The BBC’s Sanjoy Majumder treks through difficult terrain with people fleeing Myanmar.
The Rohingya people are a Muslim minority group in Myanmar, which is a predominantly Buddhist country. For decades, the Rohingya people have faced persecution and discrimination from the Myanmar government, with restrictions on their movements, access to healthcare and education, and even citizenship. In recent years, the situation has escalated, with reports of widespread violence and human rights abuses, including rape, torture, and murder.
As a result, many Rohingya people have fled their homes and sought refuge in neighboring countries, such as Bangladesh, India, and Thailand. The conditions in these refugee camps are often dire, with limited access to food, water, and medical care. The Rohingya refugees also face discrimination and hostility from the local population and government authorities.
The international community has called on the Myanmar government to address the human rights violations and provide a safe and secure environment for the Rohingya people to return to their homes. However, the Myanmar government has been reluctant to acknowledge the severity of the situation or take action to address it, leading to ongoing suffering for the Rohingya people.
Some key points about Rohingya refugees fleeing Myanmar:
Persecution and violence: The Rohingya are an ethnic minority group in Myanmar, primarily living in the Rakhine state. They have faced longstanding discrimination, persecution, and violence from the Myanmar government and military. The Rohingya have been subjected to restrictions on their basic rights, such as freedom of movement, access to healthcare, and education. The situation escalated in August 2017 when security forces launched a brutal crackdown, resulting in widespread violence, including killings, rapes, and arson attacks on Rohingya villages, leading to thousands of Rohingya fleeing Myanmar.
Forced displacement: The Rohingya refugees have been forcibly displaced from Myanmar due to the violence and persecution they have faced. They have had to flee their homes, often in a desperate and traumatic manner, leaving behind their possessions and loved ones. Many Rohingya refugees have sought safety in neighboring countries such as Bangladesh, India, Malaysia, and other Southeast Asian nations.
Humanitarian crisis: The influx of Rohingya refugees has resulted in a humanitarian crisis, with many refugees facing dire conditions in overcrowded camps and settlements. Lack of access to clean water, sanitation facilities, healthcare, and education has resulted in widespread suffering, malnutrition, and disease among Rohingya refugees, particularly women, children, and the elderly.
Statelessness: The Rohingya face statelessness, as the Myanmar government has denied them citizenship, effectively rendering them stateless. This lack of recognition exacerbates their vulnerability, limits their access to basic rights and services, and hinders their ability to return to Myanmar or seek asylum in other countries.
International response: The Rohingya crisis has garnered international attention and condemnation, with calls for Myanmar to end the violence against Rohingya and uphold their human rights. However, finding a durable solution to the crisis has been challenging, with complex geopolitical, ethnic, and historical factors at play. Humanitarian organizations and host countries have been providing assistance to Rohingya refugees, but the scale and complexity of the crisis pose significant challenges.
Repatriation challenges: Efforts to repatriate Rohingya refugees to Myanmar have faced challenges, including concerns about the safety, security, and rights of returnees. Many Rohingya refugees are reluctant to return to Myanmar due to ongoing discrimination, violence, and lack of guarantees for their safety and rights. The repatriation process has been slow, with issues such as citizenship, land ownership, and security remaining unresolved.
Protection and justice: There have been calls for accountability and justice for the atrocities committed against the Rohingya, including allegations of genocide, crimes against humanity, and war crimes. International bodies, such as the International Criminal Court (ICC) and the International Court of Justice (ICJ), have taken up cases related to the Rohingya crisis, and there are ongoing efforts to hold perpetrators accountable and seek justice for the victims.
It’s important to note that the situation involving Rohingya refugees fleeing Myanmar is complex and multi-faceted, involving historical, political, social, and humanitarian factors. The key points provided above are a general overview and do not encompass all the nuances of the situation. For the latest and most accurate information, it’s recommended to refer to reliable and up-to-date sources.
