For eight years, Rohingya Muslims have been fleeing Myanmar, victims of persecution by the Myanmar security forces. As we mark World Refugee Day on June 20, more than 1 million Rohingya languish in squalid, violence-plagued camps around Cox’s Bazar in Bangladesh. The living conditions in these camps are dire, often made worse by the annual monsoon season, which brings flooding and landslides.
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Disease outbreaks and a lack of access to basic necessities pose significant challenges to the well-being of Rohingya refugees. Many have been there for years. Desperate to escape life in the camps, an increasing number—many of them women and children—are putting their fates into the hands of people smugglers who cram them onto boats bound for Indonesia. But a new country does not necessarily guarantee a better life.
On March 21, an Indonesian search and rescue team saved 69 people at sea, about 20 km off the western coast of Aceh province, hours after their foundering boat capsized following a long journey from Bangladesh, alongside another vessel that had come to their aid. Visuals showed exhausted men, women, and children soaked from overnight rain struggling for space on the overturned boat’s rusty hull as rescuers pulled them to safety. With around 75 Rohingya rescued and the remaining feared drowned, the incident is a reflection of the growing desperation that is driving the refugees to flee Myanmar and overcrowded relief camps in Bangladesh for safer Southeast Asian countries. As per the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR), over 4,500 Rohingya refugees set off on dangerous journeys across the Bay of Bengal and the Andaman Sea last year.
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Who are the Rohingya?
The Rohingya are a Muslim minority ethnic group with their roots in the Arakan kingdom in Myanmar, formerly known as Burma. The Rohingya claim to have lived in Myanmar’s Rakhine State for generations, but successive governments in the country have disputed their ties, labelling them illegal immigrants from Bangladesh. The Rohingya are culturally and religiously distinct from the majority Buddhist population in Myanmar and speak a Bengali dialect that is different from the common Burmese language. Myanmar has refused to recognise them as an ethnic group, denying them citizenship since 1982, thus making them the world’s largest stateless population, devoid of fundamental rights and security. After decades of discrimination, violence, and persecution at the hands of security forces, the Rohingya began fleeing Myanmar in significant numbers first in 2012, following a military crackdown triggered by the rape and murder of a Rakhine woman in a Rohingya-dominated area, which flared tensions between the Rohingya and Rakhine’s Buddhist communities. Since then, escalating tensions in the region have often erupted into violence, leading hundreds of thousands to abandon their homes and seek refuge in Bangladesh, resulting in the creation of the world's largest refugee camp, while others escaped to India, Thailand, Malaysia, and other parts of South and Southeast Asia, where they continue to face persecution.
Beginning of the crisis
The crisis escalated dramatically in August 2017 when the Arakan Rohingya Salvation Army (ARSA), a Rohingya insurgent group, launched attacks on Myanmar police and army posts in Rakhine State. In response, Myanmar's military launched a brutal crackdown, characterised by widespread violence, mass killings, and the torching of Rohingya villages. Hundreds of thousands fled across the border into neighbouring Bangladesh to escape the atrocities. The international community has condemned Myanmar's actions, with many labelling them as ethnic cleansing and even genocide. The United Nations, human rights organisations, and individual countries have called for accountability and justice for the Rohingya. Legal actions have been pursued at international courts, including cases at the International Court of Justice (ICJ) and the International Criminal Court (ICC). Sanctions have been imposed on Myanmar's military leaders by various nations and organisations. According to a 2019 report by the US think tank Council on Foreign Relations, approximately 18,000 Rohingya refugees have officially registered with the UN refugee agency, but Indian authorities estimate that the total Rohingya population in the country stands at around 40,000. The Indian government has been actively pursuing their repatriation. Since late 2018, India has reportedly deported numerous refugees back to Myanmar. The monsoon season runs from June to October each year and brings heavy rainfall and strong winds to Bangladesh, increasing the risk of floods and landslides. Hundreds of thousands of Rohingya have found refuge in flimsy shelters made of bamboo and tarp, which have been built in areas prone to landslides and may not stand torrential rains and heavy winds. The rainy season also exacerbates the risk of disease, such as hepatitis, malaria, dengue, and chikungunya, in crowded camps that don’t have proper water and sanitation facilities, putting children and the elderly at particular risk.
Steps to pursue
There is a need for the safe, voluntary, and dignified return of Rohingyas to their homeland, with guarantees of citizenship and security. It requires significant changes in Myanmar's policies. Rohingya refugees must integrate into host countries, such as Bangladesh, Malaysia, and Indonesia, where they have fled. This would require host countries to provide legal status, rights, and opportunities for refugees to rebuild their lives until the situation arises of their return to Myanmar safely. The augmentation of international humanitarian aid will improve living conditions in refugee camps and support host countries in tackling the root causes of the crisis, such as discrimination and violence in Myanmar. Implementing legal and policy reforms at both national and international levels to protect the rights of refugees, prevent human trafficking, and ensure access to justice for the Rohingya. It requires sustained commitment and cooperation from the international community, governments, and other stakeholders.
(All views and thoughts expressed are the author’s own.)
