Life in Rohingya Refugee Camps

MUSLIMS LIVING AS MINORITIES Life in Rohingya Refugee Camps

An ongoing humanitarian crisis that never seems to end

BY ADNAN KHAN, WITH ASSISTED TRANSLATIONS/REPORTING BY KYSAR HAMID

[Editor’s Note: Islamic Horizons invited Adnan Khan, a multi-platform journalist, to offer readers a peek into the challenges faced by the Rohingya Muslim refugees. He currently serves as a producer for NowThis News.]

Muhammad Saleem fled his home village in Mrauk-U District with his seven family members. It took them one month and ten days to reach the relief centers in Bangladesh. Oct 2017 At a relief center in Sabrang, Teknaf, Cox’s Bazar, a child stares at a truck that will take them to one of the camps in Cox’s Bazar.

Myanmar’s security forces have inflicted yet another bloodbath on its people, killing 100+ anti-coup protesters since a young woman succumbed to her bullet wounds in the head on Feb. 19. The post-coup [Feb. 1] military junta has detained hundreds of elected officials, including Nobel Peace Prize winner Aung San Suu Kyi, and declared a year-long state of emergency.

This is the same junta that, on Aug. 25, 2017, started a campaign of mass killing, rape and arson on Rakhine state’s Rohingya Muslims, sending 250,000 of them fleeing for their lives to neighboring Bangladesh. Both the UN and several human rights groups have categorized these atrocities as genocide.

Human rights groups estimate that 740,000 Rohingya have fled to Bangladesh and other neighboring countries since 2017.

“They started spraying us with gunfire; we fled into the trees. When the military was done shooting at us, they took the living women and girls and raped them. When they were finished, they burned the homes with the girls inside them; there were 70 girls in our village,” said Hamida Begum.

On Aug. 30, 2017, the military attacked Hamida Begum’s village of Tulatuli in Rakhine state and forced her, her elderly mother, ailing husband and their five children to flee their farm. Hamida says that when she saw her home burning she lost her memory, “I did not know which way was east or west.” Joining a caravan of other displaced Rohingya villagers, it took the family 15 days to reach Bangladesh — eventually entering through Kanjurpara, a border point with Teknaf.

Survivors reported that the military had targeted their villages, burned down their homes, mercilessly killed thousands and tortured and raped hundreds of women and young girls. Médecins Sans Frontières (Doctors Without Boarders; msf.org) reports that since 2016, the military has killed 6,700+ Rohingya, including at least 730 children under five.

The junta claims that its military “clearance operations” were in retaliation for attacks on Rakhine police posts and army

SALEEM SAYS THE UNLIKE THE MUSLIM ROHINGYA, THE HINDU AND BUDDHIST ROHINGYA HAVE NATIONAL IDENTIFICATION CARDS. IN 1982, THE BUDDHISTMAJORITY GOVERNMENT OF BURMA — THE MILITARY GOVERNMENT RENAMED THE COUNTRY IN 1989 TO REFLECT ITS NAME IN BURMESE: “MYANMA” — ENACTED THE BURMA CITIZENSHIP LAW, WHICH DENIED MUSLIM ROHINGYA CITIZENSHIP BECAUSE THE GOVERNMENT DOESN’T RECOGNIZE THEM AS ONE OF ITS NATIONAL RACES.

The Kutupalong Rohingya Refugee Camp, Cox’s Bazar, Bangladesh, is on the border of the nation of Myanmar next to the Nafs River. The 740,000 Rohingya—including more than 400,000 children—have fled into Cox’s Bazar (UNHCR) Oct. 2017

At a relief center in Sabrang, Teknaf, Cox’s Bazar, The World Food Program provides Rohingya refugees with soap, water, and food, including milk, rice, dough, biscuits, and lentils. Private donors are distributing towels and clothes, and according to Muhammad Elias of UNHCR, they are supplying 4 x 5 m tarps to families so they can build shelters once they reach the camp. Oct. 2017

bases by the militant Arakan Rohingya Salvation Army (ARSA; en.wikipedia.org/ wiki/Arakan_Rohingya_Salvation_Army) group in late August 2017.

“The Buddhists and Hindus came along with the military to ransack our homes,” says Muhammad Saleem, an Islamic teacher from a village in the Mrauk-U District. “The military would come in groups of 30 plus, and the local Hindus and Buddhists would be with them,” he continues. “Before the [ARSA] attacks we had a good relationship with all the local Hindus and Buddhists.” Saleem watched all their possessions being taken away. While the military burned down the village on Sept. 5, 2017, they escaped.

Saleem says the unlike the Muslim Rohingya, the Hindu and Buddhist Rohingya have national identification cards. In 1982, the Buddhist-majority government of Burma — the military government renamed the country in 1989 to reflect its name in Burmese: “Myanma” — enacted the Burma Citizenship Law, which denied Muslim Rohingya citizenship because the government doesn’t recognize them as one of its national races.

Rohingyas, who claim to be descendants of Arakan’s indigenous Muslims, ruled the Rakhine state from 1429 until 1784 when the Burmese king Bodawpaya invaded and conquered it. Experts in the region reported that they ruled over the present-day Rakhine state, Myanmar and Chittagong Division, Bangladesh.

But Myanmar accords this status only to Rakhine’s Kaman Muslims, which the government acknowledges as one of its 135 officially recognized ethnic groups and to whom it has given national identity cards (NIC). It dismisses the Muslim Rohingya as culturally and racially different and recognizes them not as “Rohingya,” but as “illegal Bengali immigrants.” The Rohingya language and culture both vary from Bengali.

