Such a long time since I last posted something here. My apology to all. This time I would share about the Displaced Peoples.. Test your knowledge and see if you can figure out who they are. These are some of the facts of their lives in their own country.
1) This people have been described as “among the world’s least wanted”
2) They are one of the world’s most persecuted minorities.
3) They have been denied their citizenship since a 1982 citizenship law was enacted in their country.
4) They are not allowed to travel without official permission
5) They are banned from owning land
6) They are required to sign a commitment to have not more than two children
Have you gotten it yet? Ok.. Now let me share. The people I am talking about here is the Rohingyas people. They are from the state of Rakhine in the West Coast of Myanmar. Sounds familiar yet? Their miserable lives comes to our attention last year through International medias in 2012 Rakhine State Riots. This makes me wonder, must we see blood first before we could take action or at least care.
Rohingyas are stateless, displaced, unwanted, oppressed people and they have nowhere to call homes. The statistics according to UNHCR draws my attention because it is something related to Malaysia. As of January 2010, there are some 79,284 refugees and asylum-seekers in Malaysia. Of these 73,287 are from Myanmar, comprising some 17,712 Rohingyas from the Northern Rakhine State.
When the country you were born in decides to take your citizenship from you and confines you to your state only, restricts your freedom to travel. When your children are no longer allowed to study, all your books are taken away from you and you are not permitted to publish any writings in your language. When you are forces to pay tax for petrol, rice, clothes, milk and every other thing you buy, eat or use. When you are forced to leave the country of your birth, the country that once called you its own children and you refuse to go. When you say no to the powers and they fall upon you with force. When your women are raped merciless, your brothers executed before your eyes, when your neighbours are burned alive.. Then you know what it's like to be a Rohingyas.
In 2009, a senior Burmese envoy, (the country's Consul General) Ye Myint Aung wrote to heads of foreign missions in Hong Kong and local newspapers insisting the Muslim tribe should not be described as being from Myanmar branded the Rohingya "ugly as ogres" and a people that are alien to Myanmar. "In reality, Rohingya are neither Myanmar people nor Myanmar's ethnic group," he also said. By the way who give him the right to describe people as ugly. Below is the photo of Ye Myint Aung. You judge.. Is he too good looking that he called others as ugly.
The 2012 Rakhine State riots are a series of ongoing conflicts between Rohingya Muslims and ethnic Rakhine in northern Rakhine State, Myanmar. The riots came after weeks of sectarian disputes and have been condemned by most people on both sides of the conflict. The immediate cause of the riots is unclear, with many commentators citing the killing of ten Burmese Muslims by ethnic Rakhine after the rape and murder of a Rakhine woman as the main cause. Whole villages have been "decimated". Over three hundred houses and a number of public buildings have been razed.
According to Tun Khin, the President of the Burmese Rohingya Organisation UK (BROUK), as of 28 June 650 Rohingyas have been killed, 1200 are missing, and more than 80,000 have been displaced. While according to the Myanmar authorities, the violence, between ethnic Rakhine Buddhists and Rohingya Muslims, left 78 people dead, 87 injured, and thousands of homes destroyed. It also displaced more than 52,000 people. Who knows which is the truth?
When you are forced to flee your own country because it is no longer safe for you and your kin, there waiting for night to comes, set your improper equipped small boats and sail to sea, saying prayers to God that you will live. When you finally arrived at another men's country without proper identification documents with no even a buck to your name. When they arrest you and you stand before a Magistrate at court, as he asked for your passport and you have nothing to say because you don't even understand a single word he say.. You are GUILTY is just the decent ending. Stripped off clothes, arms and legs spread, hands and feet then tied and whipped with cane that your soul feel the pain. When you are thrown to detention center, deported from the country, sold to traffickers who extort you. When they use their fists to knock out the teeth off your mouth, cut and bruise your flesh until you find a way to pay the money the demand of you... Then you know how it's like to be a refugee.
