Rohingya Muslims Of Myanmar - World's Most Persecuted Minority Is Being Uprooted From Their Homes, Once Again

"The most persecuted minority in the world" that is how back in 2013 the United Nations described the Rohingya Muslims of Myanmar.

Estimated to be around 1.3 million in number, in their homeland of Myanmar, the ethnic group is quite simply the world's most unwanted people.

AP

They are not welcome in Myanmar, neighbouring Bangladesh, and a host of other South-east Asian countries where they have tried to flee for their lives. The community has been facing discrimination and second class treatment in Myanmar for years under the military rule. The election of the first democratic government under democracy icon Aung San Suu Kyi last year has not changed their situation either. This is the story of Myanmar's Rohingya.

Demography?

The Rohingya people mostly constitute in the northern Rakhine State, of Myanmar. While their ancestry has been debated it is widely accepted that their forefathers migrated to the region during the British period from what is modern day Bangladesh.

Reuters

That is where the bone of contention began - despite living in Myanmar for generations they are still regarded as illegal Bangladeshi immigrants. They still are not considered as citizens and don't even have basic rights, including voting.

The identity?

The first efforts for forging a "Rohingya identity" began in the 1950s with an aim to establish the ethnic group as indigenous people. It continued for a couple of decades as an armed movement, with nominal gains that helped their cause. In the years after the Bangladesh Liberation in 1971, there was a huge inflow of Muslims to Rakhine State, which resulted in a spike in the Muslim population in the otherwise Buddhist-dominated country.

While there were no major incidents in the 90's and early 2000's the conflict between local Buddhists and Rohingya showed its ugly colours in 2012, when a series of riots broke out between the two communities.

AP

It was the outcome of the Buddhist fear of them becoming a minority in the region. According to government estimates 78 people were killed, and up to 1,40,000 were displaced as the result of the conflict.The clashes further alienated the Rohingyas from the mainstream, with many including Buddhist monks openly calling for violence against them.

The boat people?

While the world was focusing its attention on the Syrian refugees, far from the international media attention, another humanitarian catastrophe was unfolding in the Andaman Sea. Since January, some 25,000 Rohingya are believed to have attempted the voyage by boat to neighbouring nations.

AFP

Several thousand were rescued adrift at seas after countries like Indonesia, Thailand and Malaysia refused them entry. Hundreds are also believed to have died in the sea, due to shipwrecks and others due to starvation. These were the people who were fleeing the conflict in Rakhine, paying hefty amounts to traffickers who promised them "a better life in a foreign country".

Reuters

But these boats were hardly seaworthy and had packed more than double of their capacity, making the magnitude of accidents manifold higher. After their plight finally caught the eye of the international media, organisations including the UNHCR stepped in to rehabilitate them.?

Ethnic cleansing

In 2016 the region slipped into chaos once again, triggered by the attack on a police outpost by some Rohingya militants, which left three personnel dead. The backlash was however felt by the civilian community. Hundreds of houses and small businesses owned by Rohingyas were set on fire, forcing almost 300,000 to leave their homes and flee for their lives.

Satellite Images Before and After/HRW

The UN has accused Myanmar of carrying out "ethnic cleansing" of the Rohingyas. Last week, a Myanmar government-appointed committee headed by former UN Secretary-General Kofi Annan visited the affected areas to take stock of the situation, but locals don't see their situation getting any better.

Unwelcome everywhere

Driven out from their homeland, the Rohingyas are turned away by neighbouring Bangladesh, Indonesia, Malaysia and Singapore. Some people, who have made it across the Bangladesh border live in refugee camps which are far from ideal living conditions, with the sword of eviction hanging over their head.

Reuters

They only want one thing: To go back to their ancestral land and have a peaceful life which by every passing day is becoming a distant reality.