1 In the jungle with Rohingya refugees feeling Myanmar – BBC News
2 Rohingya crisis through the eyes of Al Jazeera’s journalists
3 Aung San Suu Kyi: How a peace icon ended up at a genocide trial – BBC News
4 The Rise and Fall of Myanmar’s Aung San Suu Kyi Explained | NowThis World
24 mrt. 2019
A non-violent freedom fighter? A war crimes apologist? Or is she something in between? Aung San Suu Kyi’s decades-long, non-violent struggle for democracy made her a hero around the world. But once appointed to office, many say her leadership, has been disappointing.
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Born on June 19th, 1945, in what was then Rangoon, Burma, Aung San Suu Kyi was destined to be defiant from the start.
Her father was none other than Aung San — the former military general who negotiated Burma’s independence from the British in 1947. He became known as a national hero, and the founder of modern-day Myanmar, which was then known as Burma.
But in 1947, when Suu Kyi was just 2 years old, everything changed. Her father was assassinated by a rival politician.
She went on to graduate from high school in 1964, and then studied with the global elite at Oxford University. There she met her to-be husband. Years later they settled in the United Kingdom, where they had two sons.
During this time, Suu Kyi continued to watch as her country was sinking further into dictatorship.
After nationwide protests against the one-party rule and the military dictatorship culminated in what later became known as the 8/8/88 Uprising protesters were in search of a leader. They looked to the then 43-year-old Suu Kyi to fill the shoes of her father — as a fighter for Burmese democracy.
And that’s exactly what she did.
But what was her journey to leadership and what would she do once she achieved her goal? And what would her leadership mean for the Rohingya in Rakhine state and the alleged ethnic cleansing was taking place in Myanmar?
5 Roundtable: Rohingya Crisis – One month on, can it be stopped?
7 Rohingya news: the desperate journey to safety
8 Rohingya’s Exodus: A special report on Myanmar
9 ‘Prison Island’ of the Rohingya: New island for refugees threatened by monsoon
27 mrt. 2018
12 Rohingya Documentary: ‘A boy with no name for a people with no identity’
14 Inside Story – The Rohingya: A humanitarian crisis
15 aug. 2012
Myanmar’s Rohingya community is one of the world’s most persecuted minorities who have been denied citizenship in their own country for decades. More than a million Rohingya are currently caught in a cycle of violence and poverty. Hundreds of thousands more are being denied access to aid in neighbouring Bangladesh. Why is this community such a pariah group? Guests: Mohamed Noor, Tridib Deb, Benjamin Zawacki.
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15 Outcast: Adrift with Burma’s Rohingya – REWIND
28 nov. 2016
16 Why are Rohingya refugees stranded in no-man’s land? – Inside story
31 aug. 2017
It is a humanitarian crisis that is growing all the time. A week after former UN chief Kofi Annan released a report with recommendations to end years of persecution of the Rohingya people, the situation in Rakhine state in Myanmar appears to be getting worse.
Women and children are among the tens of thousands of the ethnic Muslim-minority Rohingya community trying to get across the border into Bangladesh. But Bangladesh doesn’t want them. Security is being tightened, and many people are being turned away, and are stuck in no-man’s land.
The refugees tell of attacks by the Myanmar military, of Rohingya villagers being killed and their homes set on fire. But the
Myanmar army says it’s launched a security crackdown on a rebel group after coming under attack itself.
The biggest obstacle to peace is Myanmar citizenship. The commission led by Annan says all restrictions on Rohingya should be lifted and describes them as the biggest single stateless community in the world.
But is the international community listening, and will it do anything about it?
Presenter: Hashem Ahelbarra
Guests:
Phil Roberston – Deputy Director – Human Rights Watch, Asia
Kim Jolliffe – Independent consultant working with development and humanitarian organisations in Myanmar
Tun Khin – President – U.K Burmese Rohingya Organisation
17 Crowded & Desperate: Rohingya in World’s Largest Refugee Camp Face Dual Crises of Cyclone & COVID-19
21 mei 2020
18 Will ICJ ruling help the Rohingya? I Inside Story
23 jan. 2020
The International Court of Justice, the world’s highest court, has ordered Myanmar’s government to prevent it’s military from committing acts of genocide against the Rohingya.
The ICJ has also warned that the Rohingya Muslim minority remain at serious risk of genocide and ordered the country to abide by the genocide convention, and take all measures within its power to prevent further killings.
