.
There are only three museums that are open on a semi-regular basis in the Burmese capital of Yangon, and perhaps the only one of import is the National Museum, located in the heart of Yangon's most prosperous township. On the top floor of the museum is a hall dedicated to celebrating Burma's unique ethnic diversity, recognizing over 130 ethnic groups in the country. Representing each of these groups are mannequins garbed in ethnic dress, filling the poorly-lit and drab museum with vibrant color.
However, there is one ethnic group notably missing from the parade of mannequins – the Rohingyas. Despite over a million living within Burma's borders, the Burmese government refuses to recognize this ethnic Muslim group, even after many have lived in the country for generations.
The Rohingyas are considered by the United Nations to be the most persecuted people in the world, and for a good reason. Over the course of the last few decades, these “stateless” people, have been refused any sort of protection by the Burmese government, making them easy victims of systematic discrimination and violence. With many living in the northern Rakhine state, the Rohingyas have been targeted by both the ethnic Buddhist Rakhine and agents of the central government. Refusing to acknowledge the Rohingyas as part of Burma's ethnic tapestry, the government instead describes these ethnic Muslims as “Bangalis,” a label that the both the Buddhist majority and Rohingyas despise.
While the Rohingyas were alienated by the central government and victims of sporadic ethnic tensions, the situation turned to the worse in 2012 with the resurgence of the Rakhine civil war. Periods of intense violence and vicious ethnic cleansing by Rakhine nationalists caused about 140,000 of about 1.1 million Rohingyas to flee into western Burma. There, they have been kept in what amounts to prison camps, without access to the most basic of human rights. In a desperate plea to escape, thousands have gotten on boats during the early months of the year to reach Malaysia, Indonesia and Thailand before the monsoon season starts and renders all travel impossible. The results have been devastating – over 300 between January and March have died in their attempt at a better life.
The stories are terrifying: the Economist describes how 15 year-old Mohammed Haryot left one of the camps to attempt to escape to Malaysia with seven of his family members. They were forced to pay the human traffickers about $500 to board a “flimsy rowing boat,” and then another $2,000 for a larger vessel for the full trip to Malaysia. For many in South East Asia, that kind of money amounts to their life-time savings. After a week at sea without food or water, they were intercepted at sea and forced back to the port town of Sittwe in Burma. While the risks from the outside seem far too much, for many of the Rohingya's the possibility of fleeing the situation on land is better than any danger at sea.
Ever since the violence of 2012, the Rohingya villages and refugee camps have been cut off by the government from the rest of the Rakhine towns. Cloistered in these camps, it's become impossible to maintain a standard of living. Business has dried up, farmers can't return to their fields, and fishermen are driven away from the fishing grounds by Rakhines if they even make it that far. Malnutrition and disease has been on the rise, and the camps have become something akin to a death trap.
The local authorities insist that this forced isolation is for the Rohingyas’ own good, surrounding the camps with barbed wire fences. However, it's become clear that the Rohingyas are victims of a system of discrimination that is just as insidious as South Africa's apartheid.
In 2012, President Obama visited Yangon and praised the Burmese government for its progress in advancing democratic reforms – and it might be true for the majority Buddhist population. However those advancement don't reach to the million Rohingyas in Burma. In the most recent census, the Rohingyas were classified as “Bengalis,” and essentially refused citizenship despite many having lived in country for over a century. In an act of protest, most Rohingyas boycotted the census, and ultimately saw their voter rights hampered by legislation later that year.
Anti-Rohingya sentiment is such a strong political platform in Burma that no politicians have decided to support their plight. The Buddhist majority see the Rohingyas as a plight, infecting their country, or nothing more than refuse from Bangladesh. The Rohinguas have been converted in a political issue for the most vehemently nationalistic to play on anti-Muslim hysteria.
While the government may not be willing to intervene in this humanitarian crisis, one thing is clear: if something isn't done, the cycle will repeat, with thousands taking to boats once again to try and find a better life away from Burma.
