A Scottish photographer has joined forces with SCIAF and the Justice and Peace Commission to create a stunning display
The traumatic stories of the Rohingya have been brought to Scotland.
Renowned Scottish photographer Simon Murphy has joined forces with SCIAF and Justice and Peace Scotland to share the heartbreaking images and stories of refugees in Bangladesh.
Nearly 700,000 Rohingya refugees fled to Bangladesh last year, having experienced unimaginable horrors at the hands of the Myanmar military. They are now living in poverty in a giant refugee camp.
Murphy travelled to the Kutupalong refugee camp in December to see SCIAF's work with Caritas Bangladesh to help some of the most vulnerable refugees.
The free exhibition opened in St Andrew's Cathedral at 11am on Wednesday (20 June) to mark World Refugee Day and will remain there until 17 July. It will then go on tour around all eight Catholic diocese in Scotland.
Murray hopes his striking images of the plight of the Rohingya people will inspire those who see them to do what they can to help.
He said: “The more attention that the plight of the Rohingya people receive can only be good as hopefully it might move all who see it to do what they can to help.
“Whenever I travel to places such as the Rohingya camp in Bangladesh I am filled with conflicting emotions. I feel deep sadness and helplessness for the people and the conditions that they have to live under.
“I feel guilt that I can return to the comfort of my home and family in Scotland but at the same time feel so grateful that my own children don't have to suffer like the hundreds of thousands of vulnerable young ones at the camp.”
SCIAF director Alistair Dutton said the exhibition is a great opportunity for Scots to share the journey with the Rohingya refugees and encouraged everyone to come along.
He said: “Simon has an incredible ability to capture people with all their energy, emotion, hope and pain and these pictures powerfully reflect the men, women and children who saw unimaginable horrors as they fled their homes to escape the brutality of the army in the Myanmar’s Rakhine state – along with more than 688,000 other Rohingya refugees.
More details on dates and locations for the exhibition are available on the Justice and Peace website.
