©Abu Ahmad: “I always have so many worries; worries about the future.”
Abu Ahmad is a 52-year-old father of eight (four daughters and four sons). His 11-year-old daughter Rukia became paralysed shortly before the violence erupted in August 2017. After arriving in Bangladesh, Rukia spent over seven months at MSF’s medical facility in Kutupalong. She returns to the facility every couple of days to have her bedsores treated. Here, Abu Ahmad recounts how the family fled, what life is like for his family in Bangladesh, and their hopes for the future.
“Before the conflict, we had cows, goats, land, all those things. Our business and livelihoods we earnt ourselves. But we faced lots of threats and torture from the government in Myanmar. If someone wanted to get higher education, that person would have to flee the country because if the government found out, they would arrest him. Our movements were very restricted; we were not allowed beyond the checkpoints. We could only move within our area. Other people, like monks and different [ethnic] communities, were free to move around everywhere.
Then the conflict began.
Fighting, stabbings and the burning of houses. Not long before that, my daughter Rukia had somehow became paralysed. She complained of pain and then stopped being able to feel anything below the waist. One night I called all my children together to discuss what to do. We did not see much hope; we could be arrested or killed no matter what we did. My eldest son told me that when the fighting starts, we would not be able to run with Rukia. “There will be no chance to save her life, he said. “You and mother should take her to Bangladesh now, ahead of us. We can join you later.” So I told my other children to get ready, and my wife and I left for Bangladesh with Rukia.
Fleeing Myanmar.
After we left the house ... we were unable to [openly] leave our village because everywhere we looked we saw government people with weapons. We trekked miles throug