Monday, 27 Jan 2020
Power of words: People watching Rohingya Muslim poets perform via video link at the Poetry for Humanity event in Yangon. — AFP
Yangon: Divided by hatred but united over the written word, Rohingya Muslim poets in Bangladeshi refugee camps joined Buddhist bards in Myanmar by video link
as part of a groundbreaking poetry festival in a country reeling from genocide allegations.
Five Rohingya writers took part in the three-day “Poetry for Humanity” event in Yangon, with three speaking live by video link to a packed room while two had sent pre-recorded readings, fearing that their stuttering connection would not hold up. They drew applause for verses on the bloodshed that forced hundreds of thousands of Rohingya to flee their homes in northern Rakhine state – and also for their resilienc.
as part of a groundbreaking poetry festival in a country reeling from genocide allegations.
Five Rohingya writers took part in the three-day “Poetry for Humanity” event in Yangon, with three speaking live by video link to a packed room while two had sent pre-recorded readings, fearing that their stuttering connection would not hold up. They drew applause for verses on the bloodshed that forced hundreds of thousands of Rohingya to flee their homes in northern Rakhine state – and also for their resilienc.