Photo essay: Inside Myanmar’s Rohingya ghetto

Residents of Aung Mingalar quarter, a modern-day ghetto of approximately 4,500 Rohingya Muslims in downtown Sittwe, live confined existences.

Armed authorities guard the quarter after Buddhist and Muslim clashes in Sittwe in June of 2012. The residents need permission to leave, to get food supplies, even to see the doctor.

On a recent visit in April I was able to take photos not just of the conditions of the place, which of course are poverty-ridden, but of the residents themselves.

A woman with an umbrella inside the quarter. Photo / Aung Naing Soe

Mother and son stand outside their small hut. Photo / Aung Naing Soe

The back side of a house. Photo / Aung Naing Soe

An elderly man stands next to a plastic chair. Photo / Aung Naing Soe

Portrait of a Rohingya woman. Photo / Aung Naing Soe

A boy stands next to a lake in Aung Mingalar that provides sustenance for many families. Photo / Aung Naing Soe

A woman stands next to her house. Photo / Aung Naing Soe

Children looking towards the camera. Photo / Aung Naing Soe

A vegetable vendor in Aung Mingalar. Photo / Aung Naing Soe

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