Sign up to save your podcasts
Or
Share Ep 10 | Sakena’s Story Part 2 – Rohingya: River and Smoke
Share to email
Share to Facebook
Share to X
Share to email
Share to Facebook
Share to X
Or
Ep 10 | Sakena’s Story Part 2 – Rohingya: River and Smoke
When danger came to Gudusara, Sakena’s home in Northern Rakhine, it didn’t arrive all at once. It came in whispers first—then in fire, and footsteps, and the sound of people running.
In this second part of her story, Sakena recounts the night her family fled Myanmar. The smoke behind them, the river before them, and the choice no mother should ever face: to leave everything behind and carry only her children forward.
Through her voice, we walk the same roads—the forests, the long crossings, the silence of loss. We hear about her husband’s final words, the fear that turned into endurance, and the long road that led her to Bangladesh’s Cox’s Bazar refugee camp—now home to nearly one million Rohingya.
This episode preserves a memory shared by many, but rarely told in full. It’s not just about crossing borders—it’s about the moments between them: a mother’s breath, a child’s question, a prayer whispered over dark water.
What You’ll Hear in This Episode
* The night Gudusara burned and families began to flee
* Sakena’s final conversation with her husband before their separation
* The physical and emotional journey to Bangladesh
* How she kept her four children alive on the road
* Arriving at Cox’s Bazar and beginning again as a mother alone
Why This Story Matters
The Rohingya crisis remains one of the largest ongoing displacements in the world. More than a million people—mostly women and children—now live in camps along the Bangladesh border. But beyond the numbers are the stories of those who carried families across rivers, through smoke and fear, with nothing but faith.
Sakena’s story is a record of that journey, and a reminder that displacement begins long before a border is crossed—and continues long after.
Sources
* UNHCR. Rohingya Emergency Factsheet, 2024
* Human Rights Watch. “All of My Body Was Pain”: Sexual Violence Against Rohingya Women and Girls in Burma, 2017
* Médecins Sans Frontières. Rohingya Refugee Crisis Overview, 2023
* The Refugee Archive Oral History Collection, 2025
Get full access to The Refugee Archive: Global Center for Displaced FHH at therefugeearchive.substack.com/subscribe
View all episodes
By The Refugee Archive TeamWhen danger came to Gudusara, Sakena’s home in Northern Rakhine, it didn’t arrive all at once. It came in whispers first—then in fire, and footsteps, and the sound of people running.
In this second part of her story, Sakena recounts the night her family fled Myanmar. The smoke behind them, the river before them, and the choice no mother should ever face: to leave everything behind and carry only her children forward.
Through her voice, we walk the same roads—the forests, the long crossings, the silence of loss. We hear about her husband’s final words, the fear that turned into endurance, and the long road that led her to Bangladesh’s Cox’s Bazar refugee camp—now home to nearly one million Rohingya.
This episode preserves a memory shared by many, but rarely told in full. It’s not just about crossing borders—it’s about the moments between them: a mother’s breath, a child’s question, a prayer whispered over dark water.
What You’ll Hear in This Episode
* The night Gudusara burned and families began to flee
* Sakena’s final conversation with her husband before their separation
* The physical and emotional journey to Bangladesh
* How she kept her four children alive on the road
* Arriving at Cox’s Bazar and beginning again as a mother alone
Why This Story Matters
The Rohingya crisis remains one of the largest ongoing displacements in the world. More than a million people—mostly women and children—now live in camps along the Bangladesh border. But beyond the numbers are the stories of those who carried families across rivers, through smoke and fear, with nothing but faith.
Sakena’s story is a record of that journey, and a reminder that displacement begins long before a border is crossed—and continues long after.
Sources
* UNHCR. Rohingya Emergency Factsheet, 2024
* Human Rights Watch. “All of My Body Was Pain”: Sexual Violence Against Rohingya Women and Girls in Burma, 2017
* Médecins Sans Frontières. Rohingya Refugee Crisis Overview, 2023
* The Refugee Archive Oral History Collection, 2025
Get full access to The Refugee Archive: Global Center for Displaced FHH at therefugeearchive.substack.com/subscribe