The Burgeoning Cross-Border Crisis:
In the recent months, the Burmese debacle has escalated into an international humanitarian crisis. It has not been the first year that Rohingyas have tried to escape Burma - but perhaps the most deadly. The recent United High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) reported that "more than 30 bodies had been found in graves in smugglers' camps in the southern province of Songkhla, close to the border with Malaysia." A set of initial reports by the Malaysian government indicate that its authorities have discovered a "series of graves in at least 17 abandoned camps used by human traffickers on the border with Thailand." These grim set of discoveries are revealing the appalling nature of human smuggling in South East Asia, and the extent of its practice in the region.
Traditionally, trafficking from Burma into nearby Thailand and Malaysia has happened via land. However, a recent crackdown by the Thai government on the normal land routes has made smuggling networks by sea increasingly lucrative for smugglers, and increasingly dangerous for their human cargoes.
While many of those boarding these "coffins at sea" are Rohingyas attempting to flee the oppressive Burmese government, the story is much more complex than that. In a press conference on the plight of the "boat people," the UNHCR revealed the predatory tactics employed by smugglers. Initial boarding fees are often low and in some cases people are given free-passage on condition that they repay the debt with future earnings in Malaysia. There may be false promises of work and even small cash incentives offered. Those who change their minds and ask to be let off the boats are forced to remain. The UNHCR reported of children being abducted off the streets or while fishing, and forced onto boats. People are unaware that money will be extorted from them later in the journey and what started with being smuggled soon turns into trafficking in persons.
Since October 2014, some smugglers have held passengers for ransom at sea. Once payment is made, people are taken by fishing or speed boats directly to Malaysia. According to NGO The Arakan Project, currently several thousand people could be held – and dozens could have already died – in these "offshore camps".
This complex situation has lead to a confused response from the international community. Initially, Malaysia, Indonesia, and Thailand took a hard-line position against the thousands of refugees stranded off their shores, with officials claiming that they would turn back boats. While the Indonesian navy provided water, food, medicine, and fuel, they were not allowed to bring the migrants into safety. Foreign Affairs Minister Datuk Seri Anifah Aman of Malaysia denied claims that Malaysian navy had towed a boat carrying about 300 ethnic Rohingya refugees out of the country’s waters.
Thailand has recently tried to combat the perception that Thai officials have been casting a blind eye on human trafficking in the region. Last year the country was demoted to the lowest tier in the US State Department's Trafficking in Persons Report 2014. Thai authorities have since arrested dozens of people, including a powerful mayor and a man named Soe Naing, otherwise known as Anwar, who was accused of being one of the trafficking kingpins in southern Thailand. More than 50 police officers are also being investigated. However, the attempts to combat trafficking in Thailand have had disastrous consequences, creating the current situation of thousands of refugees stranded at sea. Smugglers have been spooked, forcing migrants to swim to shore, abandoning them hundreds of miles away from their intended destination, or simply leaving them adrift in the ocean without food, water, or fuel.
Only after massive pressure from the UN did Thailand, Malaysia, and Indonesia come together for an emergency conference on the night of May 20th. After just a few hours, the results seemed positive: Malaysia and Indonesia agreed to provide temporary shelter for the Rohingya refugees.
However, the deal isn't that sweet. The Bangladeshi migrants will be deported soon, and any new ships will be turned back. In a joint statement in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia and Indonesia placed the onus on the international community to resettle the Rohingyas on a more permanent basis. Thailand - closer to the epicenter of the crisis than any of the other South East Asian nation - refused to make a formal decision, and even after another regional conference on May 29, is yet to commit.
“We have to find ways to resettling them as soon as possible without creating a new moral hazard,” Dewi Fortuna Anwar, a political adviser to Indonesia’s vice-president, said. “If migrants start thinking of Indonesia as a transit point or as having a higher chance of getting resettled, that would create another problem that we have to prevent.”
