‘Longing: A Voice of Loss’ is the second poetry collection by Abul Osman, a young Rohingya writer from Maungdaw township in Myanmar. Abul’s writing presents a powerful first-person account of refugee life. In this collection, Abul reflects on the injustices, denials, struggles and long-term suffering of the Rohingya community who have lived for eight years in refugee camps within Bangladesh’s Cox’s Bazar district. Abul’s poetry challenges selective compassion and highlights the Rohingya community’s frustrations with a global order that has failed them. He imagines a fairer world where his community’s rights are respected and they can live peacefully on their ancestral lands in Myanmar.

Abul Osman is a Rohingya poet, writer and the author of ‘Hope: Voice Beyond Pessimism’. He is management coordinator of the Rohingya Advancement Committee (RAC), a non-profit organization dedicated  to uplifting and rebuilding the Rohingya community. He is from Maungdaw township in Arakan State, Myanmar.

Abul is the son of Mr Mohammad Rofique and Mrs Laila Begum. He is currently surviving in the world’s largest refugee camp in Cox’s Bazar, Bangladesh. In 2017, he was forced to flee his motherland due to extreme acts of war violence committed by the Myanmar military.

Through his poetry, he raises his voice, delivers a message and fights for justice, freedom,  and his human rights which have been long denied. He dreams of being a hope for his hopeless  community.

He wants the world to be fair to his people, the Rohingya.  He  longs for a world where he is seen, heard and given the opportunity to thrive. While the world is  unfair to him, he remains committed to his fight against unfairness, struggling  for a world where he can enjoy human rights like other across the globe.

You can contact Abul at mdosmanj212@gmail.com and find his poems at: @abulosman7 (Instagram),  https://x.com/MdOsman58643 (Twitter), http://www.facebook.com/abul.osman.953489 (Facebook).

With thanks to Rohim Ullah for the cover photography. You can discover more of Rohim Ullah’s photography here.