A Life Once Had, A Dream of Hope:Rohingya Women’s Voices From The Camps
Lifestories is an ongoing, multi-year project by Asia Justice and Rights (AJAR) and Liberation War Museum (LWM) Bangladesh that aims to raise awareness of the Rohingya human rights crisis, and to build solidarity among survivors and human rights defenders from different ethnic and religious backgrounds through story-telling.The project recounts Rohingya womens’ life journey through their own perspective, to facilitate collective healing and advocacy for peace, human rights and justice. Lifestories started as a community-initiated learning tool in the refugee camps in Cox’s Bazar, Bangladesh, for Rohingya survivors to better understand conflict, justice, and refugees rights.
Since 2019, AJAR has used participatory action research tools to collect stories with Rohingya survivors, facilitators, and community groups about their personal experiences as part of our Human Rights Educators (HRE) program.
The program, which involved more than 100 Rohingya women across 3 years of workshops and art for healing, has documented hundreds of stories of Rohingya lives – a process made possible by thorough accompaniment and consent-informed participation with facilitators, survivors, and communities in various activities, using AJAR and partners-developed modules.
AJAR and LWM would like to thank all the Rohingya women survivors who shared their stories, and dedicate this (notebook/calendar) to all ethnic minority groups inside Myanmar.
*All names have been changed to maintain confidentiality.