Pictures of the Year: Persecuted Rohingya Muslims flee violence in Myanmar
Rohingya refugees arrive to the Bangladeshi side of the Naf River after crossing the border from Myanmar, in Palang Khali, Bangladesh, October 16, 2017. Reuters photographer Jorge Silva: "We had been expecting this massive crossing of people along the Naf river from Myanmar for some days. Before dawn I started walking through the rice field in Palang Khali. After almost two hours walking, a loud murmur indicated they were thousands of people, all wet, caked in mud, exhausted, starving, and in a state of panic. People using the very last of their energy to survive. They crossed the river during the night, paying smugglers to carry them in their boats. I got to one of the several points where they were disembarking. They had to walk across the mangrove with water up to their waists, to reach the slippery embankments of the rice field, where they would be safe and could rest. The scene was overwhelming. The sound of splashes on the water, shouting, babies and children crying, created an atmosphere of despair that is very hard to forget." REUTERS/Jorge Silva/File photo SEARCH "POY ROHINGYA" FOR THIS STORY. SEARCH "REUTERS POY" FOR ALL BEST OF 2017 PACKAGES. TPX IMAGES OF THE DAY.