This sentiment of purely preventing "moral hazard" has been reflected by the Australian government, which too faced calls to help rescue, rehabilitate, and resettle the stranded Rohingyas. Tony Abbott, Australia's Prime Minister, claimed on May 22 that “it would be utterly irresponsible of me or anyone to suggest for a second that we will reward people for doing something so dangerous.” Indonesian foreign ministry spokesman, Arrmantha Nasir, rebuked the Australian government for their inaction, claiming that they were obliged to assist as a signatory to the United Nations Refugee Convention. The Australian government is correct in arguing that the situation is more complex than at face value, and while resettling a few thousand migrants might be possible, the one million Rohingyas still trapped in Burma cannot be possibly be patriated.
Phil Robertson of Human Rights Watch has accused the Australian prime minister of shirking responsibility. “This is his way of saying he wants to push back boats and shirk responsibilities to accept asylum seekers landing by boat,” he told the ABC. Australian opposition leader, Bill Shorten, was highly critical of Abbott's position, claiming that Australia should at least "work with our neighbors in the region who are getting these people and see what we can do to help,"
At the moment, those neighbors in the region are the unlikely duo of Gambia and the Philippines, which both have announced plans to temporarily house thousands of migrants. The Philippines has a long history of helping refugees, including persecuted Jews during World War II, Vietnamese boat people during the Vietnam War and the Chinese during the rise of communism and their civil war period. While the Philippines government has stated that "preparation is key," officials seem to be most concerned with addressing "the medical needs of the migrants, as well as other health and food requirements first." The UN and US have both also indicated plans to help resettle Rohingyas, and announced on May, 29 during a emergency regional conference that they would be pledging millions of dollars to help with relocation.
Present at this conference was Burma, at the vortex of this storm. The government has been steadfast in its position that the "boat people" are not persecuted Rohingyas, but rather, Bangladeshi migrants searching for illegal jobs. On May 22, the country's navy said it had carried out its first rescue of a migrant boat, when over 200 bare-chested men were found crammed into the hull of a wooden fishing vessel and taken to shore. Burmese officials have stated that all 208 men are from Bangladesh and will soon be returned there. However, Reuters reported that at least eight Burmese Rohingya Muslims were onboard the rescued ship, contradicting the official reports. The Burmese government continues to deny that it discriminates against the minority, and is resisting pressure to help solve the problem.
Reportedly, Burma only agreed to join the May 29 ASEAN’s emergency regional conference with the assurance that the refugees will not be referred to as Rohingyas. It's a shameful concession, but one that has to be made for the protection of human rights in the region. Perhaps most disappointing is the Burmese opposition's position on the crisis: Opposition leader and Nobel Peace Prize recipient Aung San Suu Kyi has yet to comment on the situation and in the past has affirmed the government's line that the Rohingya are a stateless people. It's a hard balance to strike between domestic political pandering and what is wanted by the international community, but for a lodestar of human rights like Suu Kyi to remain silent during this turmoil is inexcusable. Her low-key response has made it easier for the government to virtually ignore the boat-people crisis. By May 19th there had been no mention of it in the government-run Global New Light of Burma, an English-language newspaper. Rohingyas are not technically “citizens,” so the government feels that it can wash its hands of the problem.
The Burmese government has enjoyed a relative lack of scrutiny for the past four years since launching a plethora of political reforms and democratic elections in 2011 and 2012. While hundreds of political prisoners have been released and the main Burmese opposition party has won 43 out of the available 45 seats in the by-election, the vast majority of the other reforms have been nothing but smoke and mirrors. However, the apparent democratic progress in Burma led to a major easing of sanctions by the Obama Administration and the suspension of nearly all sanctions by the EU. Despite calls over the past few years for the ASEAN, and the Western governments to advocate on behalf of the Rohingyas, surprisingly little has been done.
The recent humanitarian crisis needs to be a wake up call. For the last three years, we've witnessed what amounts to a pogrom of ethnic Muslims in Burma. Philanthropist George Soros, who escaped Nazi-occupied Hungary as a teen, went as far as to say that there were “alarming” parallels between the plight of the Rohingya and the Nazi genocide. It's taken too long for the governments of the world to notice the scale of this crisis.
Photo: Flickr under Creative Commons license.
The views presented in this article are the author’s own and do not necessarily represent the views of any other organization.
