As told by Mg Abdul Khan, 32 years old, a poet and humanitarian worker
Kutapalong Refugee Camp, Cox’s Bazaar, Bangladesh
***
In a hilly mountain region near the Mayyu River of Arakan, there were many tigers of many ages. Some were elderly. Others were young. Still others had their own young tiger children.
One day, an elderly tiger and a young tiger went to search for something to eat in a hilly region where there were several kinds of animals.
After traveling for some time, they saw a herd of deer near a hill, crossing a stream. After a short chase, the tigers caught and killed one of the deer, leaving the rest of the herd to get away.
On their way of back home, the two tigers agreed to distribute the deer meat between them. The elder tiger ordered the smaller one to split up the meat. The smaller tiger agreed and split the two shares very equally.
WIthout warning, the elder tiger became very angry. In his anger and much to the surprise of the smaller tiger, the elder tiger swatted him across his face.
Little did the tigers realize that a wolf was spying on the conversation from a nearby grove of trees. During the argument, the wolf came out from the forest and asked what had happened between them, and the reason why they had made such an argument between them. The two tigers explained everything to the wolf. After a while the wolf, wise as he is, understood what was happening and the root of the argument.
The wolf said, “Good sirs, I have an answer for your argument.“
“Truly? What is it?” the tigers asked.
The wolf first asked for permission to distribute the deer meat, and the tigers agreed.
The wolf then split the meat between them, offering much more meat to the elder tiger than what he offered to the smaller tiger.
Immediately, the elder tiger was thankful to the wolf for giving him such a generous share, and he no longer had an argument with the smaller tiger.
Rezuwan’s note: For many decades in Arakan, there were several armed groups that ruled the Arakanese people. In those times, the strongest groups used force to their benefit. Many Rohingya people tell this story to people who face injustice.