#naf river

[agelessphotography]

Rohingya people cross the Naf River border through rice paddies from Myanmar into Bangladesh, Roger Arnold, 2017

[tearsofrefugees]

Why choice is nothing but an elaborate illusion for the Rohingya

Nurul Islam is a 40-something-year-old father-of-four. He was among the 700,000 Rohingya who fled across the Naf river into Bangladesh.

[tearsofrefugees]

A Rohingya refugee reacts while holding his dead son after crossing the Naf river from Myanmar into Bangladesh in Whaikhyang on October 9, 2017. The arrival of Rohingya refugees who have fled an army crackdown in Myanmar's troubled Rakhine state since August 25, 2017 has put an immense strain on already packed camps in Bangladesh for 800,000-plus Rohingya Muslims as it was dangerous since overcrowding could heighten the risks of deadly diseases spreading quickly. 

Photographer: Indranil Mukherjee

Prize: 3rd Place / Editorial/War/Conflict

Company/Studio: AGENCE FRANCE PRESSE (AFP)

International Photo Awards 2018

[voiceofmigrants]

A Rohingya Muslim boy walks past discarded clothing

A Rohingya Muslim boy walks past discarded clothing on the ground at the Bhalukali refugee camp.

[tearsofrohingya]

Why the Rohingya will continue to flee Myanmar ?

Rohingya Muslims fleeing Myanmar leave an improvised raft after crossing the Naf river.

Rohingya refugees sit on a makeshift boat while they are interrogated after crossing the Bangladesh-Myanmar border.

[tearsofrohingya]

Desperate Rohingya Muslims use plastic rafts to flee Myanmar

Dozens of Rohingya refugees floated into Bangladesh on a raft fashioned from plastic jerrycans, as the persecuted Muslim minority continue to flee violence in Myanmar in droves, officials said. Bangladesh border guards spotted the makeshift raft overloaded with more than 50 passengers as it drifted toward the coastal village of Shah Porir Dwip village. Local border guard commander S.M. Ariful Islam told AFP the 52 refugees tied plastic jerrycans together to float across the Naf River separating the two countries. Islam said those fleeing ethnic violence in Myanmar were still desperate enough to make the dangerous crossing, with other daring escapes recorded in recent days.

At least 16 Rohingya refugees were found floating across the same river in a plastic drum sawn in half, local police said. "A lot of them arrived today on rafts made from plastic jerrycans," local community policeman Abdul Jabbar told AFP on Tuesday. "It was a dangerous attempt to cross the Naf on such a flimsy device. It could easily have gone wrong, causing deaths." Many families stuck on the bank were unable to pay the exorbitant fees charged by boatman and were resorting to increasingly desperate measures to escape. Nur Shahin, who crossed in the half drum, said he could not afford what the boatmen were asking to get his family across the river to safety. "We thought this was the only way to save our lives," Shahin told AFP. An estimated 611,000 people have fled Myanmar since late August, when the military launched a massive crackdown in Rakhine State in response to attacks by Rohingya militants.

[tearsofrohingya]

Rohingya Muslims fleeing Myanmar across river into Bangladesh

 Rohingya refugees fleeing violence in Myanmar cross the muddy Naf River into Bangladesh.

[tearsofrohingya]

A Rohingya refugee carries children across the Naf river

A Rohingya refugee carries children across the Naf river, which marks the border between Myanmar and Bangladesh.