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A Growing Humanitarian Crisis: Asia’s New Boat People
June 15, 2015
There are only three museums that are open on a semi-regular basis in the Burmese capital of Yangon, and perhaps the only one of import is the National Museum, located in the heart of Yangon's most prosperous township. On the top floor of the museum is a hall dedicated to celebrating Burma's unique ethnic diversity, recognizing over 130 ethnic groups in the country. Representing each of these groups are mannequins garbed in ethnic dress, filling the poorly-lit and drab museum with vibrant color.
However, there is one ethnic group notably missing from the parade of mannequins – the Rohingyas. Despite over a million living within Burma's borders, the Burmese government refuses to recognize this ethnic Muslim group, even after many have lived in the country for generations.
The Rohingyas are considered by the United Nations to be the most persecuted people in the world, and for a good reason. Over the course of the last few decades, these “stateless” people, have been refused any sort of protection by the Burmese government, making them easy victims of systematic discrimination and violence. With many living in the northern Rakhine state, the Rohingyas have been targeted by both the ethnic Buddhist Rakhine and agents of the central government. Refusing to acknowledge the Rohingyas as part of Burma's ethnic tapestry, the government instead describes these ethnic Muslims as “Bangalis,” a label that the both the Buddhist majority and Rohingyas despise.
While the Rohingyas were alienated by the central government and victims of sporadic ethnic tensions, the situation turned to the worse in 2012 with the resurgence of the Rakhine civil war. Periods of intense violence and vicious ethnic cleansing by Rakhine nationalists caused about 140,000 of about 1.1 million Rohingyas to flee into western Burma. There, they have been kept in what amounts to prison camps, without access to the most basic of human rights. In a desperate plea to escape, thousands have gotten on boats during the early months of the year to reach Malaysia, Indonesia and Thailand before the monsoon season starts and renders all travel impossible. The results have been devastating – over 300 between January and March have died in their attempt at a better life.
The stories are terrifying: the Economist describes how 15 year-old Mohammed Haryot left one of the camps to attempt to escape to Malaysia with seven of his family members. They were forced to pay the human traffickers about $500 to board a “flimsy rowing boat,” and then another $2,000 for a larger vessel for the full trip to Malaysia. For many in South East Asia, that kind of money amounts to their life-time savings. After a week at sea without food or water, they were intercepted at sea and forced back to the port town of Sittwe in Burma. While the risks from the outside seem far too much, for many of the Rohingya's the possibility of fleeing the situation on land is better than any danger at sea.
Ever since the violence of 2012, the Rohingya villages and refugee camps have been cut off by the government from the rest of the Rakhine towns. Cloistered in these camps, it's become impossible to maintain a standard of living. Business has dried up, farmers can't return to their fields, and fishermen are driven away from the fishing grounds by Rakhines if they even make it that far. Malnutrition and disease has been on the rise, and the camps have become something akin to a death trap.
The local authorities insist that this forced isolation is for the Rohingyas’ own good, surrounding the camps with barbed wire fences. However, it's become clear that the Rohingyas are victims of a system of discrimination that is just as insidious as South Africa's apartheid.
In 2012, President Obama visited Yangon and praised the Burmese government for its progress in advancing democratic reforms – and it might be true for the majority Buddhist population. However those advancement don't reach to the million Rohingyas in Burma. In the most recent census, the Rohingyas were classified as “Bengalis,” and essentially refused citizenship despite many having lived in country for over a century. In an act of protest, most Rohingyas boycotted the census, and ultimately saw their voter rights hampered by legislation later that year.
Anti-Rohingya sentiment is such a strong political platform in Burma that no politicians have decided to support their plight. The Buddhist majority see the Rohingyas as a plight, infecting their country, or nothing more than refuse from Bangladesh. The Rohinguas have been converted in a political issue for the most vehemently nationalistic to play on anti-Muslim hysteria.
While the government may not be willing to intervene in this humanitarian crisis, one thing is clear: if something isn't done, the cycle will repeat, with thousands taking to boats once again to try and find a better life away from Burma.
