Why the Rohingya spread and flee over the world??? “We, Rohingya, are like birds in a cage. If you keep birds in a cage, you can grab them whenever you like. Likewise, the Burmese authorities use us whenever they need, for forced labour, extortion, etc. The only difference is that caged birds are fed whereas we also need to work for our own food.” --- The Rohingya are a Muslim community of South Asian descent, closely related to the Chittagonian Bengali of neighbouring Bangladesh. An ethnic, religious and linguistic minority, approximately one million Rohingya live in the Rakhine state of Myanmar today, of which over 700,000 are concentrated in the northern region of the state. 1 The Rohingya are a community in flight, with possibly more Rohingya living outside Myanmar than within. The 1982 Citizenship Law of Myanmar stripped the Rohingya of their nationality, making them legally stateless. 2 Furthermore, Myanmar does not recognize the existence of an ethnic community by the name of Rohingya. This law was the basis for arbitrary and discriminatory treatment against the Rohingya community. As a result, their human rights and freedoms have been systematically eroded through a series of draconian policies, arbitrary taxes and controls. The Rohingya do not have the freedom to move within Myanmar. In fact, they must pay for a travel permit even to visit a neighbouring village and they are not permitted to travel beyond the three townships of northern Rakhine state. This restriction severely impedes their already limited access to employment, education, health and trade. Rohingya who leave Myanmar are denied the right to return; their names are struck off family lists and they face long-term imprisonment if captured upon re-entry. The NaSaka – Myanmar’s border security force – also places severe controls on Rohingya marriages. A marriage permit must be obtained through a lengthy and expensive process which is rife with bribery and corruption. Marriages without a permit can result in up to ten years of imprisonment. 3 In addition to acute discrimination and severe restrictions on their human rights, the extreme poverty and complete lack of development initiatives in northern Rakhine have ensured that this extremely vulnerable, downtrodden and impoverished community will continue to remain so. Many Rohingya feel that life cannot get worse than in Myanmar. This is why they flee and spread. They then have no option of return because they are stateless and Myanmar would not re-admit them. It is important to take stock of this fact. It is essential that all countries of the world have to be force Myanmar government to grant citizenship of rohingya Muslim.
Posted on: Sun, 07 Dec 2014 07:09:23 +0000
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