Images of plight and resilience

It was when Bangladesh opened its doors last year to Rohingya refugees escaping genocide at the hands of army personnel and Buddhist extremists in Myanmar: a boat full of them anchored at Ukhia of Cox's Bazar. Except for a few, all passengers got down. Those still on board stood around a woman surrounding her, and moments later, wailing of a baby filled the silence of the late afternoon. 

Not long after that, the mother climbed down with the newborn into her lap and began walking in line with others, towards an unknown destination.

“The incident left me shaken to the core,” said Tanvir Sarwar Rana, president of Cox's Bazar Art Club, when he thought of bringing together painters from home and abroad to wage a campaign for "humanity through art".

Seven months down, the art club, along with UNHCR, organised an art exhibition at the Liberation War Museum (LWM) in the capital yesterday marking World Refugee Day. The paintings by artists depicted “not only the plight of the Rohingya but also the spirit of humanity which the people of Bangladesh demonstrated,” according to a press statement.

“Art is the most powerful weapon,” Tanvir told The Daily Star. This is what artists can use to draw the world's attention to the Rohingya issue facing the country now. “Expressing solidarity with the Prime Minister, we seek a permanent solution to this problem.” 

Around 600 painters from 16 countries have already visited Rohingya camps and used “their brush strokes to depict the journey, struggles and also resilience of the new Rohingya arrivals,” the organisers said in a statement.

The exhibition, titled "Art for Humanity", has paintings by artists and by Rohingya children on display. It will remain open to all until June 28, from 10:00am-5:00pm daily.

Many would not share the feelings of Tanvir from that unexpected episode, but the paintings open a window to the sufferings of refugees: a girl in flames, an orphaned child looking scared, a girl with her younger brother seeking refuge in her embrace, refugees in queue on the shore under the moonlight are all striking images.

Another painting was about people trampled by the boots of power. It made much sense when linked to the statistics that 68.5 million people were displaced at the end of 2017 globally.

“As long as there are wars and persecution, there will be refugees,” said UN Secretary General Antonio Guterres in a video message for Refugee Day.

“We must all think about what more we can do to help… Their story is one of resilience, perseverance and courage. Ours must be of solidarity, compassion and action,” he added.     

The art club has so far arranged 15 art camps, 14 exhibitions, two sand sculptures and five giant mural paintings in public spaces as part of the campaign.

Tanvir said two more art exhibitions would be organised in Rajshahi and Khulna before artists participating in the campaign would set out for New York and other parts of the world to display their paintings in efforts to make a louder appeal for support to Rohingya refugees.