On Friday, the 13th of October, Loretta Dalpozzo, journalist and documentary producer with 17 years of experience, visited our school to give an informative session on her recent experience filming in refugee camps in Bangladesh with the Rohingya. The focus group I am a member of, Voices for Refugees, organised the event and I was responsible for introducing her to the audience and hosting the questions. Loretta spoke about the current refugee crisis, including stories from some refugees, the responses of the Bangladesh government and the UNHCR and the role of journalists as advocates for refugees. It was a very interesting and thought provoking lunchtime and I was proud to be part of the group that is raising such an important issue.
One of the many topics she covered was the issues around Aung San Suu Kyi, and how she doesn’t appear to be responding to the crisis very well. When I heard about her and how she had escaped her horrific house arrest, and how she had won a Nobel Peace Prize, she became someone that I regarded as a role model, especially since she was a woman who was a powerful political figure. This meant that near the beginning of this year, I started to become really disappointed in her when I heard about how she was denying the struggles that the Rohingya refugees are going through. Critics have been telling everyone to take away her Nobel Peace Prize, which I feel is really a shame, especially considering what happened to her and how she overcame it in order to win the prize. Loretta Dalpozzo felt similar to the way I do about Aung San Suu Kyi, disappointed and frustrated at her actions. She said that there may be a reason behind Aung San Suu Kyi refusing to recognise the truth, but whatever it is, it doesn’t really justify her actions. Loretta Dalpozzo raised a really important point, which is that we need to stop relying on just the people in power. If Aung San Suu Kyi isn’t going to do anything, we really need to make sure we start taking action ourselves. What she said really aligned with what I was thinking, and confirmed the reason why I joined Voices for Refugees in the first place.
It seems as if there isn’t enough awareness raised about the Rohingya. Most people I talk to know about it, but barely anyone is doing anything to help. Our lives are all so busy and there are so many other problems in the world that it is hard for people to focus on this one. I think that this really is why we have to keep raising awareness and talking about the issue. If even Aung San Suu Kyi is refusing to accept the extent of the problem. Aung San Suu Kyi knows that it is a problem, and she says she sympathizes with the 400,000 or so people who have fled the Rakhine state to avoid the military, yet she doesn’t do anything to help. She claims that the country is weak and has many problems, and that she can’t focus on every little issue. To me, it is so obvious that the Rohingya crisis is more than a “small problem” and that we need to do something about it. I am going to do as much as I personally can to make sure people know that the crisis is more than a “small problem” In the state the world is in at the moment, it seems more important than ever to help the people treated so cruelly.
