Rohingya Crisis: A Humanitarian Catastrophe

The Rohingyas are a group of people who have been fleeting to Bangladesh and leaving their homeland Myanmar. The Rohingyas are brutally discriminated by the government. The United Nations had stated earlier that this is nothing but genocide. The International Criminal Court has been asked to take action against the military officials of Myanmar for their treatment against the Rohingyas.

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The Rohingyas are a group of people who have been fleeting to Bangladesh and leaving
their homeland Myanmar. Initially, there were around 1.1 million Rohingyas but around 420,000
have fled due to the destructive weather and rough terrain. Mostly, the Rohingyas have fled to
their neighboring country Bangladesh since 2017 (Quadir, 2018). It is believed that the Burmese
military has been the main culprit behind killing and torturing the Rohingyas. The torrential
downpour, food scarcity, dire situations have made it difficult for the Rohingyas to stay in
Myanmar. The NGOS and aid agencies have been running out of finances to help the Rohingyas.
The entire world has been sympathizing with the Rohingyas (The Economist, 2017). However,
several confusions have aroused as to why the Nobel Peace Prize winner, Aung San Suu Kyi
taking an action. Some are of the opinion that it is an “ethnic cleansing” by the Buddhists. This is
shocking as to why a leader will not to do anything to help the people of her own country. The
Rohingyas are the indigenous Muslims of Burma (The Economist, 2017).
The Rohingyas are brutally discriminated by the government. There are instances where
they are murdered, killed, raped and denied their legal rights and citizenships. The United
Nations had stated earlier that this is nothing but genocide. The International Criminal Court has
been asked to take action against the military officials of Myanmar for their treatment against the
Rohingyas. The military has been charged with atrocities like mass rape and burning down
Rohingya houses (Head, 2017). The ethnic minority have been forced to take shelter in
Bangladesh. Human rights activists all over the world are trying to address the severity of the
situation. In Bangladesh there are 700,000 Rohingya refugees currently. The Rohingyas mainly
live in the Rakhine state. The villages were burned and the Rohingyas took shelter in the
Myanmar-Bangladesh border. Many Rohingyas told reporters that teenagers and adults were
killed with rifles whereas young children and infants were thrown into the water. The deadly

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carnage has taken the world by storm and United Nations is trying to extend its help to the
helpless Rohingyas. It comes as a shock as to why a world leader and a Nobel Peace Prize
winner, Suu Kyi, remain silent about the mentioned atrocity. Buddhists on the other hand are
considered very peace loving and kind people. The entire world is now questioning the principles
of the Buddhist community. While trying to escape from the torture, the Rohingyas have died on
sea or were killed in the jungle by smugglers. Satellite images have shown that the villages have
been mercilessly burned down to ashes (The Economist, 2017).
On the other side of the border, in Bangladesh, the Rohingyas have to deal with hunger,
living on the streets, outbreak of diseases and other hardships. The Rohingyas have become a
burden to the state of Bangladesh. However, the current Prime Minister, Sheikh Hasina has been
very kind towards the homeless Rohingyas and provided them with basic aids. At the New York
headquarters she addressed that the Myanmar government should remove all the discriminatory
laws against the Rohingyas and let them live peacefully (Safi, 2018). She had also stated that the
Myanmar government should build mutual trust and establish guarantee to protect the rights of
the minority group. She also mentioned that this mass killing of the Rohingyas is nothing but
“ethnic cleansing” (Head, 2017). Today in Bangladesh there are over a million of traumatized
and rootless Rohingyas. The government of Bangladesh has to not only provided them with food
and clothing but also with six acres of land for them to protect themselves from the wrath of
nature. The entire situation has taken a toll on Bangladesh’s economic resources. The sudden
influx of the minorities has also lead to diseases like diahorrea and hygiene problems. The fact
that thry have been displaced from their native land have left them deeply upset (Head, 2017).
The state of Bangladesh have recently developed an island called the Bhashan Char where the

