Event in Winnipeg on the ongoing crises facing the Rohingya people and Canada’s response

The panel included Dr Kawser Ahmed of the Conflict and Resilience Research Institute, Canada and the University of Winnipeg, Michael Lawson from MSF, Senator Marilou McPhedran, and Bailey Pelletier, a graduating uOttawa Common Law student who delivered opening remarks on behalf of HRREC Director and uOttawa Professor John Packer (who was unfortunately unable to attend in-person).  Dr Shayna Plaut, Director of Research for the Canadian Museum for Human Rights, moderated the discussion.

One of the films highlighted the current situation of the Rohingya near the city of Cox’s Bazar, Bangladesh—hosting, since the 2017 genocide, the world’s largest refugee camp with over one million Rohingya refugees. The population in the camp has been growing as has violence and incidents of disease, meanwhile aid is on the decline. The panel focused on the need to bring the Rohingya crisis back into mainstream discourse to revive aid channels that are desperately needed.

The films are available to watch on the MSF Asia and MSF-USA YouTube channels:

• Out of Fear: Rohingya Youth Trapped in Violence and Despair - YouTube
• Lost at Sea: The Story of a Rohingya Man in Search of Safety – YouTube