First, They Erased Our Name: A Rohingya Speaks
Habiburahman with Sophie Ansel (translated by Andrea Reece)
Scribe: 2019
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Habiburahman’s, or Habib’s, life story begins with ‘Grandma’s Stories’.

A long time ago, Habib, the world was vast and infinite. Men and women travelled slowly, keeping time with nature and God as they searched for peaceful and fertile lands. Entire peoples boarded huge ships and crossed oceans. Sailors invoked the clemency of nature by offering up a small gem each day that was swallowed by the waves and deposited on the ocean bed. This is how our ancestors arrived safe and sound in the Kingdom of Rohang, which we now call Arakan. It is this land of plenty, blessed by God, which gave rise to the Rohingya, a peaceful tribe of fishermen and farmers … Your memory is all you will have to keep our history alive, Habib. So listen to me carefully, because your grandmother won’t be here forever.

Habib goes on to relate the increasing persecution of his family and community at home in Rakhine state, Myanmar. He recreates personal incidents and informal dialogue as his family sought to escape by moving into the highlands, near the former Arakan capital of Mrauk U, constantly pressed for official and unofficial taxes and bribes. He recounts the bans on movement between villages and the brutal forced labour, including being press-ganged as army porters.

• Tags: Habiburahman, Helen Jarvis, Issue 20, Myanmar, Sophie Ansel