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About

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Welcome to Rohingyatographer, a beacon of creative expression and resilience. Located in the heart of the world's largest refugee camp in Cox's Bazar, Bangladesh, Rohingyatographer is a collective of passionate Rohingya photographers and artists. United by our love and dedication, we aim to share the stories of our community through the art of photography and storytelling

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Founded in 2021 by Rohingya photographer and human rights activist Sahat Zia Hero, with support from David Palazón, an art director and former curator of the Rohingya Cultural Memory Centre, the collective has become a defining voice in documentary photography within the Rohingya refugee community. What started as an entrepreneurial endeavor with Sahat's first photobook has blossomed into a vibrant collective of over 30+ photographers, writers, and artists. Together, we are redefining the Rohingya narrative, shifting it from victimhood to one of resilience and identity.

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The collective's work has gained international acclaim, standing as a vibrant testament to the Rohingya's right to self-representation. In 2024, Rohingyatographer received the Casa Asia Award in the category of Diversity, Inclusion and Sustainable Development, as well as winning an Honourable Mention at the ZEKE Awards by the Social Documentary Network. In 2024, Sahat and Ahtaram were shortlisted finalists for an Insight Award for Visual Journalism from the Institute for Nonprofit News. In 2023 Sahat was the recipient of the Prince Claus Seeds Award and the Nansen Refugee Award, recognising his leadership in this photo-voice project. 

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In an environment rife with uncertainty and limited access to formal education, photography has emerged as our voice and purpose. More than just a publication, our project is a powerful platform for visual storytelling, offering a glimpse into our community's life in the refugee camps through the eyes of Rohingya youth. As a testament to the transformative power of photography, Rohingyatographer gives a voice to the stateless. We enable self-representation and foster understanding, preserving the collective memory of the Rohingya refugee community. In this act of creation, each photograph is not just an image but a powerful statement of identity and self-assertion.

 

Rohingyatographer has evolved into a vital resource for those interested in the Rohingya experience, community-led documentary photography, visual anthropology, human rights, and refugee studies.

 

Our journey began with a virtual exhibition, supported by the Spanish Cooperation Agency in collaboration with Casa Asia in Barcelona. This initiative captured the attention of UNHCR, leading to their backing of our second issue. We achieved a milestone with our third issue, which is entirely crowdfunded on GoFundMe. Our publications delve into a range of themes including identity, resilience against natural elements, food, creativity, and human rights. A highlight of our journey is Unseen Courage, the first monograph by Rohingya female photographers, supported by SEA Junction and unveiled at the Asian University for Women. In 2024, we supported the Rohingya historian Aman Ullah in publishing A History of Rohingyas to 1948. Rohingyatographer is a member of Alliance Against Genocide.

 

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MISSION STATEMENT

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Rohingyatographer is dedicated to empowering the Rohingya community through photography, providing a platform for self-representation and storytelling. Our mission is to foster global understanding and empathy for the Rohingya crisis, preserve collective memory, and advocate for human rights and dignity. By empowering Rohingya individuals to document their own narratives, we aim to challenge perceptions, inspire change, and contribute to a world where art acts as a powerful catalyst for social justice. These are our objectives:

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  • Enhancing creativity: Developing storytelling and content production skills among the team members, strengthening Rohingyatographer as a Rohingya-led content creation platform.

  • Preserving cultural identity: Engaging Rohingya youth in preserving their own identity, history, cultural heritage, and collective memory.

  • Facilitating education: Producing educational assets that can be utilized by Rohingya individuals engaged in teaching and learning within their own community.

  • Empowering livelihoods: Supporting practice-based learning, self-expression, and skills development as livelihood and income opportunities for talented Rohingya youth.

  • Advocacy and visibility: Using project assets to raise visibility for the Rohingya community and support advocacy efforts for their hope to return home.

 

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ENGAGEMENT & COLLABORATIONS

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Beyond publications and exhibitions, Rohingyatographer offers a range of photography services, including workshops​videography, stringer services, research, translation, and transcription. We welcome assignments, collaborative proposals, and media engagement opportunities. If you're interested in sharing authentic Rohingya stories, we invite you to connect with us via email. For more details about our collective, exhibitions, collaborations, and our presence in academic and global media, please explore the links below:

