Plight of the Myanmar Rohingyas

The UN agencies have a pivotal role to play in this matter in the changed landscape of Myanmar politics

Myanmar’s tens of thousands of Rohingya had fled poverty, persecution and ethnic discrimination in western Myanmar since violence erupted there in 2012. But a recent Reuters report said outflows of the Rohingyas by sea came down to a virtual halt now. What caused such ebb tide in the migration of Rohingya refugee flow across the Bay of Bengal are simultaneous crackdowns from Bang­ladesh and Thailand – both the country embarrassed by harrowing incidents of boat migrants on human traffickers.
As the Rohingyas’ forced exodus from their native land showed signs of a cessation, probing reporters' eyes spotted such an agonizing state of their fate getting stranded in their own homes they are dispossessed of by a denial of their right of domicile amid double push-back, from domestic side as well as shelter lands they used to flee to.
These people of Myanmar now got caught in a cul-de-sac with all doors shut on them. They are now pegged into a miasma of poverty and prosecution with their all-possible exit route sealed.  Most of the runaway Rohingyas from a double jeopardy of poverty and ethnic cleansing in their native land of Myanmar had headed for country Malaysia. But many of them made landfall first in southern Thailand or been intercepted and held by human traffickers for ransom in camps hidden deep in Thai jungles.
Stunning real-life episodes of boat people on the outbound voyages came to light, in the dry season last year, with plight of the voyagers, stuck at high seas, overshadowing the ordeals of the mariner described in the poetic artwork by English poet Samuel Taylor Coleridge entitled “The Rime of the Ancient Mariner”. The climax of the plot unraveled with the discovery of mass graves of Rohingya Muslim in-between Myanmar and Thailand and involvement of a Thai General in the racketeering by human smugglers.
The victims of such heinous trade in people smuggling were mostly Rohingyas tossed off home by marauding thugs amid the reign of arson attacks, murder, plunder, torture, rape and in what were reported as sectarian violence let loose by a section of people of Buddhist faith – a religion that forbids even killing of an ant. Many of the fortune-seekers from Bangladesh also jumped onto the bandwagon, to be trapped by “Adam traders” on false promises of plum jobs abroad, on an uncertain journey by boat. Many ended up in mass graves around jungle concentration camps of trans-national gangs of people smugglers or in watery burial.
 The remaining of the survivors got stranded in boats, hungry and thirsty to the point of death throes, as border forces of the littoral countries namely Myanmar, Thailand and Indonesia played a sort of maritime ping-pong pushing out the migrants from respective territories. However, even those bizarre scenes looked to be the tip of the iceberg when hordes of Muslim migrants, pushed out of Arab world plus Afghanistan and Pakistan, engaged in Armageddon with
security forces of European countries to force their way into their chosen destinations – mainly Germany.
The refugees-men, women and children-fled homes and crossed the Red Sea and the Mediterranean on their neo-nomadic journey amid deadly sectarian strife and “war on terror” initiated by the invading western coalition forces – led by the USA. Many of the refugees perished along the way. There had been a cessation to the doldrums over the bay with the advent of rainy season. But there were prognoses about a fresh outbreak of desperadoes with the advent of sailing season in 2016.
But, the Rohingyas, as reports say, stand transfixed between the devil and the deep blue sea in the wake of drives against the rackets from the two countries. A Thai official was quoted as saying that "Thailand is closed and cannot be used for disembarkation.
The few brokers that still seem to be involved are the ones that have pre-existing 'orders' for people to be brought over, that's what we are being told at departure”. Anti-trafficking operations are going on in Bangladesh as well.
The United Nations (UN) regional spokeswoman for refugee agency Vivian Tan said that preliminary data suggested fewer people took to boats in the last quarter of the year. He said "Based on our interviews with affected communities; it could be that smugglers and potential passengers are taking a wait-and-see approach following last year's scrutiny and crackdowns".
According to the UN refugee agency and rights groups the number of Rohingya migrants voyaging by boat in the past several months has plummeted because of the Thai and Bangladeshi crackdowns on human smugglers. As such, there are suggestions and call being made by different relevant agencies that the new Myanmar government make a move for rehabilitation of the Rohingyas in their land of domicile wherein they have lived for ages and centuries. In the question of right to stay in a place, everyone admits, that an adage says possession is nine parts of the law. Therefore, the Rohingyas have attained the right to live in their own land Myanmar – that is native to them.
Now, however, the onus lies with Aung San Suu Kyi, the Nobel Peace Price-laureate and the champion of democracy – that embraces ensuring the rights of all citizens irrespective of cast, creed or religion in a country – now in power in Myanmar, to find a long-overdue solution to her country’s Rohingya problem. Moreover, it is also necessary and desired that the UN agencies on human rights and refugees, and security council, have a pivotal role to play in this matter in the changed landscape of Myanmar politics to help establish the rights of Rohingyas in Myanmar. In addition, the Muslim countries around the world including the OIC equally need also to disseminate their responsibilities towards helping the Myanmar Rohingyas establish their rights in their own land – Myanmar – to bring an end to the episode.             
      The writer is an economist

