Rohingya Community in Chicago Preserves Culture Through Food and Entrepreneurship Amidst Displacement
The Rohingya community in Chicago, a stateless Muslim minority from Myanmar, is actively preserving its culture through food, community gardens, and local businesses. Many Rohingya refugees, like Ahmed, cultivate traditional crops at Albany Park's Global Gardens, reminiscent of their homeland. This effort is crucial for a people subjected to mass displacement, ethnic cleansing, and genocide in Myanmar, where their citizenship was stripped in 1982. The community also hosts events like the International Bazaar, featuring Rohingya and Southeast Asian cuisine, and has established several Rohingya-owned grocery stores and a cultural center on Devon Avenue. These initiatives provide essential services, foster cultural identity, and create economic opportunities for the estimated 3,500 Rohingya who have settled in Chicago.
