Since the late 1970s, the predominantly Buddhist nation of Myanmar has forced hundreds of thousands of Muslim Rohingya to flee their homes due to discriminatory policies implemented by the government. Most have entered Bangladesh via land, while others have travelled by sea to Thailand, Indonesia, and Malaysia.
Beginning in 2017, an increase in violence led to an exodus of Rohingya as Myanmar’s security forces purportedly waged a campaign to restore stability in the western part of the country. There were reports of rape, murder, and arson during this time. The international pressure on the nation’s elected leaders to end the repression has increased since the United Nations stated that those forces displayed “genocidal intent.”
The Rohingya are a minority ethnic group of Muslims who follow a Sunni form of Islam with Sufi overtones. An estimated 3.5 million Rohingya are dispersed across the globe. Before August 2017, Rakhine State, where they made up nearly a third of the population, was home to the majority of the estimated one million Rohingya in Myanmar. They differ from most Buddhist ethnic, linguistic, and religious groups in Myanmar.
Since the government won’t grant citizenship to the Rohingya, most of the group’s members are stateless because they lack official identification. The military junta that took control of Myanmar in 1962 enacted a new law 20 years after the country’s 1948 citizenship law, which was already discriminatory, depriving the Rohingya of the right to full citizenship. White cards, which the junta started issuing to many Muslims, both Rohingya and non-Rohingya, in the 1990s, allowed the Rohingya to register as temporary residents up until recently. Although they were only granted a few rights, the white cards were not accepted as identification of citizenship.
The government conducted a national census in 2014, it’s first in thirty years and supported by the UN. The government initially allowed the Muslim minority group to register under the Rohingya name. Still, after Buddhist nationalists threatened to boycott the census, the government decided that Rohingya could only register under the Bengali name.
Similarly, President Thein Sein revoked the Rohingyas’ newly acquired right to vote in February 2015 under pressure from Buddhist nationalists opposing their ability to cast a ballot in a 2015 constitutional referendum. (White card holders were permitted to cast ballots in the 2008 constitutional referendum and the 2010 presidential election in Myanmar.) None of the parliamentary candidates in the 2015 elections, which international observers praised as being free and fair, were Muslim.
According to a report by the advocacy group Fortify Rights, the government recently ordered Rohingya to begin carrying national verification cards, which effectively identify them as foreigners and do not confer citizenship. According to officials in Myanmar officials, the cards are the first step toward citizenship. Still, opponents claim they rob the Rohingya of their identity and could make it easier for the government to suppress their rights further.
Through restrictions on marriage, family planning, employment, education, religious preference, and freedom of movement, the Myanmar government has successfully institutionalised discrimination against ethnic groups. For instance, only two children are permitted for Rohingya couples in the northern towns of Maungdaw and Buthidaung.
In addition, Rohingya are required to apply for permission before getting married, which may entail paying off officials and submitting pictures of the bride and groom without a headscarf or facial hair, which is against Islamic tradition. Rohingya need government permission to leave their townships or move to a new home.
According to World Bank estimates, Rakhine State is also Myanmar’s least developed state, with a poverty rate of 78% compared to the country’s average of 37.5%.
The divide between Buddhists and Muslim Rohingya has worsened in Rakhine due to widespread poverty, inadequate infrastructure, and a lack of job opportunities. Religious differences that have occasionally resulted in conflict exacerbate this tension.
In August 2017, fighting broke out in Rakhine after the Arakan Rohingya Salvation Army (ARSA) claimed responsibility for attacks on army and police outposts. The military launched a brutal campaign that destroyed hundreds of Rohingya villages and forced the emigration of nearly 700,000 Rohingya from Myanmar after the government designated ARSA as a terrorist organisation.
The international medical charity Doctors Without Borders estimates that between August 25 and September 24, 2017, the first month of attacks resulted in at least 6,700 deaths among Rohingya. Additionally, it is claimed that near border crossings where Rohingya attempted to cross into Bangladesh, Myanmar’s security forces opened fire on civilians fleeing and buried land mines.
It has also been claimed that Myanmar’s government has cleared abandoned Rohingya villages and farmlands since the beginning of 2018 to construct houses, security outposts, and infrastructure. The government claims that these steps are being taken to prepare for the repatriation of refugees. Still, human rights advocates are concerned that they could be taking place to accommodate populations other than the Rohingya in Rakhine.
Most Rohingya Have fled to Bangladesh, which is close by and has limited resources and space to house refugees. According to the UN agency for refugees, there are over 900,000 Rohingya refugees in the nation. The largest refugee camp in the world is located in Cox’s Bazar district, where many people live in crowded camps.
Since teachers are not allowed to use either Bangladeshi or Myanmar curricula in the camps and Rohingya children are not allowed to enrol in schools outside of the camps, nearly 400,000 children in the camps do not have access to education. Health organisations have warned of measles, tetanus, diphtheria, and acute jaundice syndrome outbreaks. At the same time, the risk of disease outbreaks in camps is high.
In refugee camps, more than 60% of the available water supply is contaminated, which raises the possibility of the spread of contagious and water-borne diseases. Some refugees have sought the help of smugglers, paying for their transportation out of Bangladesh and Myanmar while running the risk of exploitation, including sexual servitude.
Malaysia: The United Nations reports that as of October 2019, almost 100,000 Rohingya were living in Malaysia. When Rohingya travellers reach Malaysia safely, their families are cut off from access to healthcare and education because they lack legal status and cannot work.
Officials in India estimate that forty thousand Rohingya people live throughout the nation, although only 18,000 have registered as refugees with the UN agency for refugees.
The Rohingya are seen as illegal immigrants by the Hindu nationalist government, which has worked to bring them home. According to reports, India has sent dozens of refugees back to Myanmar since late 2018, actions that have drawn criticism from the UN and human rights organisations.
Thailand: The nation is a focal point for regional human smuggling and is a hub for Rohingyas travelling. From Bangladesh or Myanmar, migrants frequently travel by boat to Indonesia or Malaysia. Following the discovery of mass graves in alleged prison camps where gangs held hostages, the military-led Thai government cracked down on smuggling networks. However, some experts contend that punishing traffickers causes networks to splinter; it does not destroy them.