1) This people have been described as “among the world’s least wanted”
2) They are one of the world’s most persecuted minorities.
3) They have been denied their citizenship since a 1982 citizenship law was enacted in their country.
4) They are not allowed to travel without official permission
5) They are banned from owning land
6) They are required to sign a commitment to have not more than two children
Have you gotten it yet? Ok.. Now let me share. The people I am talking about here is the Rohingyas people. They are from the state of Rakhine in the West Coast of Myanmar. Sounds familiar yet? Their miserable lives comes to our attention last year through International medias in 2012 Rakhine State Riots. This makes me wonder, must we see blood first before we could take action or at least care.
Rohingyas are stateless, displaced, unwanted, oppressed people and they have nowhere to call homes. The statistics according to UNHCR draws my attention because it is something related to Malaysia. As of January 2010, there are some 79,284 refugees and asylum-seekers in Malaysia. Of these 73,287 are from Myanmar, comprising some 17,712 Rohingyas from the Northern Rakhine State.
When the country you were born in decides to take your citizenship from you and confines you to your state only, restricts your freedom to travel. When your children are no longer allowed to study, all your books are taken away from you and you are not permitted to publish any writings in your language. When you are forces to pay tax for petrol, rice, clothes, milk and every other thing you buy, eat or use. When you are forced to leave the country of your birth, the country that once called you its own children and you refuse to go. When you say no to the powers and they fall upon you with force. When your women are raped merciless, your brothers executed before your eyes, when your neighbours are burned alive.. Then you know what it's like to be a Rohingyas.
The Rohingya people are Muslims. They practice Sunni Islam with elements of Sufi worship. Since the government restricts educational opportunities for them, many pursue fundamental Islamic studies as their only educational option. Mosques and religious schools are present in most villages. Traditionally, men pray in congregations and women pray at home.
In 2009, a senior Burmese envoy, (the country's Consul General) Ye Myint Aung wrote to heads of foreign missions in Hong Kong and local newspapers insisting the Muslim tribe should not be described as being from Myanmar branded the Rohingya "ugly as ogres" and a people that are alien to Myanmar. "In reality, Rohingya are neither Myanmar people nor Myanmar's ethnic group," he also said. By the way who give him the right to describe people as ugly. Below is the photo of Ye Myint Aung. You judge.. Is he too good looking that he called others as ugly.
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| Ye Myint Aung |
According to Tun Khin, the President of the Burmese Rohingya Organisation UK (BROUK), as of 28 June 650 Rohingyas have been killed, 1200 are missing, and more than 80,000 have been displaced. While according to the Myanmar authorities, the violence, between ethnic Rakhine Buddhists and Rohingya Muslims, left 78 people dead, 87 injured, and thousands of homes destroyed. It also displaced more than 52,000 people. Who knows which is the truth?
When you are forced to flee your own country because it is no longer safe for you and your kin, there waiting for night to comes, set your improper equipped small boats and sail to sea, saying prayers to God that you will live. When you finally arrived at another men's country without proper identification documents with no even a buck to your name. When they arrest you and you stand before a Magistrate at court, as he asked for your passport and you have nothing to say because you don't even understand a single word he say.. You are GUILTY is just the decent ending. Stripped off clothes, arms and legs spread, hands and feet then tied and whipped with cane that your soul feel the pain. When you are thrown to detention center, deported from the country, sold to traffickers who extort you. When they use their fists to knock out the teeth off your mouth, cut and bruise your flesh until you find a way to pay the money the demand of you... Then you know how it's like to be a refugee.
The Slum where Rohingyas live in
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| Rohingyas Refugee Camps in Bangladesh |
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| Refugee Camps |
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| Aung San Suu Kyi with the Muslim Rohingyas |
Maybe there is nothing much we can do about this situation but sharing this story of Rohingyas people will let more people to aware of their existence and suffering in this world.
Thanks to:
Disappointed by Hope, Migrants and Refugees in Search of a Better Life
Excerpt some from Wikipedia and UNHCR
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