Ethnic Cleansing and Refugee Crisis Wreaks Havoc in Burma and Bangladesh
In recent months, the world has been captivated by ethnic cleansing in Burma (officially referred to as Myanmar) perpetrated by the country’s powerful military on the Rohingya, the country’s persecuted Muslim minority in an overwhelmingly Buddhist country. Over 400,000 Rohingya have left since August 24 and most of them to Muslim-majority Bangladesh, the United Nations estimates. Upon arrival in Bangladesh, the refugees were greeted with open arms by hundreds of thousands of Rohingya refugees, most of whom had fled Burma in the 1990s, and were granted assistance by the Bangladeshi government, the United Nations and various humanitarian organizations. Yet despite this widespread support, conditions for these refugees are poor; the Bangladeshi government lacks the infrastructure needed to deal with such a massive influx of persons in such a short period of time.
The cause of such a recent crisis in Burma can be traced to the systematic burning of Rohingya villages by the Burmese military. Although the military claims that such villages were burned as a counter-insurgency strategy, such insurgents are small in number and all evidence points to the contrary. The Burmese government claims that the Rohingya are not a historical Burmese ethnic group but are rather illegal immigrants from Bangladesh, despite evidence once again pointing to the contrary. The Rohingya are denied citizenship and regularly denied access to healthcare, education and other such basic needs.
Throughout the crisis, the international community’s eyes have been turned towards Aung Saan Suu Kyi, widely praised by the international community for advocating for democracy in Burma and Burma’s de facto civilian leader. Yet despite this power, Suu Kyi does not control Burma’s military, which is one of the most powerful forces in Burma’s society. As such, Suu Kyi has failed to take a firm stance on the refugee crisis, powerless to condemn or stop the military’s actions.
With hundreds of thousands of Rohingya fleeing Burma, a history of persecution only intensifying and the Burmese government powerless to stop its own military’s atrocities, the state of the Rohingya only seems to be worsening.
