"First They Targeted Our Culture and Language"
The Event
On November 16, The Fort hosted an online report launch and panel discussion organized by the Rohingya Language Preservation Project—a Rohingya-led and directed initiative—for the publication of its first report,“First They Targeted Our Culture and Language”: Threats to Rohingya Language, Culture, and Identity in Myanmar and Bangladesh. The 54-page report is based on participatory action research conducted between July and December 2021. The report provides new and important findings about how the Rohingya language plays a critical and central role in Rohingya cultural identity and cultural perseveration in Bangladesh and worldwide. A news release about the report is available in English, Myanmar, and Rohingya languages
The report launched at an online press conference and panel discussion hosted by The Fort.
Speakers at the event included:
Mayyu Ali, coordinator, Rohingya Language Preservation Project and lead author of the report
Dr. Sasa, Minister of International Cooperation, National Unity Government of Myanmar
Andrea Gittleman, Program Manager, Center for the Prevention of Genocide, US Holocaust Memorial Museum
Adriana Hernández, Emerging Strategies Coordinator, Cultural Survival
Matthew Smith, co-founder and CEO, Fortify Rights
Yasmin Ullah, moderator, Rohingya social justice activist
