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Where he was born
JN Jonaid was born in a country called Myanmar, in the state of Rakhine. His parents lived there for 50 years and he had a big family. He was born into a Muslim Rohingya family which had many negative effects. One non-inclusion is the fact that the Myanmar government denied that Muslim people were ethnic people in Rakhine because Myanmar is a majority-Buddhist state, but the Rohingya people are primarily Muslim. -
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where he was born part 2
The government said that Rohingya people are Bengali, implying that they are illegal immigrants from the neighbouring country of Bangladesh. From a young age, JN Jonaid loved going to school, But students would often bully him and he knew he was different. They would call him "Kalar," which meant illegal immigrant in Rakhine. -
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Where he was born part 3
Another non-inclusion is the 1982 government law denying Rohingya people to be citizens denied JN Jonaid becoming a citizen even though he had lived and was born there for most of his life. Instead of being a citizen, he had a white card showing that he was only a temporary resident. He lived in Myanmar for 19 years and experienced discrimination and persecution throughout those years. -
Violence in Myanmar part 2
Security forces regularly raided Rohingya homes, dragged away anyone they found inside, and targeted young and educated men because they were seen as a threat. Many Muslims died during this violence including many of JN Jonaid close friends and family.Sometimes, JN Jonaid was so scared he hid in the forest because he lived in fear of death every day. JN Jonaid was 19 at the time meaning that he went to college. -
Violence in Myanmar
When anti-Rohingya violence erupted in the Rakhine state in 2012, many Muslim people were in great danger including JN Jonaid. When this violence erupted, Muslim people were getting lynched and there were many riots. The President of Myanmar, Thein Sein even declared a state of emergency in western Myanmar following deadly clashes between Buddhists and Muslims. -
Violence in Myanmar Part 3
He was studying physics at Sittwe University which was a boat that took one day to get to his destination. The violence became so bad that he decided to leave Myanmar and move to Bangladesh. Things were so bad that JN Jonaid didn't say goodbye to his family. After a terrifying journey on a small paddleboat with many other Rohingya, he reached Bangladesh. -
Moving to India and China part 2
When he was in both China and India, he was at risk of being arrested and imprisoned because immigrants from Myanmar were seen as illegals and a security risk. He found out that the nearest safe country was Australia because they signed the UN 1951 convention for refugees and asylum seekers. -
Moving to India and China
The “Push” factor for moving away from Myanmar is the fact that many Muslims were getting killed due to the violence in Myanmar. The “Pull” factor is that JN Jonaid would be in a country that would keep him safe from all the things happening in Myanmar. With all the violence in Myanmar, many people were moving to Bangladesh and JN Jonaid did not want to become another refugee in a camp so he decided to move to India and China. -
Moving to India and China part 3
The “push” factor is the fact that when he was in India and China, he was at risk of imprisonment and the “pull” factor is the fact that he thought he could rebuild his life there. He risked his life and was in dangerous situations when he crossed the border into Thailand in 2013. From Thailand, he fled to Malaysia and then Indonesia. But he did not make it to Australia because he got arrested while trying to get on a boat and was sent back to Indonesia. -
Detention center in South Sulawesi
After being sent back to Indonesia, JN jonaid was locked up in a hotel room for three months and then transferred to a detention centre in south Sulawesi. Time in the South Sulawesi detention center was awful, It was a place of tall walls and electric fences and everyone in the detention center was lonely and depressed. The place was crowded with more than 500 asylum seekers and was very squished. -
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Detention center Makassar, Indonesia part 3
Even though JN Joniad was just trying to write and help himself and all the refugees stuck in the detention centers and shelter communities, the immigration officers threatened him with deportation or detention for life if he did not stop writing. He spent many years writing in secret and writing about the struggles of life when he was there. For example, how, many days he would wake up terrified by the news of other refugees taking their own lives. JN Jonaid lived in that shelter for 8 years -
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Detention center in Makassar, Indonesia part 2
To keep himself busy and motivated, JN Jonaid applied to many online universities and took political science and journalism as his courses. He wrote to many important organizations such as refugees, human rights groups and lawyers to seek answers and advocate the unfair treatment of refugees. Even though JN Joniad wrote to so many organizations, none of them ever responded back. He then tried being a journalist and wrote articles for l Jazeera, BBC Indonesia, and Buzzfeed. -
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Detention center in Makassar, Indonesia
One-and-a-half years later, JN Jonaid was transferred again to a community shelter in Makassar, Indonesia. When moving to both detention centers, the main “push” was the fact that he was imprisoned and made to hop between detention centers. JN Jonaid met hundreds of refugees from around the world. For example, refugees from countries like Afghanistan and Somalia. Refugees in the community shelter were not allowed to leave the city and had a curfew of 10 p.m. -
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moving to Canada (Toronto) part 3
In April, he was given a permanent resident card meaning for the first time in his life he can study, work, and access health care, and eventually, he will be able to vote when he becomes a citizen. The “push” factor is the fact that he did not want to live in a detention center in Indonesia for the rest of his life and the “pull” factor is the fact that in Canada, he is given freedom, something that he got stripped away from him at a young age. -
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Moving to Canada (Toronto)
During his time in the community shelter in Makassar, Indonesia, he sent an application to Canada hoping to find a home where he could live freely. Eventually, his application to come to Canada as a refugee was approved in early 2020. The covid 19 pandemic impacted his travel so on September 2021, after two weeks of quarantine, JN Jonaid finally took a long morning walk along Toronto's lakeshore, breathing in the air of freedom and starting his new life. -
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Moving to Canada (Toronto) part 2
He has greeted my sponsors and was given the opportunity to open his first bank account, and have a health card and a photo ID, something he could not do before. He finally felt like he belonged and was happy and felt safe in Canada.