Unseen Wounds: Photographs of the Continuing Mental Toll of Genocide
On November 7, 2024, The Fort launched 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.”
The photo exhibition “Unseen Wounds: Photographs of the Continuing Mental Toll of Genocide” featured photographs by Saiful Omi Huq and portrayed the mental harm inflicted by the Myanmar military on the Rohingya genocide survivors. Produced through participatory approaches, the exhibition underscored 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.
Speakers:
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
