'I try to bury that pain': Rohingya refugees on the trauma they carry

One of life’s greatest misconceptions is that time is a healer. A year ago, the “ethnic cleansing” perpetrated by the Myanmar military against the Rohingya sparked a massive refugee crisis. Nearly a million Rohingya – those who escaped the flames and executions – are now living in camps in Bangladesh. Many of them were raped, most saw loved ones killed, thousands arrived wounded. This monsoon-soaked corner of Bangladesh is among the most densely populated with people affected by trauma and post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD).

Here, time has not healed.

Fleeing flames and bullets, the Rohingya had little time to gather their possessions. Crossing monsoon-swollen rivers and trekking through sucking mud, what they held onto tightly were their very young, their very old, their injured, and their religion.

The Rohingya are a Muslim minority in Buddhist Myanmar. Their religion and the fact they speak a different language has contributed to the perception they are foreigners...

Source: 'I try to bury that pain': Rohingya refugees on the trauma they carry