The Burgeoning Cross-Border Crisis:
In the recent months, the Burmese debacle has escalated into an international humanitarian crisis. It has not been the first year that Rohingyas have tried to escape Burma - but perhaps the most deadly. The recent United High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) reported that "more than 30 bodies had been found in graves in smugglers' camps in the southern province of Songkhla, close to the border with Malaysia." A set of initial reports by the Malaysian government indicate that its authorities have discovered a "series of graves in at least 17 abandoned camps used by human traffickers on the border with Thailand." These grim set of discoveries are revealing the appalling nature of human smuggling in South East Asia, and the extent of its practice in the region.
Traditionally, trafficking from Burma into nearby Thailand and Malaysia has happened via land. However, a recent crackdown by the Thai government on the normal land routes has made smuggling networks by sea increasingly lucrative for smugglers, and increasingly dangerous for their human cargoes.
While many of those boarding these "coffins at sea" are Rohingyas attempting to flee the oppressive Burmese government, the story is much more complex than that. In a press conference on the plight of the "boat people," the UNHCR revealed the predatory tactics employed by smugglers. Initial boarding fees are often low and in some cases people are given free-passage on condition that they repay the debt with future earnings in Malaysia. There may be false promises of work and even small cash incentives offered. Those who change their minds and ask to be let off the boats are forced to remain. The UNHCR reported of children being abducted off the streets or while fishing, and forced onto boats. People are unaware that money will be extorted from them later in the journey and what started with being smuggled soon turns into trafficking in persons.
Since October 2014, some smugglers have held passengers for ransom at sea. Once payment is made, people are taken by fishing or speed boats directly to Malaysia. According to NGO The Arakan Project, currently several thousand people could be held – and dozens could have already died – in these "offshore camps".
This complex situation has lead to a confused response from the international community. Initially, Malaysia, Indonesia, and Thailand took a hard-line position against the thousands of refugees stranded off their shores, with officials claiming that they would turn back boats. While the Indonesian navy provided water, food, medicine, and fuel, they were not allowed to bring the migrants into safety. Foreign Affairs Minister Datuk Seri Anifah Aman of Malaysia denied claims that Malaysian navy had towed a boat carrying about 300 ethnic Rohingya refugees out of the country’s waters.
Thailand has recently tried to combat the perception that Thai officials have been casting a blind eye on human trafficking in the region. Last year the country was demoted to the lowest tier in the US State Department's Trafficking in Persons Report 2014. Thai authorities have since arrested dozens of people, including a powerful mayor and a man named Soe Naing, otherwise known as Anwar, who was accused of being one of the trafficking kingpins in southern Thailand. More than 50 police officers are also being investigated. However, the attempts to combat trafficking in Thailand have had disastrous consequences, creating the current situation of thousands of refugees stranded at sea. Smugglers have been spooked, forcing migrants to swim to shore, abandoning them hundreds of miles away from their intended destination, or simply leaving them adrift in the ocean without food, water, or fuel.
Only after massive pressure from the UN did Thailand, Malaysia, and Indonesia come together for an emergency conference on the night of May 20th. After just a few hours, the results seemed positive: Malaysia and Indonesia agreed to provide temporary shelter for the Rohingya refugees.
However, the deal isn't that sweet. The Bangladeshi migrants will be deported soon, and any new ships will be turned back. In a joint statement in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia and Indonesia placed the onus on the international community to resettle the Rohingyas on a more permanent basis. Thailand - closer to the epicenter of the crisis than any of the other South East Asian nation - refused to make a formal decision, and even after another regional conference on May 29, is yet to commit.
“We have to find ways to resettling them as soon as possible without creating a new moral hazard,” Dewi Fortuna Anwar, a political adviser to Indonesia’s vice-president, said. “If migrants start thinking of Indonesia as a transit point or as having a higher chance of getting resettled, that would create another problem that we have to prevent.”
