The Rohingya People and the Current Refugee Crisis
The Rohingya refugees are an ethnic minority group originating in Myanmar, which used to be known as Burma. They are predominantly Muslim, with their own language and culture.
They claim to be descendants of Arab traders and people from the Myanmar region; the Myanmar government claims they are illegal immigrants from Bangladesh.
The Rohingya people are not officially recognized and have been denied citizenship for over 40 years. The BBC writes that they were excluded from the 2014 census in Myanmar. This lack of acknowledgment means they are not registered at birth and rarely have birth certificates or any legal documentation, making them vulnerable to human trafficking, exploitation, physical violence, and sexual and gender-based violence. The Rohingya people are one of the largest stateless groups in the world, leaving them without any basic human rights and protection.
Around 1.8 million people have been internally displaced thus far, 1.5 million of them since 2021. Over a million Rohingya people have fled Myanmar since the 90’s, according to the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR).
The BBC also stated that the Myanmar army “has said it was fighting Rohingya militants and denies targeting civilians,” and that the country’s leader denies claims of genocide.
In August 2017, “Rohingya Arsa militants,” as described by the BBC, attacked more than 30 police posts. Troops and local mobs reacted by destroying almost 300 Rohingya villages and attacking and killing nearly 7,000 Rohingya civilians; Myanmar lists the casualties at 400. Amnesty International further states that the military raped and abused Rohingya women and girls.
The treatment of the Rohingya people is a “textbook example of ethnic cleansing,” according to the United Nations.
Many of the Rohingya people are currently in Bangladesh in concentrated refugee camps, and nearly half of these refugees are children. The UNHCR states that they are almost a third of the population in the Cox Bazar region. In 2019, Bangladesh declared it would not accept any more Rohingya refugees. Rohingya children, including those outside of Bangladesh, are becoming increasingly worried about their futures. They lack education, and many girls are sold for marriage as they have no other options.
Other Rohingya people have relocated to Thailand, India, Nepal, and Malaysia, and a few in Indonesia. On December 27th, 2023, in Aceh Province, Indonesia, many Rohingya refugees suffered violence and abuse at the hands of around 100 students. Yet, Rohingya refugees continue to arrive in Indonesia, often on the verge of starvation.
One man reported that, because of the attack on December 27th, he cannot reconnect with his family and is constantly being called by human traffickers who are threatening his family’s safety. Many UNHCR workers are being harassed and doxxed online as part of an online campaign against the Rohingya people. Fact-checkers are being utilized to put a stop to misinformation about the Rohingya refugees.
Human Rights Watch urges many South Asian governments to help the Rohingya people. The Rohingya people are taking on huge risks, including the possibility of death, by going out to sea. Out of the estimated 3,500 that have fled by boat in 2022, almost 400 are either dead or missing. The Indonesian government pushed a boat holding many Rohingya refugees back to sea. The Human Rights Watch organization states that this goes against Indonesia’s obligations to search and rescue and to provide asylum to anyone who would face severe consequences upon returning to where they came from.
Many refugees are at risk of being subject to many kinds of acts of violence, or death, if they return to their home countries. Many Rohingya people are facing ration cuts, restrictions by authorities, and violence in their current refugee camps, but, ultimately, they are hoping to go to places where there are established Rohingya communities, such as Malaysia, where they hope to find jobs.
Those who stay in their home country, Myanmar, have limited movement, and lack extensive access to healthcare, education, food, or safe living conditions. Their camps don’t have proper facilities, and it is hard to find funding, leading to hepatitis, malaria, dengue, and chikungunya. Climate change also affects the Rohingya people as monsoons destroy their refugee camps and increase the risk of transmitting diseases.
The International Criminal Court has opened an investigation into the circumstances of the Rohingya people in Myanmar, both present and past. Myanmar’s Independent Commission of Enquiry (ICOE) stated that the military might have committed "war crimes, serious human rights violations, and violations of domestic law", but stated there were no genocide or genocidal intentions.