Osman here teaches Crossing Borders Music co-director Tom Clowes the notes to the Rohingya classic “O Sham Rangum Naw Zayore.”
Music in the Camps
As in Myanmar, music education in the camps remains informal, limited to private lessons in people’s homes. Decades of repression have left the Rohingya music tradition fragile, and many musicians fear it is slipping away.
Elders worry that younger generations, growing up in exile, are losing touch with their cultural identity. They see it in small but telling ways—fewer young people wear the traditional lungi, opting instead for modern trousers. Where once only live musicians played at events, recorded music is becoming increasingly common. For many, these shifts serve as painful reminders of all that has been lost. Without opportunities for formal education, young Rohingyamay never know the full richness of their heritage, nor the histories carried in their music.
And yet, despite displacement and oppression, Rohingya musicians continue to play. Their songs remain a living archive, a thread connecting past and present, a voice that refuses to be silenced.