Episode #299: Once Upon A Time
"You can talk with older Rohingya in their 70s now, and most of them will end up saying something to the degree of, 'There was a time when I had friends who were from the Rakhine community, and we were going to university in Yangon...' They have a frame of reference that is so critical right now, because they know what life was like before everything went bad."
Greg Constantine’s project on the Rohingya community is a profound exploration of both their suffering and enduring humanity. Through photographic and investigative storytelling, Greg has dedicated his career to shedding light on the often-overlooked experiences of the Rohingya people; which culminated in the 2017 genocide.
His journey began in 2006 when he first visited southern Bangladesh. There he encountered a stateless community that had largely been ignored by the world. What started as curiosity quickly turned into a mission—to unearth and share the hidden stories of one of the world’s most persecuted and marginalized communities.
The Rohingya, a predominantly Muslim ethnic minority in Myanmar, reside mainly in Rakhine State on the country’s western coast. Despite their deep roots in Rakhine, they have faced systemic persecution for decades. It escalated following Myanmar's independence from British colonial rule in 1948, reaching its political peak after the 1982 citizenship law, which effectively rendered the Rohingya stateless. This law stripped them of basic rights—freedom of movement, access to education, and healthcare—and left them vulnerable to exploitation and violence. Such injustice is part of a broader phenomenon of statelessness that Greg explored in his earlier project, “Nowhere People,” which documented ethnic communities worldwide that were arbitrarily deprived of citizenship.
Greg’s work has sought to answer pressing questions about how the Rohingya’s situation fits into the broader theme of statelessness. To him, what has befallen the Rohingya is a kind of “perfect storm” of statelessness and systemic, state-inflicted suffering. His documentation of the Rohingya offers a rare insight into the lived realities of stateless individuals, especially during periods when international attention wavered. To fully capture the Rohingya’s struggles, Greg realized the importance of individual stories that reflected not only the dire circumstances, but also the hope that has not been extinguished.
Greg’s dedication to the Rohingya narrative has been about more than just documenting crises; it has been about showing the gradual buildup of pressure—denial of marriage rights, forced labor, barriers to education, and extortion—that eventually led to mass violence and displacement. By embedding himself within the community, Greg was able to document not only the visible consequences of violence, but the oftentimes less obvious conditions that fueled it. He understood that the international narrative often missed the underlying factors that led to each Rohingya crisis, treating them as spontaneous eruptions rather than the result of systemic oppression.
In 2019, Greg was invited to guest curate an exhibition at the United States Holocaust Memorial Museum, focusing on the plight of the Rohingya. This experience marked an important turning point, prompting Greg to reassess his work and how best to present a fuller picture of the Rohingya community. This is because the exhibition aimed to challenge the prevailing narrative by highlighting not just the suffering but also the historical and cultural contributions of the Rohingya to Burma. It was essential to convey that the Rohingya story did not begin with the violence of 2017, but was deeply rooted in decades of systemic exclusion and resilience.
This reflection led to the inception of “Ek Khaale,” a groundbreaking project named after the Rohingya expression for “Once upon a time.” The name speaks to the intention behind the project—to allow the Rohingya to reclaim their story, presenting their past in their own words, countering the one imposed on them by years of historical denial. “Ek Khaale” brings visibility to aspects of Rohingya life that rarely reach the public—their social life, culture, and the everyday moments that reveal their humanity beyond the suffering. Greg collaborated with Rohingya individuals both in camps and in Rakhine State, amassing family photos, personal documents, and fragments of their history that connects them to their homeland. These artifacts helped create a richer, more diverse portrayal of their history, illustrating their active participation in Myanmar’s social and political life.
To make these stories accessible to a global audience, “Ek Khaale” was expanded into an online, interactive experience in late 2021: a scrapbook-like journey that is both educational and deeply personal. The digital platform invites viewers into an immersive storytelling journey, structured in nine chapters that provide unique perspectives on Rohingya life. The chapters cover everything from rare family photographs highlighting cultural heritage to ancestral ties in Arakan, the contributions of Rohingya individuals during World War II, their participation in Burma’s independence, and personal stories underscoring their deep-rooted and long-lasting presence in Myanmar. The project also explores movements aimed at restoring the rights of the Rohingya and their contributions to Burma’s academic and social fabric, ultimately portraying their identity as more than just victims of oppression; it emphasizes their persistence, hope and dignity in the face of relentless persecution.
In sum, the work tries to portray that the Rohingya are more than the desperate images that dominate international media—they are a community with a rich, complex history and voices that demand to be heard. Greg’s commitment to telling their story stands as a testament to the power of documentary journalism, not just to bear witness to atrocities but also to challenge accepted narratives, restore dignity, and humanize those whose lives are too often reduced to mere statistics.
"The reason why I kept going back to that story is because if I thought about almost like all the different characteristics that make up this theme of statelessness... I don't think that there was any other community that had been so incredibly paralyzed by all of those different characteristics than the Rohingya community. It was a perfect storm."
If you enjoyed this interview, considering catching up on these past episodes which explore similar themes:
· Sujauddin Karimuddin shares that as a Rohingya refugee and activist, he has witnessed firsthand the complex relationship between the Rohingya and Rakhine communities. His insights reflect the long-standing ethnic tensions and the challenges of advocating for the rights of the Rohingya, shedding light on the historical persecution and political struggles faced by the group.
· Andrea Gittleman talks about her work with the United States Holocaust Memorial Museum in documenting atrocities in Myanmar, particularly related to the Rohingya genocide. She emphasizes the critical role of international law and advocacy in addressing mass violence and the long-standing oppression faced by the Rohingya, drawing parallels with other historical genocides.
· Dan Sullivan says that as the Director at Refugees International, his primary focus has been on advocating for displaced communities, especially the Rohingya. His work highlights the impact of Myanmar's military actions, focusing on the forced displacement of over 700,000 Rohingya and the international efforts to address their ongoing suffering.
· Darko, an indie musician, describes an encounter with the Rohingya community, and tells how he was struck by the stark contrast between the Burmanized media narratives and the harsh reality on the ground. His reflections underscore the importance of personal experience in shifting perspectives on ethnic and religious conflicts, particularly in the context of Myanmar’s Buddhist-Muslim tensions.
· Hassan shares that as a member of Myanmar’s ethnic Muslim minority, he witnessed firsthand the systemic inequalities and oppression imposed by both the military and Buddhist nationalist forces. His story of activism against the military coup highlights the struggles of marginalized communities in Myanmar and the urgent need for change for future generations.