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Md Ahtaram Shin was born in 1997 in Odaung village in Southern Maungdaw. He is the youngest of his 10 brothers and sisters. They are all well-educated. His father was a theologian and Islamic scholar who went to Saudi Arabia in 1997 but was not allowed to return to Myanmar. His mother reunited with his father in 2014 in Saudi Arabia. ‘I am proud of my mother. She is a noble woman who put much effort into giving us an education. She had to confront huge difficulties from the Myanmar government during our schooling years due to my father’s absence.’ —Ahtaram said.

Because of the constant discrimination against Rohingya and the violence in 2017, he could not complete but he studied political science from Yangon Cosmopolitan University through online with undergraduate program. He managed to continue his studies through UNHCR scholarships pursuing an online course on sociology at Elon University. He worked as a peace-building and social cohesion research volunteer with BRAC. His interests in education, journalism and civil society led him to become a trustee of the Rohingya Community Development Campaign.

‘While I was studying, I read many poems and became interested in literature. My pen name is San Thai Shin.’ —he says. His poems have been featured in I am a Rohingya, an anthology of Rohingya poems. He received the 2nd prize in a Dutch short story writing competition. His written work has been published in The New Humanitarian, Amnesty International, Dhaka Tribune, The Diplomat, Reuters and The Daily Star. He currently works as a researcher at the Rohingya Cultural Memory Center.

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