Mohammad Shah fought heroically, along with the great leaders like Gulbadin Hekmatyr, Rubbani, and Ahmed Shah Massoud, until all Russians were cleared from Afghan soil.
Mohammad Shah served in the mujaheddin, defeating the Soviet Union in Afghanistan, but he couldn't do anything to help the persecuted Rohingya Muslims of Burma, his native country.
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(RANGOON) - Mohammad Shah was a man of high morals, simple, brave and honest; a truth teller. He was born in 1944 in Dan Khali (Rwa Thikay) in southern Mgdaw. His father, the late Mohammad Yusoof, was a school teacher educated from Akyab St Pol British High school and his grandfather was a rich land owner.
Mohammad and his younger brother, Faroque, both received high school educations at Mgdaw Kayanda. While living in Kayandan village, Mohammad lost his mother in 1956 at the age of 12. He passed Matriculation in 1960 and pursued his higher education at Kyauk Pyu College.
During his education, Mohammad's father was suffering from lung disease. He came to Mgdaw and took his father to Kyauk Pyu on 1 Oct 1962, where he received treatment at Kyauk Pyu Hospital. But misfortune visited him again, he lost his father on 14 Oct 1962. Thus he was drawn in the middle of a dark state of mind.
Mohammad Shah later joined Bolong training (military) with the hope of serving Rohingya interests. While in training, at Pongyi school, he experienced discrimination and hate talks among trainees. As he was a truth teller he could not keep silent over the wrongdoing of training masters and one day he exposed all publicly, for which he was discharged for unjust reasons.
While Mohammad Shahh was wandering with a distressed state of mind over injustice, he saw some Burmese immigration officers demanding bribes from Rohingyas in Rangoon and Taung Gyi to pay for illegal movement, a process which was never applied on any other Nationalities in Burma.
Mohammad Shah followed cases of injustice against Rohingyas and he went to Taung Gyi where the worst bribery cases were taking place. He trapped some two immigration officers with red handed bribes and put them each in jail for two years and each were suspended from their jobs.
Mohammad Shah's life in Taung Gyi was unsafe but he got married to a girl from Mawlu Kachin state in 1972 and had one son and a daughter. One day it happened that there was a quarrel between some Rohingya youth in a night market selling space where polices intervened. Though Mohammad Shah was not present at the time of fight, he was charged with involvement in the violence and locked in jail for a 17-month sentence.
An advocate was appointed for his case but unfortunately he ultimately served 22 months in jail before being released in 1974 with the assistance of his younger brother. After his release he saw no security and safety for his future in Burma, so he left for Thailand where he joined later with Bo Mya dissident of Burma.
Faroque Shah, brother of Mohammad Shah, once met his brother in 1975 guarded with two body guards in Wannkaa (Maesod).
While talking with his younger brother he said he loved those Rohingyas in trouble more than his younger brother, sharing his intense feeling for the oppressed Rohingya.
It seemed he did not find his peace of mind for Rohingyas. He than shifted to Malaysia and joined with the group of Rohingyas. He served his people there in social activities. His brother later brought him to Bangladesh where he served the late Sultan Ahmed MP in exile 1981. The great man's last breath was with Mohammad Shah in Chittagong.
Mohammad was invited for Haj by his brother, where he performed 2 Haj in two years. He than took part in the Lebanon war with the Palestinians where he met with Chairman Yasser Arafat in 1985. On return to Saudi, he was arrested for illegal border crossing by Iran's border guards and put into custody for months. His brother Faroque Shah appealed to the PLO office in Riyadh and was released by Iran.
After some months stay in Madinah with his brother he again shifted his mind to Afghanistan where Russians were battling US backed Mujaheddin. He fought heroically, along with the great leaders like Gulbadin Hekmatyr, Rubbani, and Ahmed Shah Massoud, until all Russians were cleared from Afghan soil. Mohammed Shah fought and learned how to fight supper power like Russia but alas no one listened TO Mohammad Shah and helped his fighting Burmese regimes In ordinary military power.
Faroque Shah asked his elder brother once why he was leaving again for Bangladesh, and he replied "you can not understand".
Special thanks to Nurul-Grassroots Welfare Association
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