BHUBANESWAR: A dance documentary on the Rohingya refugee crisis by Baisali Mohanty, a policy officer with the United Nations and Odissi dancer, was released globally by the United Nations (UN) on Sunday on the occasion of World Refugee Day.
Produced by the United Nations World Food Programme, it is first-of-its-kind artistic creation reflecting the sufferings of world’s largest refugee group, Rohingyas. While 26-year-old Baishali, a native of Puri, has performed in it, the dance-docu engages musicians from the Rohingya refugee community.
"The voice-over of the dance-docu has been done by a Rohingya youth who narrates the story of his fellow countrymen," said Baishali, who was involved in the UN Mission for Rohingyas at Cox's Bazar in Bangladesh which houses the world's largest Rohingya refugee camp at Kutupalong.
Over 10 lakh Rohingya refugees are being taken care of by the United Nations at the camp. Baishali with the help of UN decided to use Rohingya music to create the dance-docu and it took her over a year to execute the project. Eminent Odissi danseuse Aruna Mohanty trained Baishali for the project.