By Ingrid Lustig | Policy Advisor
Since the recent escalation in violence against Muslims in Myanmar, Asian University for Women has ramped up its enrollment of the Rohingya Muslim minority. To date, approximately 85 Rohingya women have found refuge in education in AUW's Pathways for Promise program, which was originally created to provide garments workers access to the University's academic programs. Formin is one of those women.
FORMIN | PATHWAYS SCHOLAR | 2018
In the remote village of Maungdaw district in Rakhine state, getting to school every morning safely was a formidable task for Formin. Facing a four-kilometer journey each way on a deserted gravel road, she made the choice to stay with a host family closer to her local school. She had big dreams for herself, but knew that she was lucky to have access to an education at all. Her strength came from her father, who worked hard to provide his five daughters with the best education their family could afford. They could have never predicted the events of 2017 that would alter their lives forever.
Facing violence and ethnic persecution at the hands of the Myanmar government, hundreds of thousands of Rohingya civilians began fleeing over the boarder to neighboring Bangladesh, in what has now become a historic migration crisis. Formin, her family and the rest of her village prepared for a long and uncertain journey in the hopes of finding safety from the terror enclosing around them. It would be a journey of pain and loss, of struggle and survival.
They fled their homes, travelling through dense jungles over unforgiving terrain, walking for days and nights without food or rest. Forced to bare witness to incredible violence, she watched entire villages burn to the ground without survivors, and gunfire take down crowds.
It was four days and four nights of travelling without stop before they reached the Naf River, where they boarded a small boat headed for the refugee camps in Cox’s Bazaar. In Bangladesh, she and her family found safety, and a place to start their lives over.
During her time in the refugee camp, education remained a central part of her life, opening up new opportunities to help those around her. She worked as a teacher for Brac’s Child Friendly Space and as an interpreter for Food for the Hungry (FH). Before joining AUW, she was working on a project run by Médecins Sans Frontières (MSF) International to help victims of rape and sexual violence.
18- year-old Formin joined Pathways for Promise in the fall of 2018. She believes the opportunity to study at AUW is a gift, which she can use to achieve her biggest dreams. “I feel like I am riding my way to success. There will be no looking back from now on.”
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By Lejla Huskic | Program Associate
By Sarena Chan | Senior Program Officer
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