THE ROHINGYA
A PEOPLE WITHOUT RIGHTS
AMANDA
SHEPPARD
BY
the South-Asian region. This
arguably has implications for their
access to indigenous rights.
PROTOCOL-MAGAZINE
To an extent there seems to be a
general sense of apathy on behalf
of neighbouring states and the
international community alike
when considering the plight of the
Rohingya people. A fundamental
question to ask is – why don’t
governments want to help? Simply
put, the financial strain of a
refugee population as large as the
Rohingya may be too sizeable for
small states like Bangladesh to
bear.
In 2012, the World Bank declared
B a n g l a d e s h ’s G D P t o b e
$115,610. When compared to the
United States’ $16,244,600 that same
year, the financial constraints posed by a large refugee
population are thus evident. In Thailand, the current internal
domestic turmoil takes precedence regardless of whether it
is morally just or not. The political instability Thailand faces
in the wake of mass anti-government protests must be dealt
with first and foremost. Concurrently, the Thai government
must deal with treatment of indigenous peoples within the
state, including the Aka and the Karen, as it is estimated
that almost 300,000 indigenous peoples within Thailand
lack citizenship.
A few weeks ago the BBC published an article criticising the
Thai government’s decision to deport over 1,000 Rohingya
refugees to Myanmar, where they face almost-certain
prosecution. The news comes more than a year after the
fact, leading to further criticism of the lack of opacity in the
Thai government’s decision. The Rohingya are an ethnic
group thought to be indigenous to Myanmar and have been
subject to considerable racial, ethnic, and religious
discrimination both historically and in recent years. This
begs the question –who are the Rohingya? What has led to
the systemic discrimination they face? And, most
importantly, why are they one of the most persecuted
people’s of the modern world? With an estimated 200,000 The Bangladeshi government have denied the Rohingya
Rohingya refugees, an answer as to why no state will accept refugee population the right to employment outside of the
refugee camps. The vast majority live outwith the official
responsibility for the Rohingya people ought to be found.
camps and, as Refugees International remarks, life for these
Having suffered extensive discrimination and abuse, the individuals is considerably harder. Such is the extent of their
Rohingya are undoubtedly a historically persecuted people. hardship that “in one unofficial camp, malnutrition rates are
In 1982 the Rohingya were denied Burmese citizenship; as twice the emergency threshold”. Whilst there are indeed
a result they became one of the largest stateless populations two registered UN Rohingya refugee camps these simply are
in the world. The denial of citizenship leads to further not equipped to deal with neither the severity nor the scale
consequences, including the denial of access to education. of the situation.
These constraints coupled with the physical brutality at the
hands of the junta, have led a large proportion of the It would be a mistake to make broad generalisations and
Rohingya to flee Myanmar thus creating sizeable refugee homogenise the attitude of governments toward the
populations in neighbouring states –in particular, in Rohingya populations. Therefore, a comparison between the
Bangladesh and Thailand. This mass exodus has been further Bangladeshi and Thai governments would facilitate a more
extended following the 2012 riots in Rakhine State. accurate analysis. By doing so it is possible to note some
However, mistreatment and further discrimination within similarities. As mentioned previously, the Thai government
the refugee internment camps have led to further strain deported over 1,000 Rohingya to Myanmar. According
u p o n t h e R o h i n g ya . A r e c e n t a r t i c l e by Ti m e to Human Rights Watch, “the government considers all
Magazine reminds us that the Rohingya are in fact Rohingya arriving by sea to be illegal immigrants, and
not recognised as one of the 135 ethnic minorities within regularly intercepts them”. As a result of this, “more than
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