Welcome | Rohingya Cultural Memory Centre

Welcome

The Rohingya Cultural Memory Centre (RCMC), a vital part of the International Organization for Migration’s (IOM) Mental Health and Psychosocial Support (MHPSS) initiative, is dedicated to preserving and celebrating the rich cultural heritage of the Rohingya community. Since its inception in 2019, RCMC has been a beacon of hope and healing, engaging Rohingya artisans in creating artifacts and activities that proudly represent their identity.

Opening its doors in March 2022, RCMC is a collaborative effort, designed with traditional Rohingya architectural techniques. RCMC stands as a vibrant hub for cultural preservation and education, hosting a vast collection of over 1,000 artworks and artifacts. More than just a museum, RCMC is a safe space where the Rohingya community can reconnect with their cultural roots, fostering a sense of pride and promoting psychosocial well-being.

The center is a dynamic venue, offering exhibitions and a range of cultural and educational programs. It operates both physically and digitally, with an active presence on its website, Instagram, and YouTube channel. Open six days a week, RCMC dedicates Wednesdays exclusively to women and girls, ensuring a welcoming, inclusive and healthy environment for all.

As part of our expansion plan, to promote Rohingya culture through reaching out to a large audience, we have established a ‘Mini RCMC’ at the MHPSS Centre in Camp 20 Extension. Similar activities, including guided tours, masterclasses, cultural events, cultural education workshops, and other community-based creative activities, are regularly held there.

Community volunteers conduct outreach activities in the camps in partnership with other sectors, especially with the ‘Rohingya Rosom'or Sónduk’ (Rohingya Cultural Box). The portable cultural box is an innovation of the RCMC, containing miniature replicas of key Rohingya cultural artifacts displayed at the centre. The initiative helps to carry Rohingya cultural stories to different places, learning centres, safe spaces, and other facilities in the camps. It is designed to reach community members across different camps, especially children and other groups, through storytelling, interactive, and educational activities.

Additionally, ‘Mobile RCMC’ is a mobile cultural centre, initiated to enhance awareness and broaden the impact of the RCMC. The mobile cultural centre circulates within the camps, addressing the movement restrictions faced by the Rohingya community, particularly those who cannot visit the RCMC.

Besides, the ‘World Tour’ of the Rohingya Cultural Memory Centre showcases the rich cultural heritage of the Rohingya people with a view to raising awareness about their plight all around the world as well as disseminating the Rohingya narrative of resilience.

Join us at RCMC to explore, share, and preserve the cultural heritage of the Rohingya people, and to support the positive identity and well-being of this resilient community.

ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS

THE ROHINGYA CULTURAL MEMORY CENTRE is a multidisciplinary project following a research-to-production methodology. Our approach combines extensive field research conducted by a team of camp-based Rohingya cultural agents working with IOM staff, with arts and crafts production, oral history, archival documentation, and audiovisual storytelling. Our research methods include exploratory excursions, focus group discussions, community workshops, and interviews with key informants. These efforts have resulted in an exhaustive cultural heritage map, driving the production of an exhaustive, ever-expanding collection of items. For our production stream, the RCMC identifies skilled Rohingya artisans and cultural practitioners - from engineers to embroidery artists to poets to potters and more - and equips them with tools and resources to produce objects of Rohingya heritage, identity, memory, and imagination, which comprise the RCMC collection.

Research efforts have centered on identifying a lexicon of traditional culture which defines the Rohingya past. However, cultures do not stand still for their portraits: Rohingya people in displacement are continually adapting their practices to their current living situation. Thus, RCMC artists-in-residence have sought to capture the spirit of a culture in flux by making available new technical skills and materials, and exposing Rohingya artisans and artists to global ideas. The resulting collection ranges from the songs of ancient Rohingya troubadours to contemporary poetry written by Rohingya youth; simple farming and fishing tools to a fantastical menagerie of toy animals woven from cane and bamboo; needlework tapestries juxtaposing scenes from contemporary camp life with memories from life in Myanmar to models of traditional Rohingya houses, and much much more...

This approach both conserves tradition and opens new outlets for imaginative expression by the creative and curious Rohingya men, women and children engaged by the RCMC.

