The Rohingya are one of the world's most persecuted peoples. A Muslim minority unwanted in their native Burma by the current military regime, they flee to the unwelcoming environment of Bangladesh in hopes of finding a better life.
Inside of Burma they are denied citizenship, subject to false imprisonment, official extortion, travel restrictions, rape, violence, and are forbidden to marry or have children without government approval and paying high taxes for the right, that many...
more »The Rohingya are one of the world's most persecuted peoples. A Muslim minority unwanted in their native Burma by the current military regime, they flee to the unwelcoming environment of Bangladesh in hopes of finding a better life.
Inside of Burma they are denied citizenship, subject to false imprisonment, official extortion, travel restrictions, rape, violence, and are forbidden to marry or have children without government approval and paying high taxes for the right, that many of the impoverished Rohingya cannot afford.
In Bangladesh they find themselves unwelcome outsiders, labeled by the Bangladeshi government as economic migrants. Though they share many traits with their western neighbors, such as religion, genealogy, and language, they are systematically discriminated against. They are forbidden to work, travel freely, and are increasingly finding themselves the victims of violent attacks and rapes by the local community.
The Bangladeshi policy of not acknowledging the Rohingya as refugees has more consequences then a simple status issue. Without official refugee status they cannot receive aid from international organizations working within Bangladesh's stringent structure. They are therefore denied medical and food aid. The government's refusal to label them as refugees is essentially a death sentence as they slowly starve to death and die of easily curable diseases.
Denied citizenship in Burma and denied refugee status in Bangladesh, the Rohingya endlessly float in a no mans land of undocumented and unwanted people.
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