A Cry for Home: The Rohingya’s Struggle for Justice and Return

By Mujommel Hoq

Arakan Now | 21 August 2025

On 25 August 2017, the Rohingya people faced one of the darkest chapters in their history. Villages were burned, families massacred, and entire communities uprooted by brutal attacks carried out under the command of Myanmar’s military. While the world watched in horror, more than 700,000 Rohingya were forced to flee to Bangladesh, joining thousands already displaced by earlier waves of persecution.

But this was not an isolated tragedy. For decades, the Rohingya have endured systematic discrimination, statelessness, and violence in Myanmar. The events of 2017 were the culmination of a long history of exclusion and oppression.

The Pain of Displacement

Today, nearly a million Rohingya live in refugee camps in Bangladesh, while others remain scattered across the globe. For more than eight years, the dream of returning home has remained alive in their hearts, yet the path to repatriation remains uncertain.

The longing for home is deeply personal:

Mojib, 67, expresses a lifelong wish:“I hope to return to my home, die in my motherland, and be buried beside my mother.”

Shoaib, 23, recalls the sudden loss of his future:“I dreamed of completing my matriculation, but I had to flee in class 8 due to arbitrary killings. My dream remains unfinished. I used to gossip with friends under the shade of trees—memories that now feel distant. I miss my home, my friends, and the resilience we once shared.”

Akram, 13, barely remembers life in Myanmar, but the trauma lives on:“When I was in Myanmar, I was very young. I remember only fragments, but whenever my parents speak of Myanmar, it feels like I am reliving a nightmare.”

Their words reflect the intergenerational pain of displacement—elders longing to return, youth mourning lost opportunities, and children growing up with only stories of a homeland they have never truly known.

A Fading Heritage

The risk grows not only of losing land, but also of losing identity. If the Rohingya remain in exile without the possibility of safe return, future generations may never know the names of their villages, the songs of their culture, or the depth of their mother tongue.

The refugee camps provide survival, but not dignity. They offer shelter, but not a future. Without justice and the restoration of rights, the Rohingya remain trapped in limbo—stateless, voiceless, and uncertain of tomorrow.

The Call for Justice and Dignified Repatriation

The Rohingya demand more than sympathy; they demand justice and accountability for the crimes committed against them. Perpetrators must be held responsible in international courts so that the cycle of impunity finally ends.

Repatriation must not be rushed or unsafe. It must ensure:

• Citizenship and legal rights

• Safety and protection from persecution

• Restoration of land and homes

• Opportunities for education and livelihoods

Home is not only a physical place—it is identity, belonging, and dignity. The world has a moral obligation to ensure that the Rohingya return to Myanmar not as refugees in fear, but as citizens with rights, security, and the promise of a future.

A Cry for Home

The wounds of genocide are deep, but the spirit of the Rohingya endures. Despite the pain, the memories, and the loss, they continue to dream of home. Every voice—from Mojib to Shoaib to Akram—reminds the world that this is not just a humanitarian crisis, but a struggle for justice, recognition, and the most basic human right: the right to live in one’s homeland with dignity.

Until that day comes, the Rohingya will continue their cry for home—a cry the world must no longer ignore.