Rohingya Cultural Agents

Enayet Khan
Kurshida
Sahat Zia Hero
Md. Shibbili
Md. Yakub
Md. Yousuf
Nurul Amin
Iman Salam
Ahtaram Shin
Sabekun Nahar
Noor Kayes
Noor Begum
Shahida Win
Shofiqul Islam

Rohingya Musicians

Ahmod Hossain
Shobir Rahman
Mostafa Khatun
Mahmuda Khatun
Rohimullah
Md. Yusuf
Imam Hossain
Roshid Ahmod

Rohingya Artisans

Embroidery Artists
Azida Begum
Dildar Begum
Fareka
Fatema Khatun
Juhara
Hosne Ara
Jaheda Begum
Jannat Ara
Minera Begum
Morijan
Mubareka
Noor Nahar Begum
Rashida Begum
Rokeya Begum
Samsun Nahar
Sanjida Begum
Setara
Shamima Begum
Shamjida Begum
Yasmida Akhter

Carpenters
Md. Jaber
Md. Hossain
Md. Faruque
Faisal Amin
Nur Ali
Khairul Amin
Noorjahan
Aminullah

Basketmakers
Norul Islam
Iman Hossain
Sahab Uddin
Ali Juher
Nurusafa

Potters
Maloti Rudro
Niranjan Rudra
Zawkir Ahmed

Gardener
Shamsunnahar

Artists & Painters
Asun
Enayet Khan
Mayyu Khan

Macrame Artist
Ali Zohar

Weaver
Nurusaba

Calligraphers
Soidul Islam

Musical Instrument Craftsmen
Hamid Ullah

DISCLAIMER

This database is a work-in-progress. We welcome outside contributions and input, including corrections to historical, ethnographic and linguistic data.

Documenting an oral culture in a state of displacement poses a unique set of challenges, including: lack of a standard Rohingya orthography; lack of written Rohingya histories, ethnographies and literatures; difficulties of connecting with Rohingya scholars; differences in opinion of different segments of the community, and the logistical limitations of working out of a temporary refugee camp; the Covid-19 pandemic, internet shutdowns, etc.  We should also note that, as among any people, Rohingya terminology, food, beliefs, traditions, material culture, etc. may vary according to location, education, socioeconomics, and other factors. Thus two Rohingya people may have different words for the same object, and both words may be correct. Where this has occurred, we have tried to choose the most commonly used word. All RCMC data is verified through workshops and consultations at the field level.

Please write to us if you have comments, concerns, or additional data. We consider this site to be a starting point, not a final compendium, and hope it will be used as a platform upon which future scholars and practitioners of Rohingya culture, history and art will continue to build.

IDENTITY

 The Rohingya Cultural Memory Centre creates a space for the Rohingya people to self-define their identity by bringing together Rohingya knowledge, resources (including oral traditions, collective and individual memories, indigenous practices, etc.), and people (including knowledge practitioners and artists) into one collaborative space. The Rohingya "walk-through" experience, an interactive exhibit spanning different areas of Rohingya life, is a key outcome of the project.

HERITAGE

 The RCMC ensures the continuity of Rohingya heritage for future generations by collecting, documenting and (re)producing Rohingya cultural practices and artefacts. Collection items serve as prototypes for the production of a wide range of items that might otherwise be lost. RCMC productions such as the Visual Dictionary of Rohingya Culture, the animation series Our Rohingya Adventures, recordings of Rohingya music, posters, books, etc., also serve as learning tools and discussion prompts. Moreover, by establishing a Rohingya cultural archive, the RCMC fosters pride in the Rohingya past.

LIVELIHOOD

All artisans and researchers involved in RCMC activities receive proper remuneration and acknowledgment for their work. Additionally, the RCMC's conservation-to-innovation production pathway allows them to explore new processes and materials, innovating their crafts and creating future livelihood possibilities. For our work in camp, the RCMC identifies key individuals to lead arts and crafts workshops and participate in knowledge-sharing activities. A dedicated Rohingya team is being trained to operate and manage the RCMC and its educational programs. In addition, an artist-in-residence program has been established to provide Rohingya artists and artisans with access to short-term specific skill workshops led by key local, national and international artists.  

SELF-ADVOCACY

The RCMC website, digital archive, publications and exhibitions offer a platform for the Rohingya people to tell their stories in their own voices and share them with global audiences. By expressing the beauty and complexity of the Rohingya heritage and spotlighting Rohingya artists, the RCMC challenges existing perceptions of the Rohingya and asks the world to consider the Rohingya people in the fullness of their being.