Muhammad Saleem, no relation to the previously mentioned person, says the

military persecuted them for two years 2018 the Trump administration imposed Rohingya don’t believe it is safe to return, before the influx. “My life was unbear- sanctions on the military, accusing it of and the junta’s inactivity over the past few able. The military wants to finish off all the “ethnic cleansing” — not “genocide” — years makes them even more uncertain. [Rohingya] Muslims. We weren’t allowed to against the Rohingya. The Bangladesh Daily Star reported on move around because they said we were all On Feb. 10, President Joe Biden, along March 16 that the crisis’ enormous scale has ARSA,” he said. Without a NIC, the govern- with Canada, the U.K., and other nations, placed a tremendous burden on Bangladesh ment can regulate Rohingya travel within imposed sanctions (https://www.reuters. and Cox’s Bazar environment (https://www. Rakhine and restrict education, health care com/article/us-myanmar-politics/biden- thedailystar.net/opinion/human-rights/ and voting rights. approves-order-for-sanctions-on-my coping-rohingya-refugee-crisis-1534645).

“ARSA was fighting for us because the anmar-generals-businesses-idUSKB- There is also increased crime, human trafMyanmar government wasn’t giving us our N2AA2OF) to pressure the junta to return ficking, gender-based violence and facrights. We couldn’t educate our children. We control to the democratically elected gov- tionalism. The New York Times reports couldn’t go to the mosque, and we always ernment and release all detainees. that “gun battles” have broken out in the had to pay extortion money to the military,” The UN says roughly 600,000 Muslim camps as various divisions fight over said Hamida. Rohingya live in Rakhine and believe that limited resources (https://www.nytimes.

The 1982 law was a precursor to getting genocidal actions are still occurring. Arab com/2020/12/04/world/asia/rohingya-banrid of all Rohingya. In 1991, the military News reported on March 4 that the junta gladesh-island-camps.html). launched Pyi Thaya (“Clean Dhaka has invested $350 and Beautiful Nation”), a vio- million in Bhasan Char, a 15 lent pogrom that drove out an sq. mile island in the Bay of estimated 250,000 Rohingya. Bengal, to relocate an estiSince the 1990s the govern- mated 100,000 Rohingya. ment has waged many similar Several international organiattacks on them; the UNHCR, zations have expressed their the UN Refugee Agency, esti- concerns, and the UN worries mates that nearly a million about the risk of tidal surges Rohingya have fled. Most of and cyclones. The Daily Star them, Human Rights Watch says the facilities are equipped (hrw.org) state, live in what with 120 cyclone shelters and is now the world’s largest ref- flood protection barriers. Since ugee camp: the Kutupalong- Dec. 2020, 14,000 refugees have Balukhali mega camps in the been relocated with the help of Cox’s Bazar region. For years Myanmar has rejected the UN and the On October 31st, eight Rohingya Muslims died when their boat capsized while attempting to beach their boat ashore in Bangladesh; 32 survived. Oct. 2017 22 local NGOs, says RFA. A year after the WHO declared Covid-19 a global International Criminal Court’s (ICC) intends to review the recommendations pandemic, the Rohingya have managed to request to investigate and settle these alleged of the 2018 Advisory Commission on keep cases to a low, although their population atrocities and prohibited foreign journalists Rakhine State (https://www.arabnews.com/ density — a million people per 10 square into the region. An analysis of HRW satellite node/1819481/world). A series of measures miles – renders social distancing is imposimages shows that 288 Muslim Rohingya led by former UN Secretary-General Kofi sible. However, WHO says the pandemic’s villages showed signs of destruction by fire Annan called on Myanmar to end this crisis; most severe consequences are hunger and after August 2017. Myanmar has never implemented them poverty: “Nearly a quarter of all refugee

The ICC, International Court Justice, and (reliefweb.int/report/myanmar/myan- households moved into a higher vulnerability the Argentine Court have taken legal action mar-implement-recommendations-kofi-an- category — meaning they had less food and on the full range of these atrocities. UN News nan-led-commissi on). There is no telling experienced more economic stress.” (news.un.org/en/story/2019/12/1053121) what dangers the refugees would face if they The future of these 1.1 million stateless reported that Aung San Suu Kyi “was pres- go home; however, repatriation is still con- refugees is bleak. They cannot return home, ent in court [on Monday, Dec. 9, 2019] to sidered the ideal solution. and there are few economic opportunidefend the country against accusations of Muhammad Hashim and his family ties for them in the refugee camps. “The genocide. She is due to address the court escaped a military attack on their village Myanmar military has been persecuting us on Wednesday.” Last summer, the military near Buthidaung Township, leaving behind for a long time, so we come here because said a secret court-martial convicted three the family farm. Hashim said they do not Bangladeshis are Muslim. At least if we die, soldiers for the 2017 massacre of hundreds of know exactly what they will do now, but they we die with Muslims on Muslim land,” says Rakhine’s Rohingya; however, neither their are willing to work if there is work. Muhammad Hashim. ih identity nor ranks were revealed. “We do not know what we will do; only There’s been a minimal impact from other nations trying to resolve the Rohingya refAllah knows. I will only go back if we get citizenship; otherwise, we will still not have Kysar Hamid, founder & executive director of Youth Alliance for Sustainable International Development, is a former field producer for Washington Post, the New York Times, PBS NewsHour and Human ugee crisis. As Reuters reported, in August rights in Myanmar,” says Saleem. Most Rights Watch.