“Always believe!”: Rohingya Refugee Finds Purpose in Helping Fellow Newcomers to Lowell

For centuries, Rohingya Muslims have lived in the country currently known as Myanmar, where they are an ethnic and religious minority. They have frequently been victims of state-sanctioned violence. Denied citizenship and basic human rights by Myanmar’s current military government, they have been described by the United Nations as “the world’s largest stateless population” and “the most persecuted minority in the world.” Hundreds of thousands of Rohingya now live in refugee camps in Bangladesh. 

At the end of 2023 and beginning of 2024, IINE was among the first agencies to begin resettling Rohingya refugees in the U.S. in more than a decade. Among those resettled was Mohammed Yasin. After spending 14 years in a refugee camp, Mohammed now lives in Lowell with his wife and children. He recently spoke at our World Refugee Day celebration in Lowell, where he took the opportunity to describe the challenges currently facing the Rohingya, honor his fellow refugees, and thank those who welcome and support them. Listen below.

Hello. Salam Alaykum.  

First, let me introduce myself. My name is Mohammed Yasin. I am 33 years old. My father was a hard-working farmer. His name was Nabi Hussein. He unfortunately passed in 2019. I miss him so much. I would like to think he looks down on me and guides me to the right path, no matter how severe my situation is. 

I live in the USA with my family right now. We are Rohingya refugees from Bangladesh and my country of origin is Myanmar. Today I am so happy to celebrate with everybody because I have got a good opportunity to deliver a special speech in front of you about Rohingya refugees of Myanmar. 

I would like to express how much I am grateful for Rohingya Muslims of Myanmar. 

In 1942, 1978, 1992, and 2016-2017, many innocent Rohingya Muslims were kidnapped, oppressed, tortured, killed, executed, some of them even got their entire village burned by the Rakhine community and government of genocidal Myanmar. To this day, the situation of Rohingya Muslims of Myanmar—many innocent Rohingya Muslims are still being massacred in Buthidaung  and Maungdaw Township inside the Rakhine state of Myanmar by the Rakhine government. 

There’s no social or economic rights, no religious rights, no cultural rights, and no educational rights for the Rohingya Muslims in Myanmar, only discrimination and human rights violation[s] are going on in the state of Myanmar, by the genocidal military government and Rakhine community in 2024. 

To this day, over 1,000,000 Rohingya refugees are leaving the refugee camp of Cox Bazaar district of Bangladesh. The refugees have been facing suffering from inside these camps. 

I would love to thank every single refugee and immigrant in the United States. A special thanks to the International Institute of New England in Lowell for resettling and reuniting my family. 

I would like to thank Rouben, Caroline, Farishta, Michelle, Haseena, Sarah, Kyslanie and many other parts of IINE. Let’s celebrate us. And remember, always believe! 

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According to IINE Case Specialist Rouben Burke, this gratitude and optimism are characteristic of Mohammed, a widely appreciated presence in IINE’s Lowell office. Mohammed was one of Rouben’s first clients and is now a close friend.  

The friendship took some time to develop, though. When Mohammed first arrived, he was full of uncertainty and eager for support. At times, he could be direct and persistent. Rouben had a hunch that if Mohammed could see the workload Rouben was juggling, he would be more understanding of the process and time it took.   

 “One day, I was like, OK, I gotta do something. So I told him, ‘Tomorrow, 7:30 AM, I’m picking you up, and you’re going to follow me everywhere I go, so you’ll see why I’m not responding [right away]. You’re going to follow me. If I don’t eat, you don’t eat. If I don’t go home, you don’t go home.“ 

Mohammed agreed.

“It was to be a very, very long day,” Rouben says. “I worked with him watching, and some of the families we met with were Afghan and spoke Hindi or Urdu, so he was translating.”  

“At the end of the day, it was very late. I took him back to his house, and he said to me, I don’t know how you stand up! You’re doing so much for these families…I want to help too. I want to give back. And ever since, he’s been a volunteer.” 

Mohammed was no stranger to volunteering. Back when he was living in a refugee camp, he had volunteered for UNHCR, the UN refugee agency. As a volunteer at IINE, he helps out in many ways, including providing interpretation and cultural orientation, and helping clients access their public benefits, but Mohammed’s most unique role is as a counselor of sorts for newly arrived clients who have a difficult time adjusting, just as he did at first. For these clients, he has become an ambassador for IINE’s work.

“When new clients come here and are a little bit depressed because of the culture shock, he makes them feel better,” Rouben explains. “Because he knows the inside of what we do, he has everybody’s back at the agency. He says all of these just beautiful, true things about everybody that works at IINE from the Legal department, to front desk reception, caseworkers, everybody. One day he said [to a client], ‘It’s so difficult to need case workers, but please give them a break, because if they do that job, they do it from their heart.’” 

During their first 90 days in Lowell, Mohammed, his wife, and their daughter, who was born in the camp in Bangladesh, enrolled in IINE’s ESOL classes and were provided with what Rouben describes as “intensive” cultural orientation. Rouben helped the family to access health care and food assistance. IINE’s Employment team provided Mohammed with orientation to the U.S. workforce and helped him find a job as a cleaner in a local factory. When not working or with his family, Mohammed is at IINE volunteering, and he often spends free time after hours with his friend Rouben. 

“Now he walks around Lowell like he owns the place,” Rouben jokes. “I’m so proud of him.” 

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IINE has served as a beacon of hope for those fleeing persecution and war in their native lands for more than 100 years. Click to learn more about our refugee resettlement program.