, Bashirullah teaches art and music at a Balukhali camp school and earns $200 from a monthly salary and relief aid provided by agencies.

“We are ok here, but I dream of returning home with dignity one day and continue singing there,” he said.

A yearning to return to Rakhine often features in the poems of 18-year-old Mohammad Sawyeddollah as well – a Rohingya youth who gained widespread recognition for his evocative expression of life as a refugee.

Unlike Ershad and Bashirullah, Sawyeddollah’s audience is not limited to Rohingya camps alone.

Instead, he shares his work on popular social media platforms, such as Facebook, after striking gold with his first poem “Refugee Life” in 2017.

“The poem was about our sorrows, agony and dreams. I didn’t expect much feedback when I uploaded it on Facebook. But the reaction was huge ... I think it touched a lot of people at the refugee camps,” said Sawyeddollah, who began writing at the age of 15.

He has penned “more than 30 poems” and paid for internet services when the Bangladeshi authorities temporarily blocked them.

Sawyeddollah says he now hopes for a better life ahead and to eventually move out of the refugee camp.

“All human beings should have three things – life, liberty and security. In the camp, we have our lives, but there is no liberty and security,” he said.


Fans greet K-pop stars Jimin and Jung Kook of BTS discharged from military service

Updated 4 sec ago
Follow

Fans greet K-pop stars Jimin and Jung Kook of BTS discharged from military service

  • The pair wore their military uniforms Wednesday, saluted and addressed fans who had assembled to see the pair after their discharge
  • The seven singers of the popular K-pop band plan to reunite as a group sometime in 2025 after they finish their service
YEONCHEON: Hundreds of fans gathered in the early morning hours to catch a glimpse of K-pop superstars Jimin and Jung Kook, the latest and final members of BTS to be discharged from South Korea’s mandatory military service.
The pair wore their military uniforms Wednesday, saluted and addressed fans who had assembled to see the pair after their discharge.
Jung Kook thanked the journalists and fans who traveled to see him and Jimin after their discharge and acknowledged how different it was to be back in the spotlight. “Actually, it’s been so long since I’ve been in front of cameras, and I didn’t even put on makeup, so I’m a bit embarrassed,” he said. “I don’t know what to say.”
The pair enlisted in December 2023, one day after RM and V did the same. The latter were discharged on Tuesday.
Supporters traveled from around the world to the public sports ground where the meet-and-greet took place. It was moved from the military base’s gate for safety reasons. Color-wrapped buses bearing BTS members’ faces lined the streets while red and yellow balloons floated above and a decorated food truck provided free coffee and water, adding to the festive atmosphere.
Many supporters wore masks, conscious of potential backlash after the band’s label discouraged attendance citing safety concerns. Despite the challenges, fans like Anaesi from Portugal said the 20-hour journey to Yeoncheon, a town near the tense border with North Korea, was worth it.
“Portugal is a small country, but inside of Portugal, BTS is a king,” she said. Anaesi, who discovered BTS on YouTube, said the group “saved” her from depression. “So for me BTS is my angel,” she said. She displayed a colorful upper arm tattoo featuring a golden shield emblazoned with “ARMY” and an eagle above it, complemented by Korean text listing BTS members’ names and those of her friends.
V thanked fans Tuesday for their patience in waiting for him and RM’s return and teased the band’s reunion. “If you can just wait a little bit longer, we will return with a really amazing performance.”
The seven singers of the popular K-pop band plan to reunite as a group sometime in 2025 after they finish their service.
Six of the group’s seven members served in the army, while Suga is fulfilling his duty as a social service agent, an alternative form of military service. He will be discharged later this month.
Jin, the oldest BTS member, was discharged in June 2024. J-Hope was discharged in October.
In South Korea, all able-bodied men aged 18 to 28 are required by law to perform 18-21 months of military service under a conscription system meant to deter aggression from rival North Korea.
The law gives special exemptions to athletes, classical and traditional musicians, and ballet and other dancers if they have obtained top prizes in certain competitions and are assessed to have enhanced national prestige. K-pop stars and other entertainers aren’t subject to such privileges.
However, in 2020, BTS postponed their service until age 30 after South Korea’s National Assembly revised its Military Service Act, allowing K-pop stars to delay their enlistment until age 30.
There was heated public debate in 2022 over whether to offer special exemptions of mandatory military service for BTS members, until the group’s management agency announced in October 2022 that all seven members would fulfill their duties.

Musk regrets some of his Trump criticisms, says they ‘went too far’

Updated 51 min 17 sec ago
Follow

Musk regrets some of his Trump criticisms, says they ‘went too far’

  • ‘I regret some of my posts about President @realDonaldTrump last week. They went too far’

WASHINGTON: Elon Musk, the world’s richest person and Donald Trump’s former adviser, said Wednesday he regretted some of his recent criticisms of the US president, after the pair’s public falling-out last week.

“I regret some of my posts about President @realDonaldTrump last week. They went too far,” Musk wrote on his social media platform X.


South Korea halts loudspeaker broadcasts along border with rival North Korea

Updated 58 min 15 sec ago
Follow

South Korea halts loudspeaker broadcasts along border with rival North Korea

  • The South resumed the loudspeaker broadcasts in June last year following a years-long pause

SEOUL, South Korea: South Korea’s military has shut down loudspeakers broadcasting anti-North Korean propaganda along the inter-Korean border, in a move aimed at easing tensions.

The South resumed the loudspeaker broadcasts in June last year following a years-long pause in retaliation for North Korea flying trash-laden balloons toward the South in a psychological warfare campaign.

