Remembering When They Belonged - Burma’s Path to Genocide - United States Holocaust Memorial...

In elementary school, Ayub identified himself on official forms as “Mohammed Ayub and a Rohingya.” By the time he reached middle school, Burmese authorities had ordered students to write “Bengali” instead of “Rohingya.” That change classified Rohingya as immigrants from Bangladesh instead of Burmese citizens.

The 56-year-old has held on to his old documents in order to prove that the Rohingya were once citizens and belonged.

“They refused us admission to school when we refused to identify ourselves as ‘Bengali,’” recalls Ayub. He was born and raised in the village of Maung Nu in Burma.