In 2015, the situation for the Rohingya population in Rakhine, Myanmar, was dire. Since 2012, they had been forcibly confined to Internally Displaced Persons (IDP) camps near Sittwe, which resembled open-air prisons. These camps were overcrowded, lacked basic services, and were heavily policed, leaving residents in a constant state of insecurity. The Rohingya were deprived of freedom of movement, unable to leave the camps for work, healthcare, or education without permission. Aung Mingalar, a predominantly Rohingya neighborhood in Sittwe, had also been completely sealed off, transforming into a ghetto. Residents faced severe restrictions, with access to essential services like hospitals controlled by police. Any attempt to leave required bribes that many could not afford or was met with heavy police escorts. The international community condemned these conditions as human rights violations, but little was done to improve the situation, leaving the Rohingya in a state of severe isolation and deprivation.
Aung Mingalar, transformed into a ghetto for the 4000 remaining Rohingya in Sittwe. Rakhine, Myanmar, June 2016
Main alley in Dar Paing IDP camp in Sittwe, Myanmar, September 2015
Rohingya girl at the hairdresser in Dar Paing camp for internal displaced persons, Sittwe township, Myanmar, September 2015
Road leading to Rashimi, an enclaved Rohingya village in northern Sittwe township, Rakhine, Myanmar, June 2016
Fenced-off neighbourhood of Aung Mingalar in Sittwe with the last 4,000 Rohingya left in the city, Arakan, Myanmar, September 2015
Desperate father having no news of his missing son. Photo received from the smuggler camps in Thailand after requesting ransom, Sittwe camp for Rohingya, Myanmar, September 2015
Armed police ready to board the train that will pass through the Rohingya IDP camps on its way to Sittwe. Rakhine, Myanmar, June 2016
Family in Aung Mingalar, the last remaining Rohingya neighbourhood in Sittwe following the inter ethnic violance in 2012, Myanmar, September 2015
The edge of the camp settlement near the flooded areas. Baw Du Pha IDP camp for the forcibly displaced Rohingya community of Sittwe township, Myanmar, October 2016
Rohingya child paralysed since birth, with no access to proper basic health care for the Rohingya population, there is no hope and possibility to get any specialist health support. Dar Paing internment camp for Rohingya near Sittwe, Myanmar, May 2016
Rohingya children, Kyin Ni Pyin near Paktauw in Rakhine State, Myanmar, May 2017
School for Rohingya children supported by international organisations, Thau Chuang camp, Sittwe, Myanmar, September 2015
Stateless Rohingya in their own country. Thet Key Pyin closed IDP camp, Sittwe township, Rakhine, Myanmar, May 2016
Interior of a shelter shared by several families, Dar Paing camp for stateless Rohingya, Rakhine, Myanmar, May 2016
Rohingya boy stuck since young age in the infamous internment camps near Sittwe, Thet Key Pyin camp, Myanmar, October 2016
Stateless Rohingya repairing their shelter after cyclone Roanu. Thet Key Pyin closed IDP camp, Sittwe township, Rakhine, Myanmar, May 2016
Motin Nya camp for displaced Rohingya following the ethnic violance of June 2012. Sittwe, Rakhine, Myanmar, May 2016
Trying to feed his family by fishing in the surrounding creeks during the rainy season. Motin Nya camp for displaced Rohingya, Sittwe township, Rakhine, Myanmar, May 2016
Over crowded Rohingya camps. An estimated 140,000 Rohingya live in the camps for IDP near Sittwe. They have no possibility to exit the camp area. Motin Nya IDP camp, Sittwe township, Rakhine, Myanmar, May 2016
Abandonned barracks in Kyin Ni Pyin, a place similar to a concentration camp for forcibly displaced Rohingya population who is not allowed to leave the camp area. Nearly 8,000 people have been living in dire conditions in this camp since 2012. Kyin Ni Pyin camp in Rakhine, Myanmar, May 2017
Dar Paing camp for stateless Rohingya, Sittwe, Myanmar, May 2016
TB patient with very limited access to medicine due to costs and availability. Dar Paing IDP camp for Rohingya. Sittwe, Rakhine, Burma, May 2016
Baw Du Pha internment camp for forcibly displaced Rohingya. Sittwe township in Rakhine, Myanmar, October 2016
The Rohingya population is restricted to the village and do not have access to labour, shops, education and health services in the nearby city of Sittwe. Rashimi village in Rakhine, Sittwe township, Myanmar, June 2016
Commodity shop in Dar Paing camp for internal displaced Rohingya, Sittwe township, Myanmar, September 2015
Rohingya children getting fire wood for cooking. Baw Du Pha internment camp, Sittwe township, Myanmar, October 2016
Waiting for the rain to pass, Baw Du Pha IDP camp for foribly displaced Rohingya, Sittwe township, Myanmar, October 2016
The edge of the camp settlement near the flooded areas. Baw Du Pha IDP camp for the forcibly displaced Rohingya community of Sittwe township, Myanmar, October 2016
Rohingya displaced person entrapped in a concentration like camp where the population is not allowed to leave the camp. Dar Paing IDP camp, Sittwe, Myanmar, October 2016
Motin Nya internment camp for forcibly displaced Rohingya. Sittwe township in Rakhine, Myanmar, October 2016
