State Declared Bastardz: The Rohingya

"In August 2017, armed attacks, massive scale violence, and serious human rights violations forced thousands of Rohingya to flee their homes in Myanmar’s Rakhine State. Many walked for days through jungles and undertook dangerous sea journeys across the Bay of Bengal to reach safety in Bangladesh. Now, more than 900,000 people have found safety in the Cox Bazar’s region of Bangladesh which is now home to the world’s largest refugee camp. The United Nations has described the Rohingya as “the most persecuted minority in the world.”

(UNHCR - Rohingya Refugee Crisis Explained)

The Rohingya are an ethnic group mainly consisting of Muslims, who have lived in the predominantly Buddhist Burma for centuries. Since the independence of Burma from the British in 1948, the Rohingya have been deprived of their identity and forced out of their own country. In 1982, a new citizenship law was passed, effectively rendering the Rohingya stateless and as a result of the law their rights to study, work, travel, marry and to practice their religion have been and continue to be restricted.

Since the late 1970s, nearly one million Rohingya have fled Burma due to widespread oppression and they are often described as the world’s most persecuted minority. Over 800,000 Rohingya are now living in inhumane conditions in neighbouring Bangladesh, which now holds the largest refugee camp in the world. In November 2016, a UN official accused the government of Burma of carrying out ethnic cleansing of the Rohingya, accusations that have been denied both by the military, as well as by the State Chancellor and Nobel Peace Prize laureate Aung San Suu Kyi. The proposed repatriation of the Rohingya has so far been insincere, with no guarantees of a viable future and with all their lands and homes destroyed; there is simply nothing to return to.

The purpose of these works of art is to highlight the struggle of the Rohingya, to aid them in their effort to be recognised as a people, as well as to support the change of the autocratic state of Burma into a democracy.

All works of art are for sale except where noted.

Contact us if you have any questions regarding purchases, commissions etc.

50% of the proceeds will be donated to the UNHCR and to OBAT Helpers.