Unseen Wounds:
Photographs of the Continuing Mental Toll of Genocide.
WHEN:
Exhibition:
November 7-10, 2024, 10 a.m. – 5 p.m., Bangkok Time
WHERE:
The Fort, Bangkok and Live on The Fort’s Facebook Page
How does the infliction of mental harm constitute an act of genocide? How do you photograph the mental toll of the Rohingya genocide? How can participatory photography and research drive change?
On November 7, 2024, The Fort will launch the photo exhibition “Unseen Wounds: Photographs of the Continuing Mental Toll of Genocide” with a panel discussion entitled “The Infliction of Mental Harm as an Act of Genocide Against Rohingya.” Panelists will include award-winning Bangladeshi photographer Saiful Omi Huq, Deputy Minister of Human Rights with the National Unity Government of Myanmar Aung Kyaw Moe, Fortify Rights Director John Quinley, and Rohingya genocide survivor and activist Lucky Karim.
The photo exhibition “Unseen Wounds: Photographs of the Continuing Mental Toll of Genocide” will take place from November 7 to 10, 2024 at The Fort. This exhibition features photographs by Saiful Omi Huq and portrays the mental harm inflicted by the Myanmar military on the Rohingya genocide survivors. Produced through participatory approaches, the exhibition underscores how the mental harm inflicted by the Myanmar military constitutes an often overlooked and poorly understood act of genocide. Explaining his role as the photographer, Omi says that he became "just a tool... to photograph their imagined selves." The result is a collection of evocative, artful images that highlight the agency, dignity, and resilience of Rohingya refugees.
The photos of the exhibition complement comprehensive participatory research conducted by a Rohingya-led research team and Fortify Rights on the lasting toll of mental harm on genocide survivors. This research formed the basis for two reports published by Fortify Rights: Torture in My Mind, an analysis published in 2021 of the Rohingya-led research findings, and My Tears Could Make a Sea, a joint study published by Fortify Rights and Yale Law School earlier this year providing a legal analysis of mental harm as an act of genocide.
The panel discussion and exhibition are free and open to the public. The panel will be in English and live-streamed on The Fort’s Facebook Page.
Speakers at the event will include:
Saiful Omi Huq, an award-winning Bangladeshi photographer and founder of Counter Foto
Lucky Karim, founder and director, Refugee Women for Peace and Justice
Aung Kyaw Moe, Deputy Minister for the Ministry of Human Rights, The National Unity Government
John Quinley, Director, Fortify Rights
Moderator:
Sippachai Kunnuwong, Communications Specialist, Fortify Rights
About Fortify Rights:
Fortify Rights is an award-winning team of human rights defenders working to ensure human rights for all. We investigate violations, engage people with power on solutions, and strengthen human rights defenders. We believe in the influence of evidence-based research, the power of strategic truth-telling, and the importance of working in close collaboration with individuals, communities, and movements pushing for change. Fortify Rights is an independent nonprofit organization registered in the United States and Switzerland.
For more information:
On media requests or the event:
John Quinley III, Director, Fortify Rights (English)
Email: John.Quinley@FortifyRights.org
Tel: +66 62 814 1130
On The Fort:
Kanlayawee Waewklayhong, The Fort Associate, The Fort (English, Thai)
Email: thefort@thefort.space
Tel: +66 82 258 2584
