Surviving a massacre in Myanmar

By Ahtaram Shin

The sun was setting over Tamay Chaung village in Rakhine State, Myanmar, when 10-year-old Robina Bi Bi heard the sound of explosions. Her father had gone to the paddy fields to bring the cattle home, and her mother was somewhere near the village. But that evening in October, life as she knew it was torn apart.  

‘I ran towards the fields, looking for my father,’ Robina, a member of the Rohingya minority, tells me in an interview last month, her voice trembling. ‘When I reached there, I saw his body scattered on the ground. I froze. I couldn't believe it.’

Terrified, she turned back toward the village, only to find her mother’s lifeless body on the road.

In a matter of minutes, Robina's whole world had crumbled. Her parents were gone, and her home was no longer safe. Robina claims the attackers were from the Arakan Army (AA), one of the most prominent armed opposition groups challenging military rule in Myanmar. The AA has been accused of committing abuses against the Rohingya minority, forcefully conscripting youths and setting fire to homes.

In the chaos, Robina gathered her five younger siblings. The eldest, barely 15, clutched her hand. Together, they made the heart-wrenching decision to flee the only home they had ever known.