The plight of Rohingya women in a Bangladesh refugee camp are recounted through embroidery during the exhibition "A Life Once Had, A Dream Of Hope", which takes place at SEA Junction from tomorrow to Sunday.
Arranged by Asia Justice ad Rights (AJAR), a non-profit organisation based in Jakarta, the event marks International Women's Day which this year falls on March 8. The exhibition will feature 12 quilt collections made by Rohingya women who live at Kutupalong refugee camp, Cox's Bazar, Bangladesh.
Since March 2019, AJAR and the Liberation War Museum (LWM) of Bangladesh have been conducting documentation work using participatory action research with more than 120 women in the Rohingya refugee camps in Cox's Bazar.
The process involves sewing activities as well as story sharing and healing towards building solidarity and peer support among women survivors.
Using embroidery as a medium, a group of Rohingya women refugees have depicted their life stories, focussing on their exodus from Myanmar in the face of atrocities.
The embroidery expresses their hopes, dreams and memories -- a response to being survivors of genocide and the challenges they've subsequently faced living in a refugee camp.
The exhibition launches with a panel discussion, "Rohingya Situation: Displacement, Truth And A long Journey Of Finding Solutions", tomorrow at 5.30pm.
Among speakers will be Rohingya activist Yasmin Ullah, AJAR co-founder and director Galuh Wandita, and Pranom Somwong of Protection International Thailand.
There is no admission fee. SEA Junction is located on the 4th floor of Bangkok Art and Culture Centre, Pathumwan intersection.
Visit seajunction.org.
An embroidery work by Rohingya women refugees. photo courtesy of SEA Junction
