The Rohingya Crisis

In the northern Rakhine province of Myanmar, violence and conflict over religious, identity, and territorial
grounds has been ongoing since August of 2017. The conflict, between Rohingya Muslims, an ethnic
minority, and the Buddhist majority, traces back to the late 1970s when Rohingyas were considered illegal
citizens, beginning a “cycle of forced displacement”. Between 1989 and 1992, around 250,000 Rohingya
fleed to Bangladesh after being subjected to forced labor, relocation, rape, executions, and torture. In 1992,
Bangladesh and Myanmar agreed to repatriate refugees to their own country, despite backlash from the
international community. To this day, the government of Myanmar continues to deny Rohingya citizenship,
refusing to recognize their existence as legitimate citizens and human beings.

On August 25, 2017, the Arakan Rohingya Salvation Army (ARSA), attacked more than 30 police posts
and militant posts. In response, Myanmar troops, backed by local Buddhist mobs, burned and destroyed at
least 288 villages and attacked Rohingya civilians. Attacks by Rohingyas led to 12 deaths of the Myanmar
military members; in contrast, over 6,700 (including at least 730 children under the age of five) were
killed, and Rohingya women and girls were victims of mass rapes and abuses by the Myanmar military.

In an attempt to escape the instances of mass violence and abuse, nearly 700,000 Rohingya fleed to
Bangladesh, joining the already 307,500 population of refugees in Bangladesh before the August attacks.
NGOs like Un Security Council and the UN Human Rights Council have called the operation a “textbook
example of ethnic cleansing” and urge the Myanmar government to stop the violence, but no sanctions (a
threatened penalty for disobeying a law or rule) have been imposed. Countries such as the United States,
China, United Kingdom, and Canada, have condemned the “massive refugee exodus” by the Myanmar
government. In November of 2017, Bangladesh and Myanmar signed a deal to return Rohingya refugees
to their homes, but few details of the agreement have been released.

 With the influx of refugees in Bangladesh, the need (and lack of) adequate health care, food, and safety
for all is overwhelming. International organizations are working to relocate refugees to safer areas with
more durable shelters and drainage channels. About 70% of the one million refugees are receiving food
aid, health care, and basic safety needs.

The conflict in Myanmar is yet to be resolved. Pressures from groups like the U.N. Security Council and
Western governments is critical in order to return displaced Rohingya citizens to their homes and to
acknowledge basic human rights and citizenship rights to ethnic minorities, without discrimination.

Sources:

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