by Firaz Khan
A Profile of a Forgotten People
t
is a testament to the power of the Islamic message that we find Muslims
in all parts of the world, and while people of all races and cultures
testify to the oneness of God, the Rohingya Muslims of Burma must feel
as though Islam’s messages of brotherhood, charity, and compassion have
fallen on deaf ears.
Tracing their origins to Persians, Turks, Moors, Moghuls, Pathans,
and Bengalis, the Rohingya have lived in the Rakhine State (formerly
Arakan) of Burma since the 7th century. Although Hinduism had once been
prevalent in the region, the emergence of Islam left modern Rakhine
with the majority Buddhist Maghs and the Rohingya Muslims as its two
largest communities.
In many ways the Rohingya’s plight is a familiar story in the
post-colonial world. The Rohingya enjoyed success in the pre-colonial
period and under colonialism, continued to hold high positions within
the government, in business and within civil society. Although these
groups once lived peacefully, British rule had dramatically altered the
fabric of the country and eventually all religious groups joined
together to remove the British.
Following independence in 1948, Burma has been plagued with civil war
between the ruling government and the minority groups. Although
largely indistinguishable from each other in terms of appearance, dress
and language, any slight differences between the factions were all that
mattered.
The Burmese army, known as the Tatmadaw, have systematically
oppressed minority groups, which include the Rohingya, Karen, Karenni,
Shan and Mon peoples. The Tatmadaw, has implemented a “Four Cuts”
policy which aims to debilitate minority held regions. These ‘cuts’ are
directed towards eliminating food and other supplies, access to
information, recruiting for armed resistance and financial support.
Under the banner of the ‘Four Cuts,” many atrocities have been
committed, including forced relocation and internal displacement,
expropriation of land and livestock, forced labour, sexual abuse and
violence rising to the level of systematic executions.
The Rohingya Muslims have been especially targeted. A propaganda
war, lead by radical Buddhists, has sparked some of the violence by
claiming that Muslims seek to force conversions by intermarrying with
other groups. A few months after the destructions of the Buddhist
statues in Afghanistan by the Taliban, tensions erupted between
Buddhists and Muslims. Reported incidents include a robed monk leading a
mob of nearly a thousand people to attack Muslim businesses, houses and
mosques. The ruling authorities did nothing to quell the violence,
which spread to neighbouring towns and villages over the following
moths.
The avenues of escape for the Rohingya have been limited. More than a
quarter million refugees fled to neighbouring Bangladesh, but the
Bangladeshi government is unwilling to take these refugees into their
country or provide the necessities of life to refugee camps.
Approximately 230, 000 of these people were forced to repatriate to
Burma. The balance of roughly 30, 000 refugees remain in these camps
where disease is rampant and education is non-existent. There are also
an estimated 100, 000 to 200 000 Rohingya people living outside of
refugee camps in Bangladesh without the identity papers needed to be
recognized as a refugee.
The fact that there has been a recent shortage of medicine in the
camps has not helped the situation nor has the lack of access to medical
clinics. Malnutrition is rampant in these refugee camps with 52% of
camp children suffering from chronic malnutrition and 16.8% of them
under the age of five suffering from acute malnutrition. Much of the
suffering is attributed to poor water quality and sanitation, lack of
food and generally poor conditions of the camps.
Further to that, these children are not being adequately educated.
It is estimated that about 650 children are being born every year in
refugee camps and with the lack of qualified teachers, educational tools
and flawed Bangladeshi policies, the literacy rate in the camps has
dropped to 12% and continues to fall. There are fears that an entire
generation of children will not have the skills required to provide any
viable future for themselves.
The Bangladeshi government has not allowed international agencies or
NGOs to intervene, fearing that those people and others will come to the
camps and try to cross the border. Although a number of groups have
called for international assistance, few people actually know of the
plight of the Rohingya Muslims.
When Islam first spread to the “four corners of the earth”, it was a
message that knew no borders. Trapped between the borders of ignorance
and intolerance, the Rohingya Muslims are in a situation with little
hope. For that to change, Muslims around the world must unite with the
international community to tear down these borders and bring hope to a
forgotten people.
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