The long journey to find peace for Rohingya refugee Kobir Ahmed can be told through the different birth countries of his eight children -- Myanmar, Malaysia and Australia -- although they remain citizens of no nation.
He now helps run a grocery store in suburban Australia where he lives in a small community of Rohingya, the persecuted Muslim minority who have fled army-led violence in Myanmar's Rakhine state in their hundreds of thousands.
"They are not like other militaries of the world. Killing people is nothing for them," the 44-year-old told AFP of the army's hardline tactics against his people.
Myanmar's de facto leader Aung San Suu Kyi was in Sydney today for a special Australia-ASEAN summit, with her presence seen as a crushing reminder of lost hope.
She is among nine leaders from the Association of Southeast Asian Nations holding talks, including Cambodian strongman Hun Sen and Vietnam's Nguyen Xuan Phuc -- both accused of oppression.
Their attendance sparked human rights protests, with thousands making their feelings known, particularly about Aung San Suu Kyi's perceived inaction to halt what the UN says bears "the hallmarks of genocide".
"The situation in Burma wasn't this bad before Aung Sung Suu Kyi came in power," said Ahmed, who arrived in Australia on a rickety boat crammed with more than 100 people in 2013.
"Before, we were tortured, we weren't allowed to work or move independently -- we were under a lot of scrutiny -- but we could at least live there. But after she emerged, we were all forced to leave the country."
"For myself, my chance is over as I didn't go to school and when I grew up in Myanmar I lost all my rights," refugee Jumabi, who arrived via boat with her family six years ago, told AFP. "But here, these children have a great chance, and a future."
- 'Crimes against humanity' -
Disclaimer: No Business Standard Journalist was involved in creation of this content