Our team

Shayne Wong

Shayne is an M.A. student in Peace and Conflict Studies from Winnipeg. Her research and advocacy has been focused on raising awareness of the ongoing conflicts and genocide in Myanmar with a particular focus on the gendered dynamics and impacts of the conflict and refugee response. She is active with various civil society organizations both domestically and internationally. She is a Co-Founder and Steering Committee member for the Canadian Coalition for Youth, Peace & Security and a Researcher for the US and Burundi based organization Fontaine-ISOKO. 

Zainab Arkani

Zainab Arkani is Rohingya community leader, activist, and teacher. She and her husband started the first ever Rohingya weekend school in Kitchener, Ontario, where they teach Rohingya language and help Rohingya children excel in their studies. Zainab is the original writer of the first ever "I am Rohingya" production in Canada, which was a play funded by the Muslim Social Services of Kitchener-Waterloo. Zainab has spoken at numerous events & rallies for the Rohingya, and has even presented at the Parliamentary Subcommittee on International Human Rights. She and her husband have served the Rohingya community in Kitchener for 20 years; they have welcomed newly arrived Rohingya refugees and helped them resettle - as selfless volunteers - which they continue to do so to this date. For her outstanding services to the community, Zainab was given the Women Who Inspire award by the Coalition of Muslim Women of Kitchener-Waterloo. She is a genuine example of Rohingya women in leadership not only in Canada, but all over the world.

Amel Belmahdi

Amel is a teacher and an M. Ed student in Toronto. Outside of her work and studies she has a passion for helping people and making a difference at both macro and micro levels. She has helped organize public engagement events for the Rohingya Human Rights Network in Toronto, and has also helped fundraise for Rohingya Children's Projects.   

Fazeelur Rahman

Fazeel is the youngest member of the Rohingya Human Rights Network and he leads the Greater Toronto operations. He has led volunteer engagement in Greater Toronto, organized events, and led fundraising campaigns for Rohingya Children's Projects. In addition to his involvement in the network, Fazeel also participates regularly in other local youth initiatives in Toronto.  

Mohamed Shofi

Shofi is a Rohingya community leader in Quebec City. He is one of the first Rohingya refugees who were settled in Quebec city, and hence he has helped many other newly arrived Rohingya refugees to resettle in Quebec. Prior to coming to Canada, Shofi lived for 15 years inside the refugee camps in Bangladesh. Shofi has spoken at rallies and given interviews to TVA, Radio-canada, le Soleil, and other news agencies. He has also liaised with Canadian musuems regarding Rohingya exhibits and programming. 

Ian Armstrong

Ian is a writer, a school teacher for high needs children, an organic farmer, and a father of 2 most beautiful children by profession! He organized the first rally for the Rohingya in Halifax where civil society organizations from diverse communities successfully participated in solidarity with the Rohingya. Ian has also helped bring the plight of the Rohingya to the attention of various faith groups in Nova Scotia.

Mohammed Tayab

Tayab is a Rohingya from Zawmated village of Maungdaw township. He has lived in the refugee camps of Thailand and Cambodia prior to coming to Canada. While in the refugee camps, he worked hard for the rights of fellow refugees - for their recognition and for humanitarian aid. In Winnipeg, he has led rallies, spoken to the media, and has given talks at Amnesty, the Canadaian Museum of Human Rights, and the University of Manitoba events.

Jean-Francois Tardif

Jean-Francois is a consultant on issues of social justice and international development. He is the founder and former Executive Director of RESULTS Canada, the leading organization creating political will in Canada to contribute to ending global poverty. He has recently led the research and developed the methodology for the first report on ultra-poverty, i.e., the bottom segment of those living in extreme poverty worldwide. Jean-Francois brings years of experience in supporting the growth, development, and empowerment of citizen advocacy groups in Africa and around the world. Earlier, he had had a long career in the Federal Government, holding positions of Senior Negotiator, Director and Chief Federal Negotiator of Aboriginal Land Claims, and subsequently of Director General and Secretary General at the Public Service Commission.

Fareed Khan

Fareed Khan brings 30+ years of experience in public affairs, government relations, and strategic communications in the development and implementation of public policy advocacy and communications strategies. His work has addressed a broad spectrum of issues across a wide range of policy portfolios, including human rights, civil liberties and anti-racism. In 2017 Fareed sponsored a petition for the Rohingya that successfully gathered 50,000+ signatures. Fareed has spoken at rallies, vigils, and other public events on the Rohingya. His advocacy efforts has gained him local and national media attention. He has given numerous interviews at CBC, CTV, Global TV, the Globe and Mail, Al-Jazeerah, and other media outlets.

Sadia Masroor

Sadia has led the activities of Rohingya Human Rights Network in the Ottawa region through rallies, lectures, and active engagement with diverse civil society organizations. She is highly connected with societies that advocate for international social justice, and for the fight against Islamophobia, Xenophobia, and anti-Semitism. Among international causes, she is particularly engaged in the causes for justice in Burma, China, India, and Syria.

Mohamed Shaker

Shaker is a native of Rathedaung and was brought up in one of the refugee camps in the Cox's Bazar - Teknaf region. He as worked with the UNHCR and several other NGOs and international journalists in the Cox's Bazar region to report the plight of the Rohingya. Shakir leads a network of volunteers that gather on-the-grounds information for the Rohingya Human Rights Network from inside the refugee camps. He also manages and runs a network of schools and training programs inside the refugee camps.

Raïss Tinmaung

Raïss is a Rohingya from Toronto. He has led campaigns, petitions, peaceful rallies, and new chapter formations of RHRN across Canada. He is a renowned speaker at Rohingya forums and interviews, and his writings have been published in both national and international journals/newspapers. Following the 2017 massacre of the Rohingya, Raïss spent 1 month at the refugee camps; after which he presented at the Canadian Senate, as well as at the House of Commons. He has led numerous delegations for high level visits with policy makers and civil society organizations lobbying for humanitarian aid and international justice for the Rohingya. He also led the community engagement for Rohingya exhibits at the Montreal Holocaust Museum, the Canadian Museum for Human Rights, and le Musée national de beaux-arts du Québec. Raïss is an Aerospace Systems Engineer by profession, but his passion lies in development work on the grounds - he has lived and volunteered in long term development projects in Haiti, Ecuador, South Africa, and Bangladesh. Apart from leading the Rohingya Human Rights Network, Raïss also leads a network of schools and vocational training programs at the Rohingya refugee camps and villages.