Rohingya : Are They Refugees?

Indian Mirchi

7 years ago

The Rohingya people are a stateless Indo-Aryan people from Rakhine State, Myanmar. There were an estimated 1 million Rohingya living in Myanmar before the 2016–17 crisis.The majority are Muslim while a minority are Hindu.

Described by the United Nations in 2013 as one of the most persecuted minorities in the world, the Rohingya population are denied citizenship under the 1982 Myanmar nationality law. According to Human Rights Watch, the 1982 laws effectively deny to the Rohingya the possibility of acquiring a nationality.

Despite being able to trace Rohingya history to the 8th century, Myanmar law does not recognize the ethnic minority as one of the eight “national races”. They are also restricted from freedom of movement, state education and civil service jobs.

Before the 2015 Rohingya refugee crisis and the military crackdown in 2016 and 2017, the Rohingya population in Myanmar was around 1.1 to 1.3 million, chiefly in the northern Rakhine townships, which were 80–98% Rohingya.

Over 900,000 Rohingya refugees have fled to southeastern Bangladesh as well as to other surrounding countries, and major Muslim nations More than 100,000 Rohingyas in Myanmar are confined in camps for internally displaced persons.

Following a Rohingya rebel attack that killed 12 security forces, August 25, 2017, the military launched “clearance operations” that left 400-3000 dead, many more injured, tortured or raped, villages burned, and over 400,000 Rohingya fleeing to Bangladesh.

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In January 2016, the government of Bangladesh initiated a plan to relocate tens of thousands of Rohingya refugees, who had fled to the country following persecution in Myanmar. The refugees are to be relocated to the island of Thengar Char. The move has received substantial opposition. Human rights groups have seen the plan as a forced relocation.

Additionally, concerns have been raised about living conditions on the island, which is low-lying and prone to flooding. The island has been described as “only accessible during winter and a haven for pirates”. It is nine hours away from the camps in which the Rohingya currently live. 65,000 refugees have been estimated to have entered Bangladesh since October 2016: more than 200,000 are estimated to have been there already.