In every country in the world I have always been and always will be an ethnic minority. One that has been subject to "ethnic cleansing" and are the "most persecuted minority in the world" according to the UN.

18 years ago I was born in Yangon, then the capital of Burma, the first child of 2 Rohingyas. My father was born in Arakan/Rakhine, my mother Mandalay. I'm basically a mix of Chinese and Indian.

My parents always wanted to be doctors. But in Burma, the Rohingyas can't have that. They can't have any of the top jobs. They can't even have their own name - they have to be officially called by a Burmese name (which basically sounds Chinese).

Naturally, Dad wanted me to have a better future, and he felt that would not be achieved in Burma. When I was born, dad had already spent a decade working in France, Syria, Palestine and other countries as a refugee, and once I was 2 years old he took me and mum to Paris also as refugees, with the help of his French refugee passport. We spent a year there. But we didn't stay. Mum really struggled learning French, and my parents were uncomfortable with how secular it was as well as the slight hints of racism. And so, knowing that mum already knew English meaning no language barriers, we moved to the UK. We went to Glasgow at first, but the weather was too tough for a bunch of brown people that were used to 15 degree winters, and funnily enough my parents struggled to understand the accent, and so off we went to Ashford, Kent. There, my brother was born at the William Harvey hospital. He was named William partly because dad thought that just like Burma, it was expected that kids be named English names, and also because he wanted us to fit in better around the white kids. We then ended up then moving to Hackney, London. But even there it was tough, with us facing constant racism and some of the people not being the most welcoming. We ended up in Whitechapel, Charlton, Stepney and finally the Isle of Dogs, where we are now.

My parents went through a lot to get me to England, to get me a better education. And they're both also very smart people from whom I inherited a lot of talent. That's why I never take my education for granted, because I could be one of those kids in Burma unable to read and write, or I could be one of those bottom set kids. Instead I was given the talent and resources to make it to the best uni in the world, and I made sure it wasn't wasted. And for that I will always be grateful to my parents.

But we're one of the lucky ones. Unlike other south Asians who tend to have quite a lot of family here, no one else except mums cousin and her family (who are in Stratford) made it out of Burma. That's it for my family - no one else. And that's one of the reasons why I hate when people think I'm from one of those countries - because I'm jealous that they have family nearby to help with anything while I'm doing it all alone. That's also why I do so many things at uni - because I wanna meet all these people and make as many links as I can - because my friends are the ONLY links I have. But growing up in Tower Hamlets, I was surrounded by Bengalis and I adapted. I was able to pick up their language, learn some of their culture, and just blend in with them. And that's why my parents moved to Tower Hamlets - as well as being central, brown people were common and there was less problems, and my parents having already known how to speak Bengali Punjabi Hindi Urdu etc felt they wouldn't look out of place.

For those unlucky ones who didn't make it out however, their lives are in danger - especially in Arakan. In Yangon, it's not as bad because the Burmese are more educated and the Rohingya are more integrated into life such as having jobs or running stores, but it is still bad everywhere.

The money donated will go towards paying for food for refugees. The food unfortunately will not go to Arakan since there is still violence and we don't want to endanger the safety of those aid workers and volunteers. Therefore the food will go to Bangladesh, at the border since many Rohingyas have been displaced at the border, and sending food there would still be helping out.

Believe me, no one hates it more than me that the aid will not even go into the region but there's no point trying if aid won't be able to get in.

For those worried about my own family in Burma, in all honesty I don't know. My parents refuse to really say much except 'don't worry about it.' Nonetheless, at least most of them are alive.

There is also the opportunity for one of the best
fundraisers to travel out to Bangladesh to work with the Rohingya refugees for free (all expenses covered), distributing food aid and speaking to the refugees with the Human Relief Foundation. Should I be given the opportunity, I will pass on it - It'll be better for someone else to go. My time to go home will come.

Thank you to Oxford University Islamic Society for helping make this happen - you're helping my people and I will never forget that.

And Thank you for reading this, feel free to donate. And if you won't donate, please at least share.