A public exhibition organised by Singapore’s first volunteer advocacy group for refugees showcased the little-known story of Rohingya refugees rescued by Acehnese fishermen. It was
In May 2015, the Southeast Asian region bore witness to the largest humanitarian boat crisis since the Vietnam War, where thousands of Rohingya and Bengali migrants were adrift at the Andaman Sea after being abandoned by smugglers.
Last year, under Project Hearts to Hands, a group of 30 volunteers from Singapore visited the refugees and fishing community in Aceh.
The N(ONE exhibition is organised entirely by volunteers from Project Hearts to Hands and local non-profit group Advocates for Refugees. Mathilda Ho, Founder of Advocates for Refugees said, “besides showcasing the Rohingya refugees
This was their first public exhibition, which also includes a film screening of a documentary produced by students from NTU. For details of the exhibition and fringe events, visit the Facebook Page of Project Hearts to Hands.
About Advocates for Refugees
Advocates for Refugees – Singapore (AFR-SG) is Singapore’s first ground-up initiative working for the cause of refugees and forced migration in our region and beyond. They aim to open up community dialogue on refugee and asylum seeker issues, with a strong focus on the impacts of forced migration on Singapore’s closest neighbours (receiving countries) Malaysia, Indonesia, South-East Asia and Asia region as a whole.
AFR-SG encourages ordinary and extraordinary Singaporeans, and people living in Singapore – regardless of political affiliation, religion, race and ethnicity – to participate in dialogues, explore possible roles as individuals, as an interest group/community, and as a nation state can play to offer community-driven solutions and to help ameliorate the causes and consequences of forced migration. As advocates, they believe in the importance of raising awareness, facilitating conversations, and addressing misinformed perceptions (e.g. conflating all refugees, asylum seekers, stateless persons as “economic migrants” or labelling them as “illegal migrants”).
![Volunteers and MP Louis Ng launched public exhibition revealing the story of Rohingya refugees' rescued by Acehnese](https://i0.wp.com/theonlinecitizen.s3.ap-northeast-2.amazonaws.com/uploads/2017/04/27060739/823A9988.jpg?fit=2048%2C1365&ssl=1)
Volunteers and MP Louis Ng launched public exhibition revealing the story of Rohingya refugees' rescued by Acehnese
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