This sentiment of purely preventing "moral hazard" has been reflected by the Australian government, which too faced calls to help rescue, rehabilitate, and resettle the stranded Rohingyas. Tony Abbott, Australia's Prime Minister, claimed on May 22 that “it would be utterly irresponsible of me or anyone to suggest for a second that we will reward people for doing something so dangerous.” Indonesian foreign ministry spokesman, Arrmantha Nasir, rebuked the Australian government for their inaction, claiming that they were obliged to assist as a signatory to the United Nations Refugee Convention. The Australian government is correct in arguing that the situation is more complex than at face value, and while resettling a few thousand migrants might be possible, the one million Rohingyas still trapped in Burma cannot be possibly be patriated.
Phil Robertson of Human Rights Watch has accused the Australian prime minister of shirking responsibility. “This is his way of saying he wants to push back boats and shirk responsibilities to accept asylum seekers landing by boat,” he told the ABC. Australian opposition leader, Bill Shorten, was highly critical of Abbott's position, claiming that Australia should at least "work with our neighbors in the region who are getting these people and see what we can do to help,"
At the moment, those neighbors in the region are the unlikely duo of Gambia and the Philippines, which both have announced plans to temporarily house thousands of migrants. The Philippines has a long history of helping refugees, including persecuted Jews during World War II, Vietnamese boat people during the Vietnam War and the Chinese during the rise of communism and their civil war period. While the Philippines government has stated that "preparation is key," officials seem to be most concerned with addressing "the medical needs of the migrants, as well as other health and food requirements first." The UN and US have both also indicated plans to help resettle Rohingyas, and announced on May, 29 during a emergency regional conference that they would be pledging millions of dollars to help with relocation.
Present at this conference was Burma, at the vortex of this storm. The government has been steadfast in its position that the "boat people" are not persecuted Rohingyas, but rather, Bangladeshi migrants searching for illegal jobs. On May 22, the country's navy said it had carried out its first rescue of a migrant boat, when over 200 bare-chested men were found crammed into the hull of a wooden fishing vessel and taken to shore. Burmese officials have stated that all 208 men are from Bangladesh and will soon be returned there. However, Reuters reported that at least eight Burmese Rohingya Muslims were onboard the rescued ship, contradicting the official reports. The Burmese government continues to deny that it discriminates against the minority, and is resisting pressure to help solve the problem.
Reportedly, Burma only agreed to join the May 29 ASEAN’s emergency regional conference with the assurance that the refugees will not be referred to as Rohingyas. It's a shameful concession, but one that has to be made for the protection of human rights in the region. Perhaps most disappointing is the Burmese opposition's position on the crisis: Opposition leader and Nobel Peace Prize recipient Aung San Suu Kyi has yet to comment on the situation and in the past has affirmed the government's line that the Rohingya are a stateless people. It's a hard balance to strike between domestic political pandering and what is wanted by the international community, but for a lodestar of human rights like Suu Kyi to remain silent during this turmoil is inexcusable. Her low-key response has made it easier for the government to virtually ignore the boat-people crisis. By May 19th there had been no mention of it in the government-run Global New Light of Burma, an English-language newspaper. Rohingyas are not technically “citizens,” so the government feels that it can wash its hands of the problem.
The Burmese government has enjoyed a relative lack of scrutiny for the past four years since launching a plethora of political reforms and democratic elections in 2011 and 2012. While hundreds of political prisoners have been released and the main Burmese opposition party has won 43 out of the available 45 seats in the by-election, the vast majority of the other reforms have been nothing but smoke and mirrors. However, the apparent democratic progress in Burma led to a major easing of sanctions by the Obama Administration and the suspension of nearly all sanctions by the EU. Despite calls over the past few years for the ASEAN, and the Western governments to advocate on behalf of the Rohingyas, surprisingly little has been done.
The recent humanitarian crisis needs to be a wake up call. For the last three years, we've witnessed what amounts to a pogrom of ethnic Muslims in Burma. Philanthropist George Soros, who escaped Nazi-occupied Hungary as a teen, went as far as to say that there were “alarming” parallels between the plight of the Rohingya and the Nazi genocide. It's taken too long for the governments of the world to notice the scale of this crisis.
Photo: Flickr under Creative Commons license.
The views presented in this article are the author’s own and do not necessarily represent the views of any other organization.
