Recording Rohingyas' raw emotion
In 1982 the Rohingya people became stateless on the land they had lived on for thousands of years when the government of Myanmar unlisted them as one of the country's 135 national races. This allowed the government to pronounce them illegal immigrants. Once over a million Rohingya lived in Myanmar, but after the genocide of 2017, 740,000 fled to Bangladesh.
In Kutupalong – the largest refugee camp in the world with a population of around one million – the Rohingya eke out an existence on around 9 U.S. cents a day. It is here that Ian Brennan took his recording equipment. Brennan has made it his mission to document the lives of people around the world through music and stories. He describes himself as a narrator, responsible for telling the stories of the people he records. This is not as easy as it sounds. When it comes to music, there is always the temptation to make it sound "better".
Field recordings, by their nature, are ideal for this kind of work. The inherent limitations when recording in less than ideal conditions are a bonus. Instead of looking for perfect sound, the aim of the recording is to capture a specific moment in time, complete with all the imperfections that make it real.
While ethnomusicologists have used field recordings since the days of wax cylinders to make records of so-called vanishing cultures or "rare" and "exotic" races, these days producers like Brennan have a more urgent task. They give voice to those who have been denied speech, making something vast and impersonal intimate in the process.
"Their pain was not mine to claim"
Though we may read about the mass exodus of a people in the newspapers and be overwhelmed by the sheer enormity of the events, hearing the voice of one person – even if we can't understand the language they're speaking – recounting their sorrows, can bring a situation home with poignant, human immediacy.
The beauty of this style of recording is that it ensures the technology and the process remain secondary, keeping the focus directly where it belongs – on the subject. In his notes on making the recording, Brennan also recalls how he couldn't allow himself to be swept up in the obvious emotional toll these recordings were taking on the people whose stories he was hearing: "I was overcome, but refrained, turning away. Their pain was not my mine to claim".
While it might not be anyone's to claim, the toll this enforced exodus has taken upon the Rohingya people is something we all need to understand – both in the context of their specific circumstances and to better understand the plight of refugees the world over. These days, displaced people are common currency in too many countries. If we are ever to stanch the flow, we need to become more empathetic to the plight of refugees.
The nine tracks on Once I Had A Home were written specifically by groups of male refugees in the camp at Bangladesh for this recording (women were invited, but because of local religious laws prohibiting them from performing in public they declined) to relate their experiences. The voices of the men singing are accompanied by either very simple percussion instruments and/or a mandolin, meaning our focus is naturally drawn to the sounds they create singing.
There can be no normal in this place
The first thing that strikes you is the raw emotion of each singer. There is no attempt to hide anything. Each song sounds like it has been ripped out of the performer's soul. While the title of each song gives us some indication of their content ("My Body Aches For Home", "The Soldiers Burned Down Our Mosque (They Stole Our Souls)" and "Let's Go Fight The Burmese (They Raped Our Women)"), they only hint at the emotional impact.
While these song titles reflect the extreme calamity the refugees have gone through since their expulsion from Myanmar, the album also contains songs about life in the refugee camp; depicting the singers' attempts to create something close to a normal life. However, the titles of these songs imply much of the same desperation expressed by the others.
Rohingya in Bangladesh: anniversary of the exodus
-
Dusty, hot, narrow – and almost as big as Cologne: Rohingya began fleeing from Myanmar to Bangladesh decades ago. A refugee camp grew up next to the village of Kutupalong. As a result of the mass exodus since August 2017, the number of inhabitants there has risen sharply and further camps have been set up. A total of almost one million people now live there – a city almost the size of Cologne, but without the infrastructure -
Football fever in the refugee camp: international flags fly at the entrance to the Kutupalong refugee camp. During the World Cup, the Brazilian, Argentinian and occasionally even the German flag were to be seen. Football fever gripped the camp and the surrounding villages, prompting coverage by citizen reporters. Even in a difficult situation there is joie de vivre -
Monsoon floods and landslides: threatened by cyclones in the spring and torrential rains during the monsoon season, life here is mostly about coping with extreme hardship. The programme "Palonger Hotha" by citizen reporters serves partly to disseminate vital information: where can I find bamboo poles to reinforce the accommodation? Which residential areas should be evacuated because of the threat of mudslides? -
The aim of the mission is also to strengthen people's identity by taking their everyday experiences seriously. The team of reporters, consisting of young Rohingya and local Bangladeshi people, asked: What is the impact on family life when you have to sit huddled together in a narrow hut for hours on end due to the weather? -
Collecting constructive ideas: an important concern of the citizen reporters is to find constructive ideas and inspire the listeners. Reporter Sajeda reported on "hanging vegetable gardens" where beans are planted – a way to improve the food supply despite the limited space. There are also reports featuring household remedies for diseases that accumulate in the rainy season for hygienic reasons -
Education instead of "lost generation": how do children remember their way home? What can they do to ensure they donʹt get lost in the huge refugee camp? What are the challenges of the Learning Centres in the camp? For reporter Iqbal, the education of the refugee children is a special concern. There are no real schools for them -
Elephant alarm new for Rohingya: the refugee camp is on the route of the Asian elephants. At the beginning of the year there were several deaths after people in the camp tried to chase the animals away. The United Nations organised training courses on the correct handling of elephants, while "Palonger Hotha" reporters covered the initiative -
Green hills deforested: some Bangladeshi people from the area have found work in connection with the refugee camp. But they also complain that hundreds of thousands of newly arrived Rohingya have raised food prices in the region. Hills have been deforested because the refugees needed space and firewood. That is why it is important to include the perspective of the locals on citizensʹ radio -
Conflict-sensitive approach: the "Palonger Hotha" team with their local trainer Mainul Khan aims to deal responsibly with potentially sensitive issues. Politics is not the subject of the programme. On the other hand, the UNHCR's "Smart Card", which is supposed to facilitate the (voluntary) return of refugees to Myanmar and has been met with suspicion by many, is well reported -
Overcoming the trauma: on the anniversary of the beginning of the mass exodus on 25 August, traumatic experiences were shared. People also told us how they cope with their trauma – one step at a time
"I Want To Marry, Amira, From The Camps (If I Can't I Will Hang Myself)" is not what anybody would consider an upbeat title. There can be no normal in this place – it's not home – "We Are Stuck Here In The Camps" – sums up just how abnormal their circumstances are.
The fact that these are not trained vocalists or musicians only adds to the authenticity of the album. In fact some of the most powerful moments of storytelling come on the tracks where we simply hear a person speaking his story, as in the second song "The Soldiers Came and Burned Down Our Mosque". Hearing the man's voice as he recounts this horrific event, it is impossible not to be overwhelmed by the depth of his emotions.
Like most field recordings the sound quality on this disc is all over the place. Sometimes the singers are barely audible, as the recording is so quiet, while on others the volume is very loud. However, this is to be expected from a recording under difficult conditions and it helps to add another layer of authenticity. The tracks were produced in a refugee camp, not a recording studio, and it shows.
Brennan has done an incredible job of not only recording the individuals who agreed to be part of the process, but keeping the focus solely on both them and their plight. This is raw and undiluted emotion. It hasn't been processed or cleaned up for mass consumption, or given fancy packaging. It simply goes straight to the heart.
© Qantara.de 2024