The Ek Khaale – Once Upon a Time Rohingya visual storytelling exhibit closes Saturday at Alliance française de Chiang Mai in Thailand after a 10-day run July 9–19. The project was started by documentary photographer Greg Constantine in 2020 in collaboration with Rohingya living inside Burma, as well as in the Bangladesh refugee camps, and the diaspora living in the U.S., U.K., Canada, Malaysia and Europe.
“It’s trying to create a story and through visuals that shows a shared history, a shared identity, and also hopefully creates a space of shared solidarity amongst everybody in Burma, including the Rohingya community,” said Constantine. “This is the first exhibition where this project has taken on an analog format, where it can finally be shown on walls rather than on a screen.”
Ek Khaale means “Once Upon a Time” in the Rohingya language. It’s a historical narrative that counters the disinformation spread by successive military regimes in Burma about the Rohingya community in Arakan State. Materials from the exhibit were on display at the Rohingya Cultural Night hosted by the Rohingya Maiyafuinor Collaborative Network in Chiang Mai on Sept. 8.
