100 faces of Rohingya refugees

Portraits of the world's most persecuted minority.

In mid-2017, the government of Myanmar launched a brutal crackdown on the Rohingya minority in Rakhine State and some one million of them had to flee to Bangladesh to escape what the UN said was a “textbook example of ethnic cleansing”.

Leaving was wrenching.

Every Rohingya refugee has a story of pain, loss and longing for home. Most of them now live in overcrowded, squalid refugee camps on the border between Myanmar and Bangladesh.

Nearly every Rohingya refugee has a story that is nothing less than a nightmare.

The violence is described as a “textbook example of ethnic cleansing” by the UN, which has documented allegations of widespread killings, sexual violence and other abuse.

Al Jazeera photojournalist Showkat Shafi travelled to Bangladesh and met the Rohingya living in refugee camps in Cox’s Bazar.

He came back with 100 stunning portraits.Their faces are marked by what they went through, yet their resilience and strength show as they tell Shafi their stories.

Roosmine

Age: 3

Mohammad Kaisar

Age: 3

Abdul Rehman

Age: 4

Who are the Rohingya?

They are an ethnic group, the majority of whom are Muslim, who have lived for centuries in the majority Buddhist Myanmar.

Currently, there are about 1.1 million Rohingya in the Southeast Asian country.

Noor Sadia

Age: 5

Haarisa Begum

Age: 5

Noor Kolima

Age: 5

Jasim

Age: 5

Mohammad Reyaz

Age: 5

Shahid-ul-Islam

Age: 5

Where are the Rohingya from?

Muslims have lived in the area now known as Myanmar since as early as the 12th century, according to many historians and Rohingya groups.

Abdul Aziz

Age: 6

Mustakeema

Age: 6

Musavira

Age: 6

Mohammad Riyaz

Age: 7

Kousara

Age: 7

Abdul Rehman

Age: 7

Mohammad Yasir

Age: 8

Mohammad Shahid

Age: 9

Mohammad Rizwan

Age: 9

Sajida Begum

Age: 9

How are they persecuted?

The Rohingya have been described as the "world's most persecuted minority".

They have faced persecution at the hands of Myanmar's military since the country's independence in the late 1940s.

Habeebul Rehman

Age: 10

Mohammad Ayaz

Age: 10

Mohammad Haris

Age: 10

Mohammad Younis

Age: 11

Tahira Begum

Age: 11

Zakir Hussain

Age: 12

Mohammad Ayub

Age: 13

Mohammad Ayaz

Age: 14

Mohammad Younis

Age: 15

Ayesha Begum

Age: 15

Alkama Begum

Age: 16

Asmira

Age: 17

Haleema Khatoon

Age: 17

Mohammad Toha

Age: 18

Kashmira

Age: 18

Roqma Khatoon

Age: 18

Tahira Begum

Age: 18

Syed Aalam

Age: 18

Mohammad Zubair

Age: 18

How many have fled?

Since the late 1970s, nearly one million Rohingya have fled Myanmar due to widespread persecution.

Ayesha Begum

Age: 20

Rukaya Begum

Age: 20

Rehana Akhtar

Age: 20

Amina Khatoon

Age: 20

Nooru Jahan

Age: 20

Dilkayas

Age: 20

Jameela

Age: 20

What does Myanmar say?

Myanmar's de facto leader, Aung San Suu Kyi has refused to really discuss the plight of the Rohingya.

Her government does not recognise the Rohingya as an ethnic group and have blamed violence in Rakhine on those they call "terrorists".

Noor Aalam

Age: 20

Meena Aara

Age: 20

Sanjida

Age: 20

Arifa Begum

Age: 21

Rehana Akhtar

Age: 21

Mohammad Salim

Age: 21

Mohammad Abdul Qasim

Age: 21

Sumaira

Age: 22

Huzaifa Khatoon

Age: 23

Mohammad Idries

Age: 24

Rehana Begum

Age: 25

Tasleema

Age: 25

Rohima Khatoon

Age: 25

Rohima Khatoon

Age: 26

Noor Kaida

Age: 27

Sadiqa

Age: 27

Mohammad Hashim

Age: 27

Kifayatullah

Age: 28

Abdul Shakoor

Age: 28

Sara Begum

Age: 28

What does Bangladesh say?

There are more than half a million Rohingya refugees living in mostly makeshift camps in Bangladesh.

In September 2017, Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina said that Bangladesh would offer the refugees temporary shelter and aid, but that Myanmar should soon "take their nationals back".

Ansara Begum

Age: 30

Mohammad Ayub

Age: 30

Syed Aalam

Age: 30

Khursheeda Begum

Age: 30

Muneera Begum

Age: 33

Sulaima Khatoon

Age: 35

Mehmooda Khatoon

Age: 37

Mohammad Hamza

Age: 38

Zahid Hussain

Age: 40

Mayona Khatoon

Age: 40

Majida Khatoon

Age: 40

Anwara Begum

Age: 40

Hameeda Khatoon

Age: 42

Sara Khatoon

Age: 45

Fatima Begum

Age: 45

What does the international community say?

The UN has said that it is "very likely" that the military committed grave human rights abuses in Rakhine that may amount to war crimes, allegations the government denies.

Noor Islam

Age: 50

Sirajul Haq

Age: 50

Noorul Aalam

Age: 50

Arifa Begum

Age: 50

Fatima Khatoon

Age: 50

Sultan Ahmad

Age: 50

Mohammad Javid

Age: 53

Mustafa Khatoon

Age: 55

Zohra Khatoon

Age: 60

Mohammad Yaqoob

Age: 60

Sakeena Khatoon

Age: 60

Mohammad Hussain

Age: 60

Noor Mohammad

Age: 60

Noor-un-Nehar

Age: 60

Ali Ahmad

Age: 65

Feroza Khatoon

Age: 73

Hussain Sharief

Age: 75

Mohammad Jamal

Age: 85

Yousuf Ali

Age: 90

Abdul Hussain

Age: 95

What happened in Myanmar spared none of the Rohingya; the elderly, women, and children have all been affected.

They had to leave their homes and the lives they knew; many left behind loved ones who went missing or were killed in the violence.

Living as refugees, the questions remain: How will the Rohingya rebuild their lives? What can future generations look forward to?

Difficult questions to answer as the world watches this catastrophe.