Marja Bergen

author, mental health advocate, follower of Christ

Our homes are not safe

Photo by Ro Arfat Kahn In Bangladesh Rohingya refugees live in shelters intended to be temporary homes. But the shelters are not safe places to live. They are certainly not the comfortable homes so many of us in the western world enjoy. In the words of RB Hafizu: “As Rohingya refugees, we survive with limited […]

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The exodus

EXODUS Everyone did what they could to find safety–young and old. They were grateful for the food, shelter, and protection provided by Bangladesh, a country with great needs of its own. In an area called Cox’s Bazar, they created communities made up of a sprawling network of 33 camps. With a population of over a […]

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But they clung to their faith and traditions

They fled with everything they could carry in their arms, leaving behind their homes and the lives they had built. But they didn’t leave behind their faith and traditions. Telling the Rohingya about the great love Jesus had for those the world had turned its back on reminds me of a song I used to […]

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The story must be heard

I have been closely following the Rohingya story since February 2025, hearing through LinkedIn the reports from Rohingya refugees themselves as well as multiple news stories about them. Stories about the suffering of a people who have, for decades, faced some of the worst discrimination the world has seen. They are stories that haven’t reached […]

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We want to learn. We want a future.

  Photo and story by Rohingya refugee, Rohim Ullah Inside the Rohingya Refugee Camps, Education Is Being Kept Alive by the Children Themselves In a cramped tarpaulin shelter in the Rohingya refugee camp of Cox’s Bazar, a group of children gathered together on the bare ground. There are no whiteboards, no floor mats, no electricity. […]

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“Be like children”

Photo by Mohammed Imran HUMBLE AND EAGER TO LEARN [Jesus] called a little child to him and placed the child among them. And he said: “Truly I tell you, unless you change and become like little children, you will never enter the kingdom of heaven. Therefore, whoever takes the lowly position of this child is […]

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Despite hardship and uncertainty

Photo by Mohammed Salim Khan HOPE LIVES ON “. . . The Rohingya people continue their daily lives with resilience. Children play on dusty paths, families gather near makeshift shelters, and hope lives on in every step they take. This is not just survival—this is strength.” – MD Jamal “So do not fear, for I […]

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Yes, we struggle

Photo by Mohammed Imran AND YET WE SURVIVE “As Rohingya refugees, we survive with limited resources year-round—but when the rains arrive, our struggle deepens. Our shelters—made of bamboo and tarpaulin—cannot withstand strong winds or heavy rainfall. Flooding, landslides, and waterlogging become daily threats. Some families lose everything overnight. Others live in fear, watching their walls […]

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“Do it for me”

Photo by Abdullah Habib LET’S NOT DELAY A Rohingya man in a camp housing over a million refugees prepares breakfast for the vulnerable during Ramadan. The King was asked: “When did we ever see you hungry and feed you, thirsty and give you a drink? And when did we ever see you sick or in […]

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They will soar on wings like eagles

Photo by Khin Maung Soe STRENGTH FOR THE WEARY Do you not know? Have you not heard? The Lord is the everlasting God, the Creator of the ends of the earth. He will not grow tired or weary, and his understanding no one can fathom. He gives strength to the weary and increases the power of the weak. Even youths […]

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