THE NAF RIVER MASSACRE
The genocide in Myanmar did not end in 2017 when the largest influx of Rohingya refugees fled to Bangladesh. Only last year, in 2024, a second wave of genocide began. And it was only because the Rohingya was an ethnic minority, hated by those whose religion differed from theirs. Hated by a people who wanted to destroy them.
Let us pray for God’s love to fill the heart of man, instead of hatred.
The story, as told by Rohingya writer/photographer, Khin Maung Soe:
On August 5, 2024, as intense fighting erupted in Maungdaw Township, Rakhine State, Myanmar. A large number of Rohingya civilians fled toward the Naf River, the narrow border river separating Myanmar and Bangladesh, in an effort to escape the violence.
We were forced to flee from our homeland in Arakan because the fear of the Myanmar military’s operations was everywhere. Villages burned behind us, and the sound of gunfire chased us toward the Naf River. Families ran barefoot, carrying only what they could hold, some with children on their backs and elders leaning on their shoulders. The river became our only hope, a dangerous line between death and survival.
While waiting for boats to cross into Bangladesh, many were attacked by drone strikes, mortars, and artillery, resulting in hundreds of deaths, including women and children. Boats capsized or were bombed, causing many more to drown.
As we tried to cross, the current was strong, and boats were too crowded. In the chaos, a small child slipped from a father’s arms and died before our eyes. His cries still echo in the silence of the night. That day, many lives were lost in the river, even as countless others made it across to Bangladesh with nothing but their breath.
The Naf River became both a grave and a path to life. On the border, thousands of people collapsed in exhaustion, broken by grief but still alive. Our escape was not freedom, but survival. We carried the pain of those we lost. And the memory of that child’s last moment became a wound in every heart.
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