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Myanmar ‘s president has abruptly pardoned two Reuters journalists who were jailed for their coverage of the Rohingya crisis.
Wa Lone and Kyaw Soe Oo investigated the massacre of 10 Rohingya Muslim villagers by the Myanmar army and were sentenced to seven years in prison under the Official Secrets Act, sparking international condemnation.
The prison chief of Myanmar said the pair had walked free on Tuesday morning, shortly after President Win Myint issued a blanket pardon for 6,520 prisoners.
Stephen Adler, the editor-in-chief of Reuters, said in a statement that the pair, who spent 511 days in prison, had become “symbols of the importance of press freedom around the world”.
“We are enormously pleased that Myanmar has released our courageous reporters, Wa Lone and Kyaw Soe Oo,” Adler said. “We welcome their return.”
Show all 18 1 /18Life for Rohingya women: the real and hidden crisis Life for Rohingya women: the real and hidden crisis Sultana Begum Sultana Begum*, 30, saw her husband die in front of her. She was also shot
AJ Ghani/British Red Cross
Life for Rohingya women: the real and hidden crisis Zaheda* with her daughter Arofa* It took and her family 18 days to walk from her village to the border with Myanmar. ‘We went across the mountains and it was a rough journey because I was three months pregnant. In the refugee camp when it was time for the baby to be born I went into labour. I tried to give birth in my shelter but I could not. My son died soon after he was born. The doctors said it was the stress of the journey.’ Zaheda worries about the safety of her daughters Gulsar*, 20, and Abeda*, 18, as there are reports of trafficking in the camps, so she accompanies them everywhere, even to the toilet
Abbie Trayler-Smith/Oxfam
Life for Rohingya women: the real and hidden crisis Arofa* and her best friend Rashida* Arofa*, six years old, one of Zaheda’s younger daughters, and her best friend Rashida* share a moment in the refugee camp. Arofa lives with her eight siblings, mother, father and grandmother Nur Begum, in a three-roomed shelter made of tarpaulin and bamboo
Abbie Trayler-Smith/Oxfam
Life for Rohingya women: the real and hidden crisis Ummee* is a 16-year old girl who arrived in Bangladesh with her brother, orphaned Ummee Salma*, 16: ‘Me and my older brother came here four months ago. My parents are either killed or lost. When violence broke out we were separated. I heard them screaming our names but we couldn’t find each other. That was the last time I saw them. If my parents were alive they would have come and found us in Bangladesh’
Josh Estey/Care International
Life for Rohingya women: the real and hidden crisis Almost 1 million people, mainly women and children, are now living in the sprawling refugee camps in Cox’s Bazar, making it now the largest refugee camp in the world
Abbie Trayler-Smith/Oxfam
Life for Rohingya women: the real and hidden crisis Rohana Begum ‘If the people of Save the Children hadn’t helped me when I was unconscious I would have died,’ says Rohana*. Rohana Begum* was alone in her shelter made of wood and plastic sheeting when she went into labour with Khotija*, now two and a half months. After delivering the baby on her own Rohana* began to lose a lot of blood. She lay unconscious and haemorrhaging until her mother-in law returned a few hours later. Save the Children estimates that 48,000 babies were born in the camps around Cox’s Bazar in 2018
Allison Joyce/Save the Children
Life for Rohingya women: the real and hidden crisis Women in the camps face many issues; in addition to the extreme sexual and physical violence they experienced as they fled, they are still vulnerable in the camps. Many are alone, or just with their children, and overcrowding and limited privacy means that they are at further risk of violence, sexual abuse, child abuse, human trafficking and exploitation
Saikat Mojumder /Plan International
Life for Rohingya women: the real and hidden crisis Marjina*, 25, with her 2 month old daughter Asma, in their tent in Balukhali refugee camp “I was eight months pregnant when they came. It was just before dawn and we were sleeping. We heard gunshots and looked outside to work out what was happening. When we saw the house was on fire we had to pick up the children and run. As we ran through the forest they shot at us. “Conditions in the camp are not good. I don’t have nutritious food to give the children. My son keeps crying that he is hungry and asking me for food. I feel bad because I can’t provide for them. I worry that I’m not able to care for my baby properly.”
Farzana Hossen/Surya Photos/Oxfam
Life for Rohingya women: the real and hidden crisis Sajeda Begum*, 35 (on the left), is married with five children She has become firm friends with Sobika* (right) since meeting her at the ActionAid women-friendly space where they have been encouraged to talk. “I have suffered so much torture and so many struggles over the last one year. When I sleep I can still see everything. “They gathered all the male heads of the family together and tortured them. They uncovered our bodies and ripped our scarves, which is a big violation. They tortured the women and the small children too. They even beat pregnant women. The memory is still too clear for me. Too clear. “The first time I came here and saw the other women talking I was surprised. But I was encouraged to tell my stories of where I have come from. I feel that life is more enjoyable now I am here.”
