Amidst the celebration of Myanmar’s political transition and Aung San Suu Kyi’s nationwide ceasefire initiatives, the world has forgotten about the five years of brutality against the nation’s ethnic minority: the Rohingyas. Myanmar is known to be the number one country susceptible to state-led mass killing, and the Rohingya Muslims, considered by the UN as the “most oppressed people on Earth”, are the victims of the atrocious ethnic cleansing by the Myanmar government and the Buddhist majority. It is often said that this long-persecuted group is on the verge of "mass annihilation” with evident government initiatives and complicity. Ever since 2012, persecution of the muslim minority by the buddhist majority has unprecedentedly intensified, and the attacks have left the Rohingyas with not much choice other than being sanctioned in camps or fleeing to neighboring countries. Those encamped in parts of the Rakhine state are constantly attacked by the buddhists, to which the aggressors deny against the clear evidence. Even the 70,000 to 80,000 escapees to Thailand and Malaysia are denied protection and hope. They are often denied refugee status and are highly prone to human trafficking organizations, due to the corroboration of the traffickers, Thai and Myanmar governments. The Rohingyas do not have much support from governments, non-governmental groups, and even the United Nations. The ethnic cleansing of the muslim minority is currently being thrown under the bush and purposefully ignored by most nations in order to maintain the democratic transition of the government. Therefore, the devastating conditions of the isolated muslims only worsen to a state of utter hopelessness.

 

 

The Problem

 

A military coup in 1962 not only ended the democracy in Myanmar but also any formal recognition of the Rohingya. Then in 1982, the Burmese legislature passed a new law that officially denied citizenship to the Rohingya, leaving them to a stateless plight. Ever since, the government has claimed that the Rohingya minorities are migrants from Bangladesh who devised their identity to gain citizenship -- indeed, despite the fact that the Rohingyas resided in the country for decades prior to the coup. This 1982 Citizenship Act ultimately has permitted the Myanmar government to easily deport and abuse the ethnic minority, on the grounds that their muslim identity was a threat to the majority’s religion. More than 1.3 million Rohingyas are currently restricted in their fundamental human rights, including the rights to marry, have children, work, obtain health care, and even to go to school. Until today, the Myanmar President Thein Sein remains firm to exempt the ethnic group in the 2014 census unless they register as “Bengali”, for “[t]here are no Rohingya” in the nation. As a result, the Rohingyas cannot even request for birth certificates, legally marry, and most importantly, vote.

 

      

 

What’s worse, since 2011, ethnic conflict escalated as longstanding ceasefires with ethnic groups broke down in northern Burma. This collapse of stability has resulted in numerous groups being targeted, including the Kachin and Chin Christian minorities, the Shan community, and the Karen minority. However, none of the groups have been abused like the Rohingyas. A vehement riot broke out against this muslim group in the summer of 2012, as a result of an alleged gang rape of a Rakhine woman by the Rohingyas. Anti-Muslim Buddhist monks, namely Bhikkhu Wirathu, began the 969 Movement, a nationalist movement against the threat of a supposed Islamic expansion in Burma. More than 140,000 Rohingyas were imprisoned in the “concentration camps” after their villages were burned down that summer. Many are still abandoned in those camps today, though these camps are warned as early signs of genocide by the US Holocaust Museum. These apartheid-like camps do not even receive most of the food rations sent by international aid organizations. A lack of education, proper healthcare, job opportunities, and protection is a major human rights concern, but even worse are the government sponsored violence against those in the camps. Needless to say, the Myanmar authorities deny any knowledge to these events, but skeletons piled on mountains and leaked documents support the continuous abuse by the government -- mainly, on January 14, 2015.

 

On that day, the deadliest atrocity against the Rohingya since the sectarian violence in 2012 took place, when 40 Rohingyas were murdered by security forces and Rakhine Buddhists in the Du Char Yar Tan village in northern Rakhine State. To this day, Myanmar government refuses to admit that the massacre took place, despite the piling evidence and reports that contradict the official narrative. Moreover, classified government documents inform officials of the plan to initiate a “countrywide communal violence between Muslims and Burmans” at a mosque in Rangoon, Burma’s capital -- one that ultimately did not take place. Furthermore, documents reveal that new army recruits receive a presentation that details on the “Fear of Extinction of Race” about  the “Bengali Muslims … [infiltrating] the people to propagate the religion” and intending to take over the whole of the Burmese population.

 

An alternative to the encampment is for the Rohingyas to flee to neighboring countries. Yet, this is an equally unappealing choice, for the conditions on the escape boats are more than horrid, most do not make it to the countries, and even if they do, they are usually “shoo”ed away. Since 2012, an estimated 100,000 Rohingya have fled Burma by boat. And by 2015, 8000 escapees were known to have been stranded at sea, and many more have died while fleeing either from drowning or from dreadful conditions on board.

 

 

For the Rohingyas who do manage to withstand all those risks and make it to the shores of Thailand, Malaysia, Bangladesh, or other countries do not have it easy either. Caught in what Human Rights Watch called a “deadly game of human ping-pong”, the refugees are usually denied entrance for the sake of social stability and political diplomacy.

 

Apart from those risks, many of those who flee also fall into the hands of human traffickers, and are forced to work on rubber plantations or in the sex trade. It is known that transnational criminal syndicates, the Myanmar government, and the neighboring countries governments are “all in” on this human rights violation, as internal documents reveal that the syndicates either bribe or cooperate with officials to facilitate their trade. It has been estimated that the net profit of this process exceeds 200 million dollars.

 

Despite all of this horror, the international community continues to remain silent, if not reward the Myanmar government. Due to the government reform, sanctions have been lifted, diplomatic relations have been strengthened, and economic and military collaboration have taken place. No actual action significant enough was taken to put an end to the ethnic cleansing of Rohingyas or to improve the conditions in the Rakhine state camps.

 

 

What we can do

 

A non-governmental organization named “Partners” provides some hope for the desperate. They work to give food, shelter, and medical protection for the muslims in Rakhine state. Since 2012 attacks, Partners have provided emergency relief to the camps, such as rice distribution, basic medical support, tarps for shelter, and sources of sustainable food supply. They are already assisting over 25,000 people, with 111,600 kg of rice delivered, 135 families given land, 1705 kg of vegetables provided, and 1150 children medically treated. By donating to this organization, we would be able to improve the conditions in the prison-like camps, reduce the damage of the constant abuses by the government and the buddhist majority, and save innocent lives.

 

Although donation to Partners through Shareground cannot reform the Myanmar government, it can significantly change the lives of the people who are struggling to get by and make the best of their situation. Most importantly, we can give hope to hopeless times.

 

Websites

• https://vimeo.com/153985749

• http://www.partners.ngo/au/save-the-rohingya

 

 

이 글은 닉네임 Stefanylee님이 작성해 주셨습니다.

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