Meet an inspiring entrepreneur writing a different story for the Rohingya

Muhammad Noor is part of a younger generation working to change the lives of Rohingya through entrepreneurship. He is at the head and has co-founded several successful initiatives among which are the first Rohingya TV channel, the first Rohingya Football Club, a project to digitise the Rohingya language, and most recently, a plan to provide Rohingya with digital IDs, using blockchain technology.

His amazing career reveals a deep commitment to providing innovative solutions to improve the conditions of the Muslim Rohingya minority, unwanted in Myanmar, and caught in one of the world’s longest civil conflicts. iguacu had the privilege to speak with Muhammad as he shared his journey into entrepreneurship.

A CHALLENGING BACKGROUND

Born in Saudi Arabia after his family fled Myanmar’s Rakhine State in the 1970s, Muhammad said he’s struggled all his life because of his status of ‘stateless person’.

“As Rohingya we are divided in two categories: refugees and stateless. Not all Rohingya are refugees but all Rohingya are stateless.The struggles have been devastating for my immediate family, my relatives, and myself.”
Muhammad sees himself as privileged to have been able to eventually study abroad. He now uses his energy and concentrates all his ambitions to improve the lives of Rohingya while seeking to encourage international solidarity for the Rohingya.

“As Rohingya who live abroad, we are the fortunate ones, the privileged ones; so we need to have a big vision for the Rohingya community… Hope is the only thing which is sustaining us. I am here to elevate and bring some hope because if I live for myself, I am not a human being. If I don’t think about my own people, if I just care about my own children, my own family, then I am not a human being.”

RVISION: THE WORLD’S FIRST ROHINGYA TV CHANNEL

Muhammad started the Rohingya Vision TV (RVision) in 2012 to raise awareness about Rohingya issues and to bring together Rohingya from around the world.

“RVision is the world’s first Rohingya TV channel and network”, he explained, “the first media coverage to bring another narrative, another side to the story.”

In just 24 hours, Muhammad said one video can reach up to 50,000 views. The TV channel is broadcasted in English and Rohingya language and uses undercover journalists in Myanmar to introduce the world to issues faced by the Rohingya.

”Since Rakhine State is under blockade and journalists are not allowed in the country, we turn Rohingya who live in Myanmar into journalists.”

Read the full article below from Source: iguacu