Interactive artwork on display in Australia to commemorate the Rohingya tragedy

Interactive artwork commemorating the Rohingya tragedy in Sydney (Image: City of Sydney)
Interactive artwork commemorating the Rohingya tragedy in Sydney (Image: City of Sydney)
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Arakan News Agency

On Thursday, the Australian city of Sydney officially opened an interactive artwork in one of its squares, aiming to raise awareness about the Rohingya issue. More than 120 Rohingya artists and volunteers participated in the work.

The city’s official website stated that the “Meeras Pavilion” honors the more than 1.2 million Rohingya people who have been displaced or fled violence in Myanmar since 2017. The artwork took three years to complete, from concept to completion, and was created by more than 100 community participants and 20 artists in partnership with Rohingya communities in Sydney and refugee camps in Bangladesh and Malaysia.

A number of activists and participants in the artwork creation (Image: City of Sydney)
A number of activists and participants in the artwork creation (Image: City of Sydney)

The “Meeras Pavilion” is made of bamboo and steel-weaved rope and is integrated with high-tech lighting and sound. It features 16 arches that form a canopy. At the end of each arch is a giant taro leaf, a symbol of support for the Rohingya. The artwork measures 14 meters by 3.7 meters and will remain on display until October 5, “News hub” reported.

Rohingya activist and poet Asma Naimullah said that the “Meeras Pavilion” represents a reclaiming of culture, crafts, and story, expressing her hope that it will highlight the truth about the Rohingya people. She added, “We are not just refugees, no matter what the media says.”

Stages of the the artwork creation (Image: City of Sydney)
Stages of the the artwork creation (Image: City of Sydney)

The project was supported by the Creative Advocacy Partnership (CAP), a group of advocates, artists, and designers who use creativity to change narratives and build connections. “Our collective project is really about partnerships between Rohingya and non-Rohingya. It’s about sharing stories and exchanging craft practices, and our role is not limited to providing our services as teachers or facilitators”, Tasman Munro, from the initiative said.

Among the advocacy partners for this project are Médecins Sans Frontières, Refugee Council Australia, the Australian Global Health Alliance, the Asylum Seeker Resource Centre, the Creative Advocacy Partnership, Rohingya Women’s Development Australia, and Amnesty International Australia.

More than a million Rohingya fled Rakhine State in western Myanmar to neighboring Bangladesh after being subjected to genocide by the Myanmar military in 2017 and to violence by Buddhist Arakanese militias (the Arakan Army) in 2023, who were trying to seize control of the state. The Rohingya live in camps in the Cox’s Bazar area of ​​Bangladesh, which the United Nations classifies as the largest refugee camp in the world, amid difficult conditions that force many of them to undertake dangerous sea journeys in search of a better life in other countries.

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