Muhammed Faisal K’s documentary tells the story of the Rohingya refugees, what they went through in Myanmar and their plight in New Delhi
A still from the documentary I can't be mad at Allah
Almost 50 families struggled to live in a tin-roofed shanty on a tiny patch of land in New Delhi. And the only help they received was from the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees. This tale of struggle of the Rohingya Muslim Refugees from Myanmar in Delhi, was portrayed by Muhammed Faisal K of Kozhikode in his award-winning documentary I can’t be mad at Allah or Home without a Homeland.
It was while doing his post graduation in Journalism in Delhi that Faisal came across Afza and her family, who had fled to the capital from the Buddhist perpetrated violence in Myanmar. Described by the UN as ‘one of the most persecuted minorities in the world’, Faisal understood the fact that the Rohingya people were still looking for a sanctuary to lead the rest of their lives.
“The only motto that I had before bringing the Rohingyas before my camera was to address their issues of survival in this world,” says Faisal, whose documentary has received several accolades, the latest one being the Al Jazeera International Documentary Film Festival-2015 Award at Doha.
“After a conversation with these refugees in 2012, I started working for them and did a research on their life. The documentary is just a frame of their life on a day, which is communicated to the people,” he added.
The film won the best documentary award and recognitions at Amity Youth Film Festival-2015, New Delhi, Best International Documentary Award at 8th Filmsaaz International Film Festival at Aligarh, UP, 3rd National Students Film Festival at Pune, 29th Parnu International Film Festival at Estonia (Charlie Chaplin Association). “It took almost two months to complete the procedures of the documentary and the refugees were so supportive that they helped me in its translation since the documentary was in the Rohingya language,” said Faisal.
“In the 18-minute documentary, I have incorporated two aspects, one is the narration of the main character, explaining what happened in Myanmar, while the second is the story of their life in the Delhi refugee camp,” he explained.
After completing his BA Sociology from Farook College, Faisal moved to Jamia Millia Islamia, New Delhi for his MA in Journalism and is now working as a freelance reporter there. He dreams to work more on such issues that need to be brought before the world.
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( Source : deccan chronicle )
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