ROHINGYA: STATELESS AND UNWANTED: theunwanted_therohingya_bronstein055

Rohingya Samira Begum, age 17, gets ready for her wedding ceremony to Osmam Gani, age 21 who is from the same village in Maungdaw, Myanmar. Samira lost her father amid turmoil both of them crossed the border on same day on August 30th hoping to spend the rest of their life together. They now live in separate refugee camps but will soon be living together. It is customary for the bride to be quite emotional and scared on her wedding say as she is leaving her family for the first time for a new life. For years Buddhist majority Myanmar has struggled to deal with a deeply rooted hatred towards the Rohingya in western Rakhine state. The Muslim ethnic minority were always considered illegal immigrants from Bangladesh and denied the rights of citizenship. The refugee emergency unfolded in late August after an attack on state security forces by Rohingya insurgents, triggering a brutal military crackdown that has forced more than 650,00 of the country fleeing to neighboring Bangladesh creating the fastest cross-border exodus ever witnessed.

Rohingya Samira Begum, age 17, gets ready for her wedding ceremony to Osmam Gani, age 21 who is from the same village in Maungdaw, Myanmar.

Samira lost her father amid turmoil both of them crossed the border on same day on August 30th hoping to spend the rest of their life together. They now live in separate refugee camps but will soon be living together. It is customary for the bride to be quite emotional and scared on her wedding say as she is leaving her family for the first time for a new life.

For years Buddhist majority Myanmar has struggled to deal with a deeply rooted hatred towards the Rohingya in western Rakhine state. The Muslim ethnic minority were always considered illegal immigrants from Bangladesh and denied the rights of citizenship. The refugee emergency unfolded in late August after an attack on state security forces by Rohingya insurgents, triggering a brutal military crackdown that has forced more than 650,00 of the country fleeing to neighboring Bangladesh creating the fastest cross-border exodus ever witnessed.