“Forced to Flee: The Harrowing Journey of Shomsun Nahar, a Mother Battling Fire, Betrayal, Hunger, and Fear to Protect Her Children and Secure Their Future Amid War and Displacement”

Story by Nur Kabir

Photo: Anuwar Sadek

In the early hours of the morning, Shomsun Nahar, 35, was forced to flee her original village with her children after the military opened fire on civilians on 2017 , injuring two of her neighbors and setting shelters ablaze. With no time to spare and no boats available to cross the nearby river, Shomsun embarked on a grueling six-hour journey to Saliprang village—a trip that would normally take just two hours by ferry.

Upon arriving in Saliprang, Shomsun Nahar and her children took refuge in an abandoned shelter, surviving for four days with minimal assistance from local residents. But safety was fleeting.

“We thought we were safe for a while,” Shomsun recalled, “but the fear never truly left us.”
When the military encircled Saliprang, aiming to arrest innocent civilians, Shomsun had no choice but to move again. She and her children headed toward Ngakhuya village, hoping to cross the Myanmar border.

On their way to the Bangladesh border, they spent a night in Do Dang village. The journey was perilous—armed soldiers and extremist groups roamed the paths, and landmines planted by the military injured many along the way.
“Every step we took could have been our last,” she said. Thanks to the guidance of fellow community members, Shomsun and her children eventually found a safer route to the Naf River.

They waited for hours on the riverbank before finally crossing into Bangladesh. However, their hardship continued: the Border Guard Police (BGP) initially denied them entry, forcing them to spend the night on a muddy beach.
“My daughter cried from hunger and thirst and her voice trembled. I thought I would lose her there.” Shomsun Nahar expressed her feelings.

A heavy rainstorm brought some relief, and eventually, they were allowed to leave the beach and spent the night by the roadside.

The Kindness of Strangers: How Bangladeshi Compassion Gave Us a New Beginning

The following morning, they officially entered Bangladesh. The kindness of the Bangladeshi people was a lifeline—locals shared water, cakes, and warm words of comfort. A man even offered them shelter for a night, seemingly offering to help them secure bus fare to a safer area.
“I trusted him because we had nowhere else to go,” she explained.

However, by morning, his true intentions were revealed: he refused to let them leave unless Shomsun abandoned her two sons.
“He told me, ‘Leave your boys, and you can go.’ But how could a mother ever agree to that?”
Refusing to be separated from her children, Shomsun fled. Tragically, the man and a group he gathered chased and robbed them, even physically assaulting her and stealing the little money she had hidden in her clothing.
“They beat me and took everything we had,” she said quietly.

Determined to survive, Shomsun and her children walked to the Kutupalong market. There, a compassionate shopkeeper provided them with 10 kilograms of rice, 3 kilograms of potatoes, and 1 kilogram of oil. This kind of kindness saved them at a time when they had nothing left.

They temporarily stayed in an abandoned shelter for a month before moving to a new area where refugees were beginning to build shelters. With help from an NGO, her children constructed a simple tarpaulin shanty—the first shelter in what would soon become a growing refugee block.
“My children built our new home with their own hands,” Shomsun said with a faint smile. “It was just plastic and bamboo, but it was ours.”

Today, Shomsun Nahar lives with two of her children: Shabekun Nahar, 13, and Nur Hakim, 10. She faces daily struggles without any relatives to help, even when collecting their monthly rations. Food aid provided by the World Food Programme (WFP) is insufficient to meet their needs, and she battles serious health issues including hepatitis C (HCV) and high blood pressure.
“Sometimes I have to choose between medicine and food,” she admitted.

More than her own health, Shomsun worries about her children’s futures

“I fear for my daughter the most,” she said. “In our community, a girl without a dowry is seen as a burden. I want to arrange her marriage and my son’s too before I leave this world, because there will be no one left to care for them.”

Conclusion

Shomsun Nahar’s story is a heart-wrenching reflection of the resilience and courage that countless refugees demonstrate daily. Despite unimaginable hardship, exploitation, and injustice, she continues to fight for her children’s survival and future. Her journey reminds us of the urgent need for greater support, protection, and compassion for displaced families around the world. We must not forget their struggles—and we must work together to create a world where families like Shomsun’s can live in dignity, safety, and hope.

Edited by Anuwar Sadek

#Struggle #Rohingya #Bangladesh #Resilience #BurmeseMilitary #fire #Village #Arakan