15 were confirmed dead on Tuesday when that boat carrying about 130 people capsized in the Bay of Bengal

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Since yesterday I have been in shock after I heard the news of a boat sinking that was carrying my Rohingya brothers and sisters. Many are missing and 15 were confirmed dead on Tuesday when that boat carrying about 130 people capsized in the Bay of Bengal while trying to to reach Malaysia. 

 This is not something new to the Cox's Bazar district in Bangladesh or Myanmar. It’s just a continuation of the stream of sad news my community has to suffer but it brought me to tears. What a terrible waste of life!

 It reminded me a journey into the unknown exactly 5 years ago, a journey that I would have never expected to happen when I was forced to get on boat.

 In that moment, my mind filled with questions.

 What if the hijacker kills me or demands a huge amount of money from me or my family?
What if the boat sinks?
What if the trafficker kill me?

 I was reminded of two people who lost their lives on the boat from September to October 2014. God bless me and others victims of this crisis. I promised that day to continue telling our struggles. I don’t care whether people ignore me or listen.

 I have spoken and written about human trafficking issues most of my time since being a victim - to myself and to others. I have written and I have shouted and I have recognized tragedy. I know  who was and still is a human trafficker. I never stopped working on it. I believe there are still good people in this world. They change the lives of refugees in many ways.

 But I am so depressed that through this work I could not do much to change this situation my people face everyday.

 My voice is for my people. They have been suffering since their childhood and are forever vulnerable, living in limbo with no rights. They are seeking something better.

 I have a word for everyone who claims to work for the Rohingya or refugees. Please solve the roots of this tragedy as soon as possible, so that such a miserable incident can never happen again. There is still hope.

 If not, It will keep happening until Rohingya rights are guaranteed in Myanmar or we lose our humanity for the benefit of the greedy! In that case, this crisis can’t be solve in our lifetime! Sorry to say! 

 Ziaur Rahman
Survivor of Genocide & Human Trafficking

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