Rohingya

Stateless on the Edge of Rakhine

 

Since the Rohingya were stripped of their citizenship, the Muslim population in Myanmar’s western Rakhine State has been subjected to what many describe as ethnic cleansing. In June 2012 alone, around 140,000 Rohingya were driven from their homes in the regional capital Sittwe. Thousands of Muslim houses were burned down, and more than 200 people were killed by military and police forces while attempting to defend their homes.

Today, many Rohingya in Myanmar live in government-controlled camps for internally displaced people, just a few kilometres from the places they once called home. These camps function in many ways like prisons: residents are not allowed to leave and are effectively cut off from the outside world. Children have limited or no access to education, and humanitarian aid remains scarce.

For many, the only perceived escape is across the Bay of Bengal in small, homemade boats. The most obvious destination is Bangladesh, but the country already hosts a large Rohingya population and faces significant economic and political pressures. As a result, those who attempt the journey often risk being pushed back out to sea by military or border forces.