The case brought by The Gambia last year accuses Myanmar of committing an ongoing genocide against its minority Muslim Rohingya population. Myanmar denies the allegations.
Thursday’s ruling comes just days after an inquiry backed by Myanmar’s government dismissed allegations of genocide. Myanmar’s leader Suu Kyi says the Rohingya have ‘exaggerated’ abuses.
So what does this ruling mean and will Myanmar abide by the orders?
Presenter: Mohammed Jamjoom
Guests
Thomas MacManus, Director of the International State Crime Initiative at Queen Mary University of London.
Azeem Ibrahim, Chair of the Center for Global Policy’s Rohingya Legal Forum and author of the book, ‘Rohingyas: Inside Myanmar’s Hidden Genocide.’
Simon Adams, Executive Director of the Global Centre for the Responsibility to Protect, and adviser to The Gambia on this case.
IMPORTANT CONTENT
19 Rohingya crisis: Reuters journalists held ‘for investigating Myanmar killings’ – BBC Newsnight
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9 feb. 2018
***Warning: contains distressing images***
Reuters has revealed details of an investigation into a mass execution of Rohingyas by soldiers and villagers, which it says lies behind the arrest of two of its journalists in Myanmar.
In response, a Myanmar government spokesman said: “We are not denying the allegations about violations of human rights. And we are not giving blanket denials.” The government said that if there was strong and reliable primary evidence of abuses, they would investigate.
Newsnight is the BBC’s flagship news and current affairs TV programme – with analysis, debate, exclusives, and robust interviews.
Website: www.bbc.co.uk/newsnight
20 Has the world failed the Rohingya people? | Inside Story
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12 dec. 2019
Two years ago, Myanmar’s military launched its crackdown on the Rohingya after attacks on its soldiers by members of the mainly Muslim minority.
The UN described what happened next as a ‘textbook example of ethnic cleansing’.
The army was accused of rape, torture and murder, and villages were burned to the ground.
Almost three-quarters of a million Rohingya were forced to flee to neighbouring Bangladesh, where they live in the world’s biggest refugee camp.
The Gambia wanted Myanmar’s military tried for genocide, and went to the International Court of Justice in the Hague.
But Aung San Suu Kyi, Head of Myanmar’s government, and a Nobel peace laureate, dismissed the case as “misleading and incomplete.”
Why is this one-time champion of human rights defending the army that kept her under house arrest for years?
Presenter: Stan Grant
Guests:
Brad Adams – Executive Director of the Asia Division at Human Rights Watch
Kyaw Win – Executive Director at Burma Human Rights Network
Priya Pillai – International lawyer and Head of the Asia Justice Coalition.
IMPORTANT CONTENT
22 What is really happening to the Rohingya? – The Stream
Live gestreamd op 21 sep. 2017
24 Human Trafficking in Southeast Asia: Left For Dead (Part 2)
25 Is the UN Failing the Rohingya? – Left For Dead (Part 3)
11 mei 2016
Watch Part 1 – http://bit.ly/1Tz0AgL
Watch Part 2 – http://bit.ly/1sacxna
In recent years, democratic reforms have swept through Myanmar, a country that for decades was ruled by a military junta. As the reforms took hold, however, things were growing progressively worse for the Rohingya, a heavily persecuted ethnic Muslim minority concentrated in the country’s western state of Rakhine.
The 2012 gang rape and murder of a Buddhist woman by three Muslim men ignited violent riots in which hundreds were killed as Rakhine Buddhists and Rohingya attacked each other. In the following months, tens of thousands of Rohingya were rounded up and forced to live in squalid camps; Human Rights Watch deemed the attacks crimes against humanity that amounted to ethnic cleansing of the Rohingya. Thousands of Rohingya have since attempted to leave the country, fueling the region’s intricate and brutal human trafficking network.
In the final part of our three-part series, VICE News correspondent Danny Gold reveals leaked internal UN documents that suggest an effort to keep concerns about the Rohingya quiet, and speaks to a former UN human rights officer about the organization’s passive response to the situation in Myanmar.
