PUBLIC SEMINAR
Migration, Documentation, and Humanisation of Rohingya
RESTLESS BEINGS
Restless Beings is a gathering of restless individuals who are passionate about human rights in an organisation founded on the desire to work towards egalitarianism from the roots up. They work with the most marginalised and persecuted communities across the world; the underdogs of society whose plights often brushed under the carpet by mainstream media and the masses.
On 17 April 2017, the Centre for Civilisational Dialogue welcomed the Co-Founders and Co-Directors of Restless Beings to deliver a talk on Migration, Documentation and Humanisation of Rohingya. The seminar began at 10am and took place at the Auditorium of Institute of Postgraduate Studies, University of Malaya. Mr. Mabrur Ahmed and Mrs. Rahima Begum delivered the talk which was attended by lecturers, and mostly postgraduate students. According to Restless Beings, the Rohingyas are one of the most persecuted communities in the world. Despite having lived in the state of Arakan (which is part of Burma) since the 8th century, they were not recognised as citizens of The Union of Burma since the coup d’etat by General Ne Win in 1962.
The Rohingyas have migrated to countries like Bangladesh, Malaysia, India, Thailand, Saudi Arabia and Indonesia. However, according to Mr. Mabrur, these refugees are not registered, which means they have no documentation to prove their citizenship and origins, and that limits their right to live as a normal human being. Mr. Mabrur explained that some refugees, for instance, some pregnant women took the risk of getting caught and jailed if they want their newborn to be registered. The seminar received interesting feedbacks and audiences were engaged with the talk. One of the audiences who attended the seminar was once a refugee for 15 years from South Sudan. He shared his experiences which moved the audience and just reflects the hope there is in seeing a better world. One of the participants raised an interesting and equally important question, why is this happening? Mr. Mabrur and Mrs. Rahima explained that this is all because of the greedy governments who want to exploit the natural resources that is sitting under the Rohingya community. Towards the end of the seminar, Mr. Mabrur shared Restless Beings responses towards this crisis, and Mrs. Rahima encouraged us to participate in this movement and contribute to the cause as a university students.
UMCCD Bulletin Dec 2016 - Jun 2017 | 14