Rohingya diaspora online: Mapping the spaces of visibility, resistance and transnational identity on social media

Abstract

This article examines how the Rohingya diaspora employs social media platforms to reclaim their identity narratives through visibility and resistance in the context of genocide and subsequent prolonged displacement. Drawing on qualitative interviews with 15 displaced Rohingya members and activists in Brisbane, Australia, this article demonstrates how transnational digital engagements foreground the construction of the Rohingya diaspora, and subsequently how the transnational identities are negotiated and mediated online. The findings show that the social media platforms facilitated the Rohingya diaspora development and identity construction through building an ‘imagined community’ of resistance, transnational advocacy networks and diasporic media production. At the same time, this article explores how online activism evolved and marginal voices emerged in cyberspace longing for home(land), justice and citizenship rights. This study brings unique insights to understand voices from the margins and shows how new media allow ethnic minorities and marginalised groups to construct diasporic identity through online mediation in transnational spaces.