First, They Erased Our Name by Habiburahman; Ansel Sophie; Reece Andrea

Author:Habiburahman; Ansel, Sophie; Reece, Andrea
Language: eng
Format: epub
Tags: BIO026000, BIO002000, SOC066000, POL035010, POL061000, SOC008000, SOC031000
Publisher: Scribe Publications
Published: 2019-08-05T16:00:00+00:00

24

Thwarting apartheid

1997

In Africa, there is a country where white people live separately from black people. Black people do not have the right to vote and are forbidden to have sexual relationships with white people. The different communities are segregated in order to protect the power of the whites. Apartheid exists there too. Well, it did. They abolished it a few years ago.

In northern Arakan, a similar, but nameless, system exists: the segregation of kalars, non-citizens since the law passed by the ex-dictator Ne Win, which has been blithely maintained by his successor Than Shwe. The NaSaKa continue to terrorise the towns in which we are confined. Settlers’ villages, known as NaTaLa, are springing up like mushrooms on land confiscated from the Rohingya. Arakan must become Burmese and Buddhist. That is our version of apartheid.

When I see the results table, I feel immensely proud. The Burmese name that I use for school appears on the list of students who have passed the exam. I have succeeded, and Dad will be proud of me too. It is a major triumph over what seemed a certain destiny. Although I will not be able to collect my certificate, because I have no identity documents, at least the results are there and accessible to educational establishments across the country. But the universities in Sittwe, the only ones in which I could have enrolled, remain closed. I am not allowed into any state other than Arakan, and cannot travel outside Sittwe. I feel a growing need to put my knowledge into practice, to use my brain to serve my community. I want to have some control over my destiny. I don’t want it to end here.

Dad has faith. He still dreams of his children becoming lawyers. I want to believe in that too. One thing is certain: there is no future for me in Sittwe. All I can hope for here is a hand-to-mouth existence as an odd-job man or, at best, an advisor for Rohingya at the hostel. Another option would be to work as a market trader with my parents and Granny.

I decide to leave and try my luck in Maungdaw in the North where many Rohingya live and a handful of international humanitarian organisations have obtained authorisation to set up offices, so I might be able to meet foreign volunteers and doctors. I don’t know exactly what I am looking for, but my instinct tells me to go. My excellent school results might open doors where everything seems totally barred to me. I save as much money as I can to be able to leave Sittwe as soon as possible. My parents and uncles also help me out financially. I’m finally ready to approach the 11 Burmese district authorities. Systematic corruption raises the barriers of racism even higher. Military intelligence, the police, and the village Peace and Development Council all take their share of the savings that I have put aside.

I have also managed to assemble all the letters of recommendation that I need to present to the immigration service, my final port of call.

Download

Copyright Disclaimer:
This site does not store any files on its server. We only index and link to content provided by other sites. Please contact the content providers to delete copyright contents if any and email us, we'll remove relevant links or contents immediately.