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Sahat Zia Hero

Founder/Editor/Mentor

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David Palazón

Producer/Curator/Editor

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Ro Yassin Abdumonab

Mentor/Advisor

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Ahtaram Shin

Writer/Editor/Mentor

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Ishrat Bibi

Curator/Editor

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Enayet Khan

Art Director/Curator

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Ro BM Hairu

Social Media/Editor

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Current members

Ahtaram Shin

Anayat Ullah

Anowar Solim

Anuwar Sadek

Ayub Khan DKL

Dil Kayas

Enayet Khan

Hujjat Ullah

Ishrat Bibi

Jaitun Ara

Janifa

Khaleda Begum

​Maung Emdadul Hasan

Maung Hla Myint Arafat

Mayyu Khan

Md Arafat

Md Ederis

Md Faruk

Md Hasson

Md Hossain

Md Imran

Md Junaid

Md Shahad Abdumonab 

Md Shaker

Md Yakub

Md Zubair

Mijanur Rahman

Minara

Mizana

Moreyam

Neyamot Ullah

Nur Begum

Omar Khan

Omar Salma

Parmin Fatema

RB Hafizu

Ro Anamul Hassan

Ro Arfat Khan

Ro Alfaz Khan

Ro BM Hairu

Ro Mon Sur Ali

Ro Rezaul Islam

Ro Yassin Abdumonab

Sabekur Nahar

Sadek Husein

Sahat Zia Hero

Saiful Hoque

Salamat Ullah

SM Riaz Uddin

SR Reyes

Umme Salma

WR Wares

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Former members

Abdul Wajed

Abul Kalam

Azimul Hasson

Khin Maung Thein

Omal Khair

Md Jamal

Md Ayas

Shahida Win

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2024

NPR. Whatever happened to ... the Rohingya refugee who won a U.N. award for his photos?

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Institute for Nonprofit News. Compulsively readable: Finalists for the 2024 Nonprofit News Awards showcase the storytelling power of nonprofit news

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Melting Pot Europa. Unseen Courage: Through the eyes of Rohingya women. An interview with photographer Rohingya Ishrat Bibi

 

BBC. Jersey exhibition to show life in Rohingya refugee camps

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Jersey Overseas Aid. The Rohingya Experience: Jersey to host powerful photography exhibition that gives a rare voice to refugees

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Artbreath. Coffee Talk: Rohingyatographer

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Aljazeera. Photos: The world’s displaced population equivalent to 12th largest country

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New Internationalist. Rohingya refugee camps devastated by cyclone Remal

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Amnesty International. The inhumane conditions in Cox's Bazar and what must be done to support refugees looking for a dignified, hopeful future 

 

Instick. How the climate crisis deepens hardships for Rohingya refugees

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Melting Pot Europa. The Forgotten Rohingya Genocide: Tales from the Cox's Bazar refugee camp

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360. How the Rohingya mobilised digital solidarity

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Muslim Views. Rohingya youth photographers capture the lived experience in the world’s largest refugee camp

 

The Guardian. ‘I can’t speak but my photos do’: how a mute Rohingya boy talks to the world

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Postimees. Refugees pictured by refugees. Rohingyatographer: An extraordinary photo project highlights the fate of a million forgotten refugees

 

ZEKE Magazine. Through Rohingya Eyes: A Journey of Resilience

 

MSF (Doctors Without Borders). Rohingyatographer: Sharing the Rohingya story in photos

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Boom Saloon. We photograph, therefore we are

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Der Spiegel. "Hope kills the people here"

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2023

El Confidecial. Autorretrato íntimo de los olvidados de la tierra

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El Diario. Los refugiados convertidos en fotógrafos para acabar con el olvido de los rohingya: “Queremos que el mundo nos escuche”

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Broadsheet. Celebrating Food in a Hunger Crisis: A Rohingya Photographer and Refugee’s Mission To Preserve a Disappearing Food Culture

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Radio France Internationale. Four Rohingya photographers awarded by the UN for their work in Bangladesh camps

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NPR. Photos: This is life in the world's largest refugee camp, as seen by their own

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DVB. The Rohingya and the ethical blindspot of international media

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UNHCR. With photographs, words, and deeds, Rohingya refugee storytellers weave hope from despair

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MSF. Rohingya youth trapped in violence and despair in Cox's Bazar 

 

UNHCR Netherlands Magazine. Rohingya in Pictures.

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PYO Asia. Favourite images POY Asia 2023

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Conversations on Genocide. Episode #3: The Rohingya Genocide and International Law with Regina Paulose 

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Dhaka Tribune. Hope away from home

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Dhaka Tribune. Poetry and art provide ‘hope away from home’ for Rohingya refugees

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F-Stop Magazine. Interview with Sahat Zia Hero – Rohingyatographer Magazine

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Reasons to be Cheerful. Rohingya refugees capture the reality of their lives one photo at a time

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Aljazeera. What is life like inside the world’s biggest refugee camp?