 

Plight of the Myanmar Rohingyas

The UN agencies have a pivotal role to play in this matter in the changed landscape of Myanmar politics

Myanmars tens of thousands of Rohingya had fled poverty, persecution and ethnic discrimination in western Myanmar since violence erupted there in 2012. But a recent Reuters report said outflows of the Rohingyas by sea came down to a virtual halt now. What caused such ebb tide in the migration of Rohingya refugee flow across the Bay of Bengal are simultaneous crackdowns from Bangladesh and Thailand both the country embarrassed by harrowing incidents of boat migrants on human traffickers. As the Rohingyas forced exodus from their native land showed signs of a cessation, probing reporters eyes spotted such an agonizing state of their fate getting stranded in their own homes they are dispossessed of by a denial of their right of domicile amid double push-back, from domestic side as well as shelter lands they used to flee to. These people of Myanmar now got caught in a cul-de-sac with all doors shut on them. They are now pegged into a miasma of poverty and prosecution with their all-possible exit route sealed. Most of the runaway Rohingyas from a double jeopardy of poverty and ethnic cleansing in their native land of Myanmar had headed for country Malaysia. But many of them made landfall first in southern Thailand or been intercepted and held by human traffickers for ransom in camps hidden deep in Thai jungles. Stunning real-life episodes of boat people on the outbound voyages came to light, in the dry season last year, with plight of the voyagers, stuck at high seas, overshadowing the ordeals of the mariner described in the poetic artwork by English poet Samuel Taylor Coleridge entitled The Rime of the Ancient Mariner. The climax of the plot unraveled with the discovery of mass graves of Rohingya Muslim in-between Myanmar and Thailand and involvement of a Thai General in the racketeering by human smugglers. The victims of such heinous trade in people smuggling were mostly Rohingyas tossed off home by marauding thugs amid the reign of arson attacks, murder, plunder, torture, rape and in what were reported as sectarian violence let loose by a section of people of Buddhist faith a religion that forbids even killing of an ant. Many of the fortune-seekers from Bangladesh also jumped onto the bandwagon, to be trapped by Adam traders on false promises of plum jobs abroad, on an uncertain journey by boat. Many ended up in mass graves around jungle concentration camps of trans-national gangs of people smugglers or in watery burial. The remaining of the survivors got stranded in boats, hungry and thirsty to the point of death throes, as border forces of the littoral countries namely Myanmar, Thailand and Indonesia played a sort of maritime ping-pong pushing out the migrants from respective territories. However, even those bizarre scenes looked to be the tip of the iceberg when hordes of Muslim migrants, pushed out of Arab world plus Afghanistan and Pakistan, engaged in Armageddon with security forces of European countries to force their way into their chosen destinations mainly Germany. The refugees-men, women and children-fled homes and crossed the Red Sea and the Mediterranean on their neo-nomadic journey amid deadly sectarian strife and war on terror initiated by the invading western coalition forces led by the USA. Many of the refugees perished along the way. There had been a cessation to the doldrums over the bay with the advent of rainy season. But there were prognoses about a fresh outbreak of desperadoes with the advent of sailing season in 2016. But, the Rohingyas, as reports say, stand transfixed between the devil and the deep blue sea in the wake of drives against the rackets from the two countries. A Thai official was quoted as saying that Thailand is closed and cannot be used for disembarkation. The few brokers that still seem to be involved are the ones that have pre-existing orders for people to be brought over, thats what we are being told at departure. Anti-trafficking operations are going on in Bangladesh as well. The United Nations (UN) regional spokeswoman for refugee agency Vivian Tan said that preliminary data suggested fewer people took to boats in the last quarter of the year. He said Based on our interviews with affected communities; it could be that smugglers and potential passengers are taking a wait-and-see approach following last years scrutiny and crackdowns. According to the UN refugee agency and rights groups the number of Rohingya migrants voyaging by boat in the past several months has plummeted because of the Thai and Bangladeshi crackdowns on human smugglers. As such, there are suggestions and call being made by different relevant agencies that the new Myanmar government make a move for rehabilitation of the Rohingyas in their land of domicile wherein they have lived for ages and centuries. In the question of right to stay in a place, everyone admits, that an adage says possession is nine parts of the law. Therefore, the Rohingyas have attained the right to live in their own land Myanmar that is native to them. Now, however, the onus lies with Aung San Suu Kyi, the Nobel Peace Price-laureate and the champion of democracy that embraces ensuring the rights of all citizens irrespective of cast, creed or religion in a country now in power in Myanmar, to find a long-overdue solution to her countrys Rohingya problem. Moreover, it is also necessary and desired that the UN agencies on human rights and refugees, and security council, have a pivotal role to play in this matter in the changed landscape of Myanmar politics to help establish the rights of Rohingyas in Myanmar. In addition, the Muslim countries around the world including the OIC equally need also to disseminate their responsibilities towards helping the Myanmar Rohingyas establish their rights in their own land Myanmar to bring an end to the episode. The writer is an economist