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government has planned to shift the Rohingyas and provide them with a better livelihood (The
Guardian, 2017).
However, Bangladesh being a developing nation and having its own set of challenges, is
difficult to cater to the needs of the displaced minorities. Sheikh Hasina had pleaded the world to
come forward and help the refugee-hosting nations who are providing the refugees with shelter,
food, a place to live and most importantly hope. The Prime Minister of Bangladesh has accused
Suu Kyi for failing to take any action against the inhumane treatment meted out to the
Rohingyas. The military has been blamed for molesting and sexually harassing the Rohingya
women. The heinous exodus began in August, 2017 after the Rohingya militants attacked the
police force of Myanmar (The Guardian, 2017). Most of the Rohingyas have settled in Cox
Bazaar in Bangladesh as it is the nearest place after crossing the river. This Islamophobic crusade
to drive out the poor and powerless Rohingyas has left the entire world aghast. The UN had
stated that the Rohingya crisis is the world’s rapidly growing refugee catastrophe. The
Rohingyas went through a series of prosecution including denial of human rights and
citizenships. The Rohingyas are left with two options to choose from either to stay and face dire
consequences or to leave the country and survive (Safi, 2018). The citizens and the government
of Bangladesh have shown immense compassion and kindness to the Rohingyas. However, the
country is equipped with limited resources and the newly included refugees can overburden the
economy.
It is true that the government of Myanmar has done nothing g to stop the ethnic cleansing
but the esteemed United Nations have also failed too to take any quick action even after having
nineteen agencies in the State. Myanmar’s army named Tatmadaw is being held responsible for

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the mass killing of the innocent citizens. The officials from inside the United Nations have stated
that some officials were involved in ignoring the grave treatment of the Rohingya’s. The United
Nations downplayed the severity of the situation so that they can win the association of the
government to establish schools, civil services and disinfect dirty and sewerage water. The
insurgent attacks by the army have lead to a million Rohingyas fleeing to Bangladesh for shelter
and saving their lives. It is not an unknown fact the conflict between the Rohingyas and the
leaders of Myanmar is an age-old tension (The Economist, 2017). Dalai Lama asked the
Burmese forces to “remember Buddha”. By August 2107 more than two hundred houses were
burned according to the satellite imageries found by Human Rights Watch (Guterres, 2018). The
international communities have come forward to help the Rohingyas in relocating and resettling
in Bangladesh. The refugees are receiving food aid and other benefits from all the corners of the
world. Most of the refugees continue to suffer from poor health and malnutrition. Large-scale
vaccination has been provided to the Rohingyas. By January 2018, more than three lakhs
children have received vaccination for tetanus, diphtheria, whooping cough and others. More
than forty seven thousand latrines have been built for the Rohingyas (The Economist, 2017).
While Bangladesh is doing its best to support and uplift the state of the Rohingyas, China on the
other hand is of the opinion that the international community should support Myanmar in its
decision. The United Kingdom has promised to donate fifty nine million dollars to support the
cause. The United Kingdom has stopped the training courses of the military of Myanmar
(Osborne, 2018).
According to reports published in The Guardian, there were several brutal attacks by the
Myanmar military on the innocent people of Tula Toli, a remote village (The Guardian, 2017).
People were shot dead on the spot in front of their neighbors and family members. Zahir Ahmed

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an inhabitant of the village recollected his last moments in the dreaded village. He has been
quoted saying to The Guardian that in front of his eyes, his wife was shot and his youngest child,
six-month-old Hasina was thrown into the river. According to Zahir the adults and teenagers
were shot dead while the babies were thrown into the river. Most of the Rohingyas have a similar
story to tell. Everyone has lost the members of their family to the heinous genocide. The refugees
living at Cox Bazaar have to make makeshift homes to shelter themselves from the torrential rain
and harsh weather. Khaled Hossein, a laborer has told The Guardian that around ninety soldiers
had ordered the villagers to go to the east side of the settlement and they were told not to be
afraid of soldiers and run. He also told that the “soldiers” took away gold, cash, clothes, grains
and rice from the house of the villagers. A rice distributor, Petam Ali’s home was the first to be
burned down in the village of Tula Toli. He mentioned in the report published by The Guardian
that the soldiers used rocket-propelled grenades to set fire to the village homes (The Guardian,
2017). His aged grandmother who could not escape was burned down to ashes along with his
eight-bedroom house. Kabir Ahmed, who is sixty five year old and a rice farmer recalls that
when he heard the soldiers were burning down villages, he jumped into the river along with his
two sons. He told the newspaper that eight members of his family were dead and his three-year-
old granddaughter and one-year-old grandson were thrown into the river. He recounts that the
soldiers asked everyone to gather and walk away and then one by one they shot everyone. The
United Nations failing in Myanmar is similar to that of Sri Lanka back in the year 2009
(Schwirtz, 2018). The United Nations did not deliberately confront the Myanmar government.
The United Nations has also failed to prevent the atrocities meted out to the Rohingyas. This pits
United Nations power and authority to question. However, The United Nations have reverted
back to the allegations and stated that the presence of its troops can lead to confusions and