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SBS Dateline. They are called the forgotten people. This photographer tells their stories

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Himal SouthAsian. A Rohingya photographer’s dispatch on food-aid cuts in the refugee camps

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The Observers. Refugee photographers fight to raise awareness about plight of Rohingya in Bangladesh

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Die Zeit. The Camp of the Forgotten

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Minority Rights. Bangladesh: Sanitation among Rohingya women in Kutupalong refugee camp

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The National. How can the world uplift the lives of refugees around the world?

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The Business Standard. 'Life through Rohingya eyes': A fitting exhibition for World Refugee Day

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The Daily Star. ‘Life through Rohingya eyes’

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Daily Sun. ‘Life Through Rohingya Eyes’ photo exhibit launched

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2022

Aljazeera. ‘Through our own eyes’: Rohingya refugees stage photography show

 

The Guardian. ‘This is our documentary of the crisis we face’: the Rohingya smartphone photographers.'

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The Guardian. Women behind the lens: silent and alone, Nur hopes for a greener future

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Blurb. Rohingyatographer Magazine: Behind the Zine with Sahat Zia Hero

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The Eye of Photography. Rohingyatographer Magazine: We Are Rohingya

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Anadolu Agency. Photo exhibition highlights plight of Rohingya in Bangladesh

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NBC News. Young Rohingya photographers capture life in world’s largest refugee camp.

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Visual Rebellion. Snaps of life in the world’s biggest refugee camp​

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Mizzima News from Myanmar. ‘We Are Rohingya’ photo exhibition puts cameras in the hands of Bangladesh camp refugees

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Migrant Voice. The photography magazine from the world’s largest refugee camp

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UNHCR. Rohingya boy learns language of photography

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2024

The Rohingya Experience. Jersey

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The Art of Exile. Bangkok Arts & Cultural Centre

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Resilience. Cox’s Bazar Cultural Centre

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Photoville. Brooklyn Bridge Park, New York 

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Unbowed. Unbroken. Portraits of Cultural Resilience. Bridge Gallery, Massachusetts

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The Art of Exile: documenting the displacement of Myanmar’s Forced Migrants. School of Humanities. University of California

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Through Rohingya Eyes: A Journey of Resilience. Social Documentary Network

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2023

FELIFA (Festival de Libros de Fotografia y Artes Plasticas). Haroldo Conti Cultural Memory Centre, Buenos Aires, Argentina

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Jasbaa. The Art of Rohingya Refugee Resistance. Curated by Mayuu Ali. Ken Seiling Waterloo Region Museum and Doon Heritage Village. Canada

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Resistance, Resilience, Remeberance. Picturing the Rohingya Genocide. Rohingya Centre of Canada, Ontario

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Life through Rohingya Eyes. Liberation War Museum, Dhaka, Bangladesh

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Leipzig Photobook Festival. GRASSI Museum for Applied Arts, Germany

 

2022

We are Rohingya. Head On Photo Festival. Sydney, Australia

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We are Rohingya. Cox's Bazar Cultural Memory Centre, Bangladesh

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We are Rohingya. Liberation War Museum, Dhaka, Bangladesh

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Añrá Rohingya (We are Rohingya)Virtual Exhibition on World Refugee Day

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2024

Rohingya Cultural Preservation: An internationally coordinated response is urgent by Saqib Sheikh and Carolyn Morris in The Accountability, Politics, and Humanitarian Toll of the Rohingya Genocide. The New Lines Institute for Strategy and Policy, Washington

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The photographic social experience of Rohingya youngsters of Cox’s Bazar: an interview with Ro Yassin Abdumonab by Marcelo Schellini in Visual Ethnography Journal, Curtin University, Malaysia

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2023

Asking the world to see: Im/mobilities in refugees' group self-representation through the photography magazine Rohingyatographer by Luise Nora Rommelspacher, National University of Singapore

 

Five Years Lost: Youth Inclusion in the Rohingya Response by Imrul Islam and Sahat Zia Hero, in Journal on Migration and Human Security, Sage Journals. Centre for Migration Studies, New York

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Rohingya refugees are using photography to tell their own stories by Mari Griffin, in Lacuna Magazine. Centre for Human Rights in Practice, University of Warwick

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Forced Migration and the Arts. Panel discussion by Civic Leicester. UK

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2022

Voice and power at the intersection of art, technology and advocacy by Sahat Zia Hero, Alison Kent, Alexandra Kotowski and Parmin Fatema, in Forced Migration Review. Refugee Studies Centre, Oxford University

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Live from the world’s largest refugee camp. Head On Photo Festival. Australia

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Diálogo «Somos Rohingya, la mirada de los fotógrafos Rohingya». Casa Asia. Barcelona. Spain

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Review of Rohingyatographer Magazine, Issue #1/Summer 2022. Prof Tom Arcaro. Elon University

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