South Korea’s Defense Ministry said Wednesday the move was part of efforts to “to restore trust in inter-Korean relations and promote peace on the Korean Peninsula.”


Chinese aircraft carriers in Pacific show country’s ‘expansionist’ aims, Taiwan says

Updated 11 June 2025
Follow

Chinese aircraft carriers in Pacific show country’s ‘expansionist’ aims, Taiwan says

  • China has been flexing its muscles by sending an unusually large number of naval and coast guard vessels through a swathe of East Asian waters

TAIPEI: The two Chinese aircraft carriers spotted conducting simultaneous operations in the Pacific for the first time send a political message about the country’s “expansionist” aims, Taiwan Defense Minister Wellington Koo said on Wednesday.

Japan’s defense minister said the previous day that the appearance of the Chinese aircraft carriers signified Beijing’s intention to further widen its capabilities beyond its borders.

Koo said the armed forces had a “full grasp” of the carriers’ movements.

“Crossing from the first island chain into the second island chain sends a definite political message and their expansionist nature can be seen,” he told reporters in Taipei.

The first island chain refers to an area that runs from Japan down to Taiwan, the Philippines and Borneo, while the second island chain spreads further out into the Pacific to include places like the US territory of Guam.

China’s navy, which has been honing its abilities to operate farther and farther from the country’s coast, said on Tuesday the carrier operations were a “routine training” exercise that did not target specific countries or regions. China operates two carriers, with a third undergoing sea trials.

Taiwan, which China views as its own territory, keeps a close watch on Chinese military movements given the regular drills and war games Beijing stages around the island, and has been modernizing its weapons to better face the People’s Liberation Army.

Taiwan Air Force Chief of Staff Lee Ching-jan, speaking to lawmakers later on Wednesday, said a dozen or so of 66 Lockheed Martin F-16V fighter jets ordered from the United States should arrive this year, with the rest in 2026.

“The US side was optimistic about next year’s scheduled delivery at last month’s meeting on the project, and was very optimistic about the delivery of more than 10 aircraft this year,” he said.

Taiwan has complained about delivery delays for the jets, which have advanced avionics, weapons and radar systems to better face down the Chinese air force, including its J-20 stealth fighter.

Since May, China has been flexing its muscles by sending an unusually large number of naval and coast guard vessels through a swathe of East Asian waters, according to security documents and officials, in moves that have unnerved regional capitals.

Japan’s defense ministry confirmed the two carriers, Liaoning and Shandong, were operating in separate areas of the Pacific on Saturday, both near remote southern islands belonging to Japan.

Earlier, Japan said the Liaoning sailed within its exclusive economic zone near Minamitorishima, a remote island east of Iwo Jima.


Australian murder suspect denies drying deadly mushrooms

Updated 11 June 2025
Follow

Australian murder suspect denies drying deadly mushrooms

  • Erin Patterson denies all charges in the trial, which has made headlines worldwide
  • She says the beef-and-pastry dish, which she cooked in individually sized portions, was poisoned by accident

SYDNEY: An Australian woman accused of murdering three people with death cap mushrooms denied Wednesday that she turned the fungi into dry powder for the fatal meal.

Erin Patterson, 50, is charged with murdering her estranged husband’s parents and aunt in July 2023 by spiking a beef Wellington lunch with the mushrooms.

She is also accused of attempting to murder a fourth lunch guest – her husband’s uncle – who survived the dish after a long stay in hospital.

Patterson denies all charges in the trial, which has made headlines worldwide.

She says the beef-and-pastry dish, which she cooked in individually sized portions, was poisoned by accident.

Three months before the lunch, phone records placed Patterson in the Victoria state township of Loch, where a sighting of death cap mushrooms had been posted online, the court heard.

Prosecutor Nanette Rogers alleged that within two hours of finding death cap mushrooms in Loch, Patterson bought a dehydrator to use on the fungi.

Patterson admitted to buying the dehydrator.

But she denied purchasing it to dry the death cap mushrooms or that she went to Loch to find the dangerous fungi.

A month later, phone records placed Patterson in a second town in the area, Outtrim, just days after a sighting of death cap mushrooms had been posted online, the court heard.

Patterson denied she went to the area to find the fungi, but said she may have driven by the area.

Rogers suggested Patterson “blitzed” the death cap mushrooms into a powder in order to hide them in the meal.

“Disagree,” Patterson said.

The court heard Patterson had told people that she served the beef Wellington leftovers to her children a day after the lunch, as her sickened guests lay in hospital.

The accused said she scraped off the mushroom and pastry from the dish because her children were fussy eaters.

The prosecutor asked Patterson why she would feed leftovers to her children, while knowing or suspecting that the same meal had put her guests in hospital.

“I didn’t know or suspect that,” Patterson replied.

The prosecutor accused her of telling a “lie about feeding the leftovers” because it gave her “some distance from a deliberate poisoning.”

Patterson replied: “I don’t see how it could, but I disagree.”

The home cook had also invited her estranged husband Simon to join the family lunch at her secluded home in the Victoria state farm village of Leongatha.

But Simon turned down the invitation saying he felt uncomfortable going, the court heard previously. The pair were long estranged but still legally married.

Simon’s parents Don and Gail, and his aunt Heather Wilkinson, attended the lunch. All three were dead within days.

Heather’s husband Ian fell gravely ill but recovered.

The trial in Morwell, southeast of Melbourne, is expected to last another two weeks.