Rohingya

Rohingya

Savannah

My piece of art was painted with acrylic paint on a 20x24 black canvas. The painting is of two flags cut in half and put together in the middle. The flag on the left is the Myanmar flag and the flag on the right is the Rohingya people’s new flag.

I chose freedom of thought as the human right that I most wanted to research because I feel that if people believe in something they should be allowed to believe in it. No one should be killed for thinking or believing in something. Men, women, and children are drowning in the Naf River trying to cross it to get to Bangladesh so they can get away from Myanmar. Bangladesh is having a hard time accepting all these refugees as well. If they cross the border by land, then they have to watch out for the bombs hidden in the ground. Many of the Rohingyas have had to leave their homes to live in refugee camps or even on the side of the road. The Declaration of Human Rights says, “This right includes freedom to change his religion or belief, and freedom, either alone or in community.” I think this means that they have the right to change their religion depending on what they think, not what their country or government wants them to think.

With my painting, I am trying to say that most people don’t have to make a new flag so they shouldn’t have to either. I was inspired to paint this piece because the Rohingya people had to make their own flag because they are scared to live in Myanmar and are not allowed to live in Bangladesh. About 500,000 people have died in Myanmar and many more have fled. I hope my art piece can bring some attention to this current issue of human rights injustices.