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attacks and the actions taken y the United Nations can be misjudged by the government. This can
lead to further conflict and confusion and worsen the situation. The United Nations further
clarified that it does not have the free will to inflict its power on any country. The peacekeeping
missions are sanctioned by the Security Council and approved by the General Assembly.
The budget attached shows an estimate of amount of funds which would require to be
allocated to aid the Rohingyas. It has been assumed that the funds to help the Rohingyas would
come from the UN, Government aids and donations. The estimated expenses have also be
calculated to show the utilization of the funds. It is clear from the estimation the total money
required to help the Rohingyas would be whopping $ 2210000. This means that agencies like the
UN and the government would be required to allocate immense amount of financial capital to
support the Rohingyas with even the basic necessities of life like food and medicine as shown in
the budget. The Rohingyas have taken shelter in Bangladesh and India hut both these countries
want to deport the stateless Rohingyas back to Myanmar. However, this will not solve the
problem. The Rohingyas cannot go back to their homeland in the fear of being killed by the
military forces. Therefore, I think both the countries that is India and Bangladesh should come
together and develop policies to help the Rohingyas and give them land to stay for a s long as
they want. The two nations should also seek for grants and aids from all over the world. The
United Nations should make peace treaty with the government of Myanmar, separate the
Rakhine state from Myanmar, and allocate it to the Rohingyas. This is going to be a tough, cold
and endless battle on the part of the United Nations but it should stand up for protecting
humanity and human rights above everything else.

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References
The Guardian. (2017). Massacre at Tula Toli: Rohingya recall horror of Myanmar army attack.
Retrieved from https://www.theguardian.com/world/2017/sep/07/massacre-at-tula-toli-rohingya-
villagers-recall-horror-of-myanmar-army-attack
Head, J. (2017). BBC News. Retrieved from https://www.bbc.com/news/world-asia-41222210
Safi, M. (2018). Retrieved from https://www.theguardian.com/world/2017/sep/11/un-myanmars-
treatment-of-rohingya-textbook-example-of-ethnic-cleansing
The Economist. (2017). Retrieved from
https://www.economist.com/international/2017/10/28/peacekeepers-in-name-only
Schwirtz, M. (2018). Besieged Rohingya Face ‘Crisis Within the Crisis’: Deadly Floods.
Retrieved from https://www.nytimes.com/2018/02/13/world/asia/rohingya-monsoons-myanmar-
bangladesh.html113
Guterres, A. (2018). The Rohingya are victims of ethnic cleansing. The world has failed them.
The Washington Post. Retrieved from https://www.washingtonpost.com/opinions/the-rohingya-
are-victims-of-ethnic-cleansing-the-world-has-failed-them/2018/07/10/0
Osborne, S. (2018). Retrieved from https://www.independent.co.uk/news/world/asia/rohingya-
crisis-myanmar-refugees-arrested-detained-boat-yangon-kyauktan-a8636841.html
Quadir, S. (2018). Trump assures Bangladesh of U.S. support amid Rohingya crisis. Retrieved
from https://in.reuters.com/article/myanmar-rohingya-usa/trump-assures-bangladesh-of-u-s-
support-amid-rohingya-crisis-idINKBN1I51F

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