December 11, 2016
The testimony of refugee woman to a British newspaper does not speak of an isolated act of barbarity. Rather it is but a grim reminder that much of the everyday horrors taking place in Maungdaw North are going unreported. Noor Ayesha, currently based in Bangladesh have told British newspaper The Guardian that seven of her children and her husband have been killed by the Tatmadaw in Kya Ri Prang, Maungdaw North.
The incident took place when the village tract was raided and burned down by the Tatmadaw in mid October. It was hitherto unreported in the press, including Rohingya media houses which have been overwhelmed with reports of death, torture and rape since October 9.
“A group of about 20 of them appeared in front of my house,” said Noor Ayesha, speaking to The Guardian. “They ordered all of us to come out in the courtyard. They separated five of our children and forced them into one of our rooms and put on the latch from outside. Then they fired a ‘gun-bomb’ on that room and set it on fire,” she said.
“Five of my children were burnt to death by the soldiers. They killed my two daughters after raping them. They also killed my husband and raped me.”
Accounts from survivors of Kya Ri Prang has painted a picture that is worse than anything reported in the media. Our correspondent from the area says amid the death and confusion, it becomes extremely difficult for them to document everything, as many of them are also escaping with their families. Similarly, victims and their friends don’t always have access to the channels that provide information to Rohingya media outlets. Everyone is naturally concerned primarily with the welfare of themselves and their families. In this situation, only some of the accounts gets reported. One account that we managed to uncover in Kya Ri Prang was the death of six members of a same family, all of them women and children, being bayonetted to death by the Tatmadaw. The youngest victim was a new born child who was born only two hours before. The incident was also independently reported by other Rohingya media outlets.
Meanwhile our correspondents from the area of Sa Li Frang, Ra Bai La, Sor Gazi Bil and Bor Gazi Bil are saying some of the worst acts of violence in their area are yet unreported. Many of the victims are hiding out throughout the Maungdaw North region, waiting to escape to Bangladesh at the first opportunity. Only when they escape, the true scenario will gradually emerge, if the international and local Bangladeshi media is still interested that is. However, if the attention fades away, which is very likely, the much more sophisticated media machine of Myanmar, and unfortunately some sections of the Bangladesh media will utilise the opportunity to whitewash the horrors. Already even amid the carnage, even some established media outlets in neighbouring countries are trying to establish the ongoing ethnic cleasning is “not as bad as it seems”. 
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