UN, Rohingya open cultural memory center in Bangladesh

DHAKA, Bangladesh

The UN migration agency and the Rohingya community in Bangladesh have jointly opened a cultural memory center to document the heritage and culture of persecuted people.

As one of the first significant attempts to comprehensively preserve the culture of Rohingya, it is named Rohingya Cultural Memory Centre (RCMC), the International Organization for Migration (IOM) said in a statement on Tuesday.

The center in southern Cox’s Bazar district is a multi-disciplinary initiative that provides online community space, interactive gallery, digital archive, web-based exhibition, and psychosocial support through art therapy.

The project was developed in collaboration with the Bangladeshi government and supported by the agencies of Sweden, Canada, the UK, Switzerland, and the Netherlands.

Since 2019, the IOM researchers in Cox’s Bazar have been collecting and documenting cultural practices and artifacts shared among the Rohingya community from Myanmar’s western Rakhine state.

“The center tells the story of the Rohingya people through a comprehensive collection of cultural artifacts and artworks researched and produced by Rohingya refugee artists living in the camps. And, these efforts produced a thorough ethnographic map, detailing activities central to the Rohingya identity,” the statement said.

“The RCMC website offers a platform for the Rohingya people to share and build their stories with a global audience and to connect with the diaspora,” said Manuel Marques Pereira, IOM’s deputy chief of mission in Bangladesh.

“By showcasing the beauty and complexity of the Rohingya heritage and people, the center aims to empower the community and ensure the continuity of its cultural heritage for future generations,” he added.

The center’s collection is currently only available online, but the IOM said it is looking into finalizing the construction of an integrated multi-service hall. The structure will include the exhibition and workshop spaces and will be fully managed by the Rohingya community.

A dedicated Rohingya team is being trained to operate and manage the center and its educational programs.

Bangladesh is home to more than 1.2 million stateless Rohingya, most of whom fled a brutal military crackdown in Rakhine in August 2017 at the hands of Myanmar's security forces.

The Rohingya, described by the UN as the world's most persecuted people, have faced heightened fears of attack since dozens were killed in communal violence in 2012.