In western Myanmar, the Rohingya Muslims have faced more than 60 years of
persecution, segregation and dehumanization at the hands of a brutal military
regime that is set to eliminate them from the country, by all means. In 2009, Canadian
photojournalist Steve Sandford and his Thai partner (and wife) producer Am Sandford,
begin a troubling journey documenting the ill-treatment of the ethnic group, after published photos
reveal Thai security forces detaining a boatload of desperate Asian migrants in Southern Thailand.
For decades, the Rohingya population have been persecuted by the Burmese
military junta, and as the human rights atrocities mount, desperate civilians are seeking all means of escape.
'Witness to Genocide' delivers first-hand coverage of key moments in the crisis, including the aftermath of the deadly
2012 attacks in Myanmar's Rakhine state, encounters with human traffickers on Thailand's tropical islands
and the 2015 boat crisis that leads the reporters to see the treatment of desperate boat passengers
on the Andaman Sea. As the Burmese army's atrocities increase, with a brutal 'clearance operation' in
2016, the authors meet the beleaguered arrivals in Bangladesh refugee camps, helping expose the
the military's egregious crimes including gang rape, torture, arson, murder and massive displacement.
In an attempt to end the crisis, a Kofi Annan - led Advisory Commission releases an attempted roadmap to peace
on Aug. 24, 2017 in Yangon, but the newfound optimism is quickly replaced by shock the next morning,
as reports of attacks by a ragtag insurgent group - known as the Arakan Rohingya Salvation Army -
on Myanmar police posts is followed by the launch of another, much larger Myanmar military's 'clearance operation'.
In a rare follow-up visit to Rakhine State's conflict zone during a '36-hour press tour', a small
group of Burmese and international journalists, including one of the authors, see the true culprits of the
war crimes, in the midst of a burning Rohingya village.
'Witness to Genocide' follows the journalists' investigation, alongside fellow colleagues,
as they help uncover elements of crimes against humanity leading to charges of genocide
at the International Court of Justice, led by the Gambia and supported by western nations including Canada,
France, Germany, the Netherlands, Denmark and the United Kingdom.
