By M Rafique
People often say the sky's the limit. For someone born and raised in a confined environment with countless discriminatory policies and lows, there is a little in every step taken towards the journey of freedom equality.
Fleeing Burma's military operation in 1992 at the age of 10 with my family, crossing the border to Bangladesh, the journey brought further misery and suffering in every aspect of of life, from education to medical treatment in the Refugee Camp.
For Rohingya, optimism and hope are generally beyond their dreams. Kindness is a scarcity in today's world. Ireland is an exception, well-known for its hospitality. In 2007, this country extended its welcome towards a group of Rohingya including my wife and eight month old girl. This was the beginning of a new journey for us, like a vast boundless ocean suddenly opening, where we could fulfil our dreams and achieve whatever we wished.
Freedom is essential to anyone who wishes to grow and reach their potential. Resettlement in Ireland meant release for us; for the first time in our lives we were free of the restrictions imposed on the Rohingya community in Burma and Bangladesh Refugee Camp. I am able to experience and relish the sweet wind of freedom: freedom of movement, education, wellbeing and security, little things perhaps, but almost unbelievable to those who have been relentlessly oppressed.
People's openness and acceptance of others from different cultures is a unique quality of the Irish. Although the weather occasionally give me hard time, it is nothing to the boundless Journey I am travelling now.
