Young People Are Carrying Conflict as Moral Injury A South Indian Sufi teacher names the fight to stay human under repeated violence — and says the heart that still breaks is the heart that still works
A South Indian Sufi teacher names the fight to stay human under repeated violence — and says the heart that still breaks is the heart that still works.
You keep reading because not looking feels dishonest. You also know what repeated violence is doing to your body and your trust.
Conflict pressure is no longer only geopolitical. It arrives as moral injury and as the collapse of trust in institutions that keep failing to protect.
Record Number of Rohingya Refugees Died at Sea in 2025
Nearly 900 Rohingya refugees perished or went missing in the Andaman Sea and Bay of Bengal last year—the highest number ever recorded. This surge in deaths highlights the escalating dangers faced by those fleeing persecution, particularly impacting young people attempting perilous journeys.
NEWS SUMMARY
The UN refugee agency, UNHCR, reported on Friday that in 2025, approximately 900 Rohingya refugees were reported missing or dead in the Andaman Sea and Bay of Bengal. This figure represents the deadliest year on record in South and Southeast Asia for this vulnerable population.
YOUTH IMPACT
While international organizations express concern about the rising death toll among Rohingya refugees, many young Rohingya activists report a frustrating lack of tangible action to address the root causes of displacement. For example, in Cox’s Bazar, Bangladesh, where over
Teacher Ma’at, a South Indian Sufi teacher rooted in the dargah traditions of Tamil Nadu, has seen in practice sessions what conflict pressure does to young people. They are not only asking what is happening. They are asking how to trust their own perception when the qalb — the spiritual heart — already knows what institutions keep understating.
You read the latest report. Your chest tightens. You look away. Then you come back because conscience is still there. LOOP_SEQUENCE: “read the report. chest tightened. looked away. came back.”
Ma’at has seen this exact loop — the report, the body tightening, the turning away, and the return because conscience is still present.
Record number of Rohingya refugees died at sea in 2025: UNHCR
Nearly 900 Rohingya refugees perished or went missing in the Andaman Sea and Bay of Bengal last year, according to a report released Friday by the UN refugee agency, UNHCR. This marks the highest death toll ever recorded in the region, impacting Rohingya communities primarily aged 15-35 who attempt the dangerous sea crossing seeking refuge in Malaysia and Thailand.
The UN refugee agency, UNHCR, reported on Friday that 893 Rohingya refugees were reported missing or dead in the Andaman Sea and Bay of Bengal in 2025. This figure represents a significant increase compared to previous years and highlights the escalating risks faced by those fleeing persecution.
The sheer number of deaths—893 individuals—represents a devastating loss for Rohingya families already displaced and facing immense hardship. Many of these refugees, including teenagers and young adults aged 18-28, undertake these perilous journeys hoping to escape violence and find stability. Yet, overcrowded boats, human trafficking, and unpredictable weather conditions contribute to the tragically high mortality rate. The majority of those attempting the crossing originate
143 youth coalitions. 28 countries.
Young peacebuilders are documenting harm, organizing coalitions, and hosting workshops even while institutions stall.
143 youth coalitions. 28 countries. The tracker measures what young people did. It has no column for what made the next step possible after another round of violence and institutional failure — the capacity to stay human enough to act again without surrendering to numbness or rage. The person who came back needed it. So does the reader in that loop. Ma’at’s tradition has language for exactly this: sama — devotional listening — bypasses the intellect and speaks directly to the qalb. The heart that still breaks at violence is the heart that still works. The practice is not to armor it. It is to let sound open what grief has closed, so the next clear act becomes possible.
Ma’at would begin with truth. The first distortion happens when a person is asked to treat a structural disorder as a private defect.
Right relationship means naming what is actually happening without shrinking it to fit institutional comfort. That naming is not dramatics; it is alignment with reality.
What feels like a personal fault — me, broken, confused — is instead accurate response to a system and institutional structure that keeps asking for trust while misnaming harm, delay, or disorder.
Ma’at teaches a 15-minute Sama Listening practice — a single piece of devotional music, listened to with the chest, not the ears. Notice where in the body the music lands. Notice what opens. Notice what resists. Sama is not about enjoying music — it is about using sound to bypass the intellect and speak directly to the qalb. It is in the sidebar, timed and practical.
The United Nations has a framework for this through SDG 16 and its peace, justice, and institutional trust targets.
The UN and youth justice networks offer a public entry point into this work. Door in: https://www.unwomen.org
Record number of Rohingya refugees died at sea in 2025: UNHCR
Nearly 900 Rohingya refugees perished or went missing in the Andaman Sea and Bay of Bengal last year, according to a new report. The majority—over 600—were attempting to reach Malaysia or Indonesia. This marks the highest number of recorded deaths in the region since records began, with an average age of 28 among those lost.
The UN refugee agency, UNHCR, reported the figures on Friday. In 2025, 893 Rohingya refugees were reported missing or dead in the Andaman Sea and Bay of Bengal. The report highlights the escalating risks faced by Rohingya communities fleeing persecution.
The stark reality is that while international organizations and governments publicly express concern for Rohingya refugees, the continued loss of life at sea demonstrates a failure to provide safe and legal pathways. For example, over
Source: https://news.un.org/feed/view/en/story/2026/04/1167320