Stephanie Ross/ActionAid
Life for Rohingya women: the real and hidden crisis A girl sells vegetables in Kutupalong refugee camp. There are currently 6,000 unaccompanied children living in Cox’s Bazar, where they face crippling food shortages and are at risk of exploitation and abuse. Whilst looking for work women and girls are falling victim to exploitation and are being trafficked into the sex trade
Christian Aid
Life for Rohingya women: the real and hidden crisis Isamatara, 15 Isamatara takes part in a session run by Plan International in Balukhali camp, Cox’s Bazar, for teenage girls to talk about what it’s like to have their periods in a place like this. Girls are usually married within two to three years after they start menstruating, between the ages of 12 to 16
Plan International
Life for Rohingya women: the real and hidden crisis Rojia*, 25, with her youngest son Sultan*, 2 Rojia’s husband went missing in Myanmar. She thinks he was picked up by the military. He went out for a walk after lunch and never returned. Single mothers whose husbands are missing or dead head up 1 in 6 families in the Rohingya camps. They face particular problems, having to take on public roles that challenge cultural and religious assumptions about women’s place in society. Oxfam has collaborated with women refugees to design improved toilets and washrooms that afford more privacy, and is calling for more to be done to support these vulnerable women such as help collecting aid packages and more community dialogue about men and women’s traditional roles
Abbie-Trayler Smith/Oxfam
Life for Rohingya women: the real and hidden crisis Fatima Fatima’s* husband was killed in the attacks and shortly after their house was burnt. Since Fatima is head of the household, she has to do most of the work. From one of the nearby water pumps in the camp she usually fetches water in the evenings. Care provides her with safe drinking water and washing facilities, critical for the 22,000 people in her camp. ‘No aid in the world can give me back my husband’
Josh Estey/Care International
Life for Rohingya women: the real and hidden crisis Fatima ‘Look at my feet. I had lost my toe nails as we were climbing. It was so hard to climb over the mountains and we had to carry our old mother because she can’t walk,’ says Fatima*
Josh Estey/Care International
Life for Rohingya women: the real and hidden crisis Dr Fatema Akter Dr Fatema Akter, 42, one of ActionAid’s team in Cox’s Bazar, says that when the crisis started she saw 80 people a day. ‘At the beginning, most of the women came with reproductive problems because they had to walk a long time when they were crossing the border. Sometimes they were a few weeks pregnant, but when walking on this journey they were bleeding and it turned out they miscarried. There are also many rape cases. I try to understand my patients when I see them. A common problem is women being beaten by their husbands in the camp. And another problem is women being left by their husbands. To focus myself and try to hold back my tears, sometimes I try to remember my favourite films, or think about fun moments with my friends’ 'When they tell us what they’re going through, we try to provide them with support.'
Noor Alam/ActionAid
Life for Rohingya women: the real and hidden crisis Dildar Begum Dildar Begum, 25, lost her husband as she fled to save herself and her children’s lives. After reaching Jamtoli camp she was reunited with her husband and they started living happily together. But soon he started abusing her physically and emotionally. She then discovered he had a new wife, occasionally he returned to torture her further, but now he doesn’t come at all. She is pregnant again, a single mother of six children, and delivered her last baby all alone in the camp. ‘It’s very difficult to explain the struggle I’ve faced in Myanmar and throughout my journey towards Bangladesh. I was five months pregnant and alone with my five children.’ Dildar now attends a Women and Child Friendly Space run by Gana Unnayan Kendra, a partner organisation of Christian Aid. Here women come together, share their stories, sew clothes to sell and wear, and get psychosocial support
Faysal Ahamed/Christian Aid
Life for Rohingya women: the real and hidden crisis Rahima ‘When I lost my two children, I wanted to climb into the hole with them and lay there. Though I’m sad, it’s very important to tell our terrible story to the whole world. One of my children was killed crossing the border, she was 11. My other child was only seven. When we crossed it was very cold and raining, we didn’t have enough food so my child got sick and was taken by disease.’ Rahima lost her husband and two other children before she fled Myanmar. Despite her unimaginable loss, she remains determined to help others now she is here. Rahima is just one of thousands of people that the Red Cross has trained in hygiene promotion. 'I want to protect other people’s children so they don’t fall to disease. I have one child now and I will try my best to protect her and the community’s children.'
AJ Ghani/British Red Cross
Life for Rohingya women: the real and hidden crisis Minara, 20, with baby Shomima Shomima was seven days old when the photo was taken. ‘One day, if it’s safe, of course we want to go home. I miss my home, my family. I miss my cows and my normal life. But at least this is safer,’ she says. In October 2018, a proposed repatriation deal was made between the Bangladesh and Myanmar governments. The deal was made against the wishes of many Rohingya, some of whom spoke of being ‘terrified’ at being sent back. As a result of mounting concern amongst NGOs, human rights groups and the UNHCR, repatriation did not take place at this time. For now the Rohingya remain in limbo just across the border from Myanmar, and for women and girls in the camps of Cox’s Bazar life remains precarious (*Names have been changed throughout gallery to protect identity)
AJ Ghani/British Red Cross
The pair were arrested in December 2017 after spending months investigating the killing of 10 Rohingya Muslim men and boys by security forces and Buddhist civilians in Inn Din, a village in western Myanmar’s Rakhine state. They were accused of illegally possessing official documents, though Reuters and the journalists themselves insisted they had done nothing wrong.
The report they authored on the massacre, based on interviews with witnesses, families of victims and perpetrators, saw them awarded the Pulitzer Prize for International Reporting last month while in prison.
Swamped by supporters as they walked out through the gates of Insein Prison, outside Yangon , Wa Lone gave a thumbs up and said he was grateful for the international efforts to secure their freedom.
“I’m really happy and excited to see my family and my colleagues. I can’t wait to go to my newsroom,” he said.
According to Reuters, a British surgeon and civilian advisor to the Myanmar government was instrumental to securing the journalists’ release.
The pair were released on Tuesday into the care of Lord Ara Darzi, a member of the advisory commission that was formed under the guidance of former UN chief Kofi Anan to try and solve the long-running Rohingya crisis.
While Wa Lone and Kyaw Soe Oo were released as part of mass pardons that traditionally take place around 17 April new year festivities in Myanmar, Lord Darzi said discussions about their pardon had involved the Myanmar government, Reuters, the UN and representatives of other governments, without providing more detail.
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