27 Left for Dead: Human Trafficking of the Rohingya Refugees in Southeast Asia (Part 2)
28 Is the UN Failing the Rohingya? – Left For Dead (Part 3)
29 Myanmar: The Hidden Genocide | Al Jazeera Investigations
30 okt. 2013
Earlier this year a Buddhist woman was raped and murdered in western Myanmar. The authorities charged three Muslim men.
A week later, 10 Muslims were murdered in a revenge attack. What happened next was hidden from the outside world.
Bloodshed pitted Buddhists against minority Rohingya Muslims. Many Rohingya fled their homes, which were burned down in what they said was a deliberate attempt by the predominantly Buddhist government to drive them out of the country.
“They were shooting and we were also fighting. The fields were filled with bodies and soaked with blood,” says Mohammed Islam, who fled with his family to Bangladesh.
There are 400,000 Rohingya languishing in Bangladesh. For more than three decades, waves of refugees have fled Myanmar. But the government of Bangladesh considers the Rohingya to be illegal immigrants, as does the government of Myanmar. They have no legal rights and nowhere to go.
This is a story of a people fleeing the land where they were born, of a people deprived of citizenship in their homeland. It is the story of the Rohingya of western Myanmar, whose very existence as a people is denied.
Professor William Schabas, the former president of the International Association of Genocide Scholars, says: “When you see measures preventing births, trying to deny the identity of the people, hoping to see that they really are eventually, that they no longer exist; denying their history, denying the legitimacy of their right to live where they live, these are all warning signs that mean it’s not frivolous to envisage the use of the term genocide.”
IMPORTANT CONTENT
30 Video shows smugglers beating Rohingya refugees on boat during failed attempt to flee Bangladesh
15 dec. 2020
31 Who’s responsible for Rohingya refugees rescued at sea? | Inside Story
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28 feb. 2021
Nearly 2,500 Rohingya refugees risked their lives last year by taking dangerous boat journeys.
They’re looking for safety, and better living conditions after years of systematic discrimination and persecution.
Rights groups are warning – thousands more could take such journeys hoping to reach countries mainly in Southeast Asia.
81 Rohingya who had been stranded in the Andaman sea for nearly two weeks – were rescued by the Indian coastguard on Friday.
Eight people died and many fell ill– suffering severe dehydration as they ran out of food and water.
The Indian government has been trying to arrange for their …..
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Proposed Description (Max 4 sentences) return to Bangladesh.
But Bangladeshi officials say they have no obligation to shelter the Rohingya –who were found closer to Myanmar and Indian territories.
So, what are the consequences if they’re sent back to Myanmar?
Presenter: Sami Zeidan
Guests:
Commodore C. Uday Bhaskar – Retired Navy Officer and Director of Society for Policy Studies, an independent Geo-political think tank.
Yasmin Ullah – A Rohingya Activist and Advocate.
Saad Hammadi – South Asia Campaigner with a focus on Bangladesh for Amnesty International.
32 Is the Myanmar coup a turning point for the Rohingya? | Inside Story
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17 feb. 2021
The coup in Maynmar appears to have united almost everyone against the military.
Protesters continue to defiantly demand the release of Aung San Suu Kyi and other democratically-elected leaders.
Many say they’re only now realising the extent of the army’s crackdown on ethnic minorities, such as the muslim Rohingya.
But will this outpouring of sympathy lead to justice for some of the world’s most persecuted people?
Presenter: Mohammed Jamjoom
Guests:
Aung Kyaw Moe – Rohingya humanitarian worker.
Debbie Stothard – Founder, ALTSEAN-Burma network.
Ronan Lee – Visiting Scholar, Queen Mary University of London.
Yasmin Ullah – Rohingya Human Rights Network.
33 THE WAVE – The Story Of What Happens And Who You Are
1 sep. 2019
34 She Has Two Left Feet!
21 feb. 2013
We’ve all heard the expression “having two left feet”, which simply means clumsy, but people who try to help this woman put a shoe on her right foot are in for a shock when the big toe is on the wrong side! She really does have two left feet… or does she?
Gags are filmed in Québec. Originality, authenticity and joie de vivre..