Photo exhibition in Venice to display works by 20 Rohingya refugees

A photo exhibition by Rohingya refugees entitled “Hostile Environment: the lives of Rohingya,” is set to be held between October 18 and 31 at the prestigious Ca’ Foscari University of Venice.

Featuring photos by 20 Rohingya refugees from Bangladesh and India, the exhibition will be inaugurated on Monday, said a press release. 

Speakers at the inauguration will include Caterina Carpinato, vice rector of the Third Mission, Susanna Regazzoni, coordinator of the Migrant Female Writers' Archive, Professor Mara Matta of the La Sapienza University of Rome, and Professor Miriam De Rosa and Professor Francesco Della Puppa of Ca' Foscari University of Venice.

The exhibition is curated by journalist and documentary maker Shafiur Rahman. 

Salim Ullah Armany 

He said: “A refugee camp is not necessarily a place of refuge. There is no guarantee of safety or of rights. A refugee may have escaped violence, persecution, and injustice, but there is no certainty that he or she will be free of these in a camp. Or that they will be at peace.”

“Worst of all, their stay may not be temporary. Twenty Rohingya refugee photographers share these impressions with us,” he added.

The exhibition has been organized by the Department of Philosophy and Cultural Heritage, the Department of Linguistic and Comparative Cultural Studies, the Center for Studies on Human Rights (CESTUDIR), the Migrant Female Writers’ Archive, and CFZ exhibitions.

The Rohingya photographers are participants of the Rohingya Photography Competition. 

They are: Anonymous (Bhasan Char), Yassin Abdumonab, Zahangir Alam, Haider Ali, Salim Ullah Armany, Laila Begum, Sahat Zia Hero, Mohammed Hossain, Nur Hossain, Zonun Hubait, Mainul Islam, Abul Kalam, Mohamed Kasim, Mohammed Salim Khan, Ro Mehrooz, Abdul Monaf, Minara, Peter Saiful, Mohammmed Zobair, Mohammed Zonaid.