The Lord Mayor of Dublin Micheal Mac Donncha hosted a photography exhibition on Saturday May 19th at the Mansion House titled ‘A walk through the persecutions of Rohingya in Burma and the situations of Rohingya refugees in Bangladesh’. The photographs, taken by Mohammed Rafique, document the persecutions of the Rohingya in Myanmar and the situation of Rohingya refugees in Bangladesh. The exhibition was organised by the Rohingya Community Carlow, Carlow College St Patricks, Carlow County Development Partnership and the TUI.

Rafique recently visited the refugee camps in Bangladesh and witnessed the traumatic scenes of suffering and displacement. He commented after his visit “Rohingya have been forcibly removed from their homeland in Rakhine State Burma. They are denied rights to self-identity and basic human rights, stripped of citizenship and subjected to what many are calling a textbook case of genocide”.

At the exhibition, the ‘Free Rohingya Coalition Ireland’ (FRCI) was launched. Launching the coalition, Stephanie McDermott outlined the objectives of the Coalition; the recognition of Ethnic Status/Self-Identity of the Rohingya; end persecution and genocide against the Rohingya and crimes against humanity; end the deportation of the Rohingya and hold accountable the Myanmar government for their human rights abuses; declare August 25th as Rohingya Remembrance Day; the return of the Rohingya to a Protected Homeland. Stephanie added ‘Carlow College takes seriously its commitment to social justice and human rights’, it is heart warming that amid such suffering and heartache that there is a commitment from the College to work with civil society organisations to take action and make a real difference in people’s lives’.

Stephanie Mc Dermott will travel to Paris on June 1st to attend the International Conference on the Situations of Rohingya People in Myanmar and Bangladesh as part of the Irish delegation.