“Myanmar’s Rohingya: The ‘Most Friendless’ People in the World” by Hannah

The Rohingya Muslims--an ethnic religious minority group in the nation of Myanmar-- have once again fled their country by hundreds of thousands. Since August 25th of this year, it has been estimated that more than 400,000 Rohingya people have fled due to military and civilian violence. Villages have been burned to the ground, Rohingya women raped, and many have been randomly killed. This recent mass exodus is only the most recent example of intolerant ethnic cleansing.

Rohingya Muslims’ existence in Myanmar, and more specifically in the Rakhine State, is traceable since the twelfth century. When under British rule (1824-1942) there was a large “internal movement” of Rohingya migrant workers from other parts of British India to Myanmar. After independence from Britain, in 1948, the Burmese government, angry with the mass influx, deemed the great Rohingya migration as illegal. “It is on this basis,” Human Rights Watch says, “that they refuse citizenship to the majority of the Rohingya.”

A map of British India during the time Myanmar was ruled by Britain. Rohingya Muslims  migrated from other parts of British India internally.

Since 1948, the government of Myanmar has remained unwilling to legitimize many of the Rohingya people. Operations like Operation Nagamin has used military to force Rohingya out of their homes and to leave the country. Many laws were passed, including the debilitating 1982 citizenship law that affects the Rohingya today. The law has denied many Rohingya of secondary education, employment opportunities, freedom of movement and marriage without state permission. They are essentially prisoners of their own country.

On August 25th of this year, ARSA launched raids on police posts and attempted to break into an army base. ARSA is the Arakan Rohingya Salvation Army, an insurgent group of Rohingya from Myanmar who, as AJC states, “...seeks an autonomous Muslim state for the Rohingya…” The group claimed they were “taking defensive actions” after accusing military forces of previous rapings and killings of Rohingya. “At least 77 Rohingya Muslims and 12 members of security forces were reportedly killed,” Al Jazeera states.

In retaliation, Myanmar’s military has been taking to fatal extremes since August 25th, demolishing Rohingya villages as part of a “clearance operation.” Myanmar’s military claims they are not killing innocent civilians, but fighting terrorists. However, the evidence left by the military and local militias says something completely different. Innocent children are being killed. Women are being raped and killed. Entire communities are being erased, and hundreds of thousands are fearful their lives are at stake, fleeing Myanmar and crossing the border into Bangladesh.

Myanmar’s over-powerful government is taking control of the situation in the wrong way. Though violence should never be the answer, ARSA thought if they made a statement, officials might listen to their cries for help. In turn, the military has ignored the idea of toleration; instead, it decided to permanently silence many Rohingya, and swept the rest “under the rug” into Bangladesh. Now who will speak for them? Not even the country’s freedom fighting, Nobel Peace Prize winner Aung San Suu Kyi will...

Distraught Rohingya Muslims

The sad truth of the matter is that this crisis with the Rohingya people of Myanmar is only the latest ethnic cleansing. In the 90s it was the Tutsis in Rwanda, in the 40s it was the Jews, and the Native Americans underwent ethnic cleansing in the nineteenth century. If the quote, “Those who forget history are doomed to repeat it” holds true, have we forgotten transgressions of the recent past already?

In order to move on from this vicious cycle we need to understand the importance of basic human rights. We need to tolerate the differences between one another and communicate effectively enough to create a compromise. Differences between humans across the globe should be celebrated; not rendered problematic.

Works Cited

"Myanmar: Who Are the Rohingya?" Rohingya | Al Jazeera. Al Jazeera, 20 Sept. 2017. Web. 22 Sept.

2017.

Fiza Pirani The Atlanta Journal-Constitution 10:59 A.m. Wednesday, Sept. 20, 2017

National/World News. "Who Are the Rohingya Muslims? 7 Things to Know about The ‘world’s Most Persecuted Minority’." Ajc. N.p., n.d. Web. 22 Sept. 2017.

Human Rights Watch. "II. HISTORICAL BACKGROUND." Burmese Refugees In Bangladesh - Historical Background. Human Rights Watch, n.d. Web. 22 Sept. 2017.