Author Description

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 inte