Rohingya Community: The story of an old craftsman

Dil Mohammed a 62-year-old Rohingya refugee lost almost everything in his life when he fled Myanmar. Fortunately, he ended up in Bangladesh with all of his family members. His wife Sura Begum is a housewife. He got four children, two sons, and two daughters.

“I’m passing a hard time living in this camp as my children are sick. I can’t afford them proper treatment and medications. I don’t have enough money to treat them. I have no job, no business at all”, said Dil Mohammed having a deep frustration. His elder daughter and son is very sick and they can’t do any work. His younger daughter goes to Girls Fair Space (GFS) and getting her training on sewing and son goes to Child Fair Space (CFS).

Dil Mohammed had a bitter experience of his exodus from Myanmar. He fled Myanmar with his family when the military of Myanmar ran their ethnic cleansing operation back in 2017. It was a very pathetic journey. He witnessed a number of the ruthless incident during his exodus. He saw people were killed brutally in front of him.

“I had a good time with my family in Myanmar. I was making the basket and various other handicrafts using bamboo. I sold them in the local market and was earning a good sum of money which was sufficient to maintain my family”, said Dil Mohammed. “I had a farm with a few cows. Cows gave us milk and I was earning extra money by selling those milk”, he added.

Dil Mohammed got prodigious expertise of making various types of handicrafts using bamboo. He was making baskets and different types of crafts and earning money in Myanmar. But now, it is difficult for him to do this in Rohingya refugee camp as there’s no access to needed materials for making baskets and other crafts.

“I can earn money by making different types of crafts and selling them in the local market. But I don’t have money to purchase the materials needed to make those crafts and it’s difficult to sell them as there’s no access to the market and buyer who can purchase these crafts”, said Dil Mohammed.

As a father, his ultimate goal is to treat his children so they can get well soon. He wants to provide his children with good clothes and foods. He wants to make them happy as they were back in Myanmar.