The Rohingya, often termed as as being "one of the world's most persecuted minority groups"
In 1991, Burmese military initiated another operation called Operation Clean and Beautiful Nation which also aimed at driving the Rohingya out of Rakhine state. Consecutive anti-Rohingya operations forced hundreds of thousands of them to flee to Bangladesh, Thailand, Malaysia and Middle Eastern countries to escape persecution. In 2007, the Rohingya drew global media attention and attracted the concerns of human rights organisations as "new boat people"
Statelessness is the prime source of the Rohingya’s vulnerability because no state thinks itself responsible for protecting their rights. In Myanmar, the Rohingya are thought to be "illegal Bengali migrants" whilst in Bangladesh they are referred to as "illegal Burmese migrants". However, following the recent massive influx in 2017, the Rohingya people in Bangladesh have been relabelled as "forcibly displaced Myanmar nationals".
(Forced) Migration of Rohingya to Bangladesh
The history of Rohingya migration from Rakhine state (formerly known as Arakan province) to Bangladesh began in the late seventies. The first influx of about 250,000 Rohingya took place in 1978 as a result of said Operation Dragon King. Over the years, approximately 230,000 refugees have reportedly been repatriated to Myanmar under the supervision of the UN refugee agency (UNHCR). However, many of them illegally returned to Bangladesh where they lived as unregistered Rohingya in various localities of Teknaf and Ukhia, two sub-districts of Cox’s Bazar, especially in two makeshift camps called Taal (in Ukhia) and Leda (in Teknaf) that hosted about 40,000 and 30,000 Rohingya respectively. Some 350,000 to 400,000 Rohingya resided outside these camps.
The Rohingya Influx of 2017 and Its Repercussions
A recent report
In Bangladesh, Rohingya refugees live in a precarious situation. They are provided with food, water and healthcare, yet not to the necessary extend. Neither the government nor the national media or civil society representatives speak up for their rights. Furthermore, the local population has become reluctant to host the Rohingya and has started to blame them for various social problems. Since both Ukhia and Teknaf of Cox’s Bazar are resource-poor areas, the presence of 1.3 million Rohingya means an additional burden on the local resources, job markets and social spaces. It is also a strain on the environment. A recent study
Bangladesh and Myanmar have meanwhile made two attempts to repatriate Rohingya— one on November 15, 2018 and a second one on August 22, 2019. Both failed due mainly to Myanmar’s reluctance to take Rohingya back, the Rohingya’s unwillingness to return to a country which does not grant them protection and rights as citizens, and the opposition of international communities. Hence, it is very likely that Cox’s Bazar will become the permanent home of more than one million refugees. Without the political will on both sides of the border to solve the long-standing Rohingya displacement crisis, it has already become a protracted
Fußnoten
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See, "The most persecuted people on Earth?" The Economist, June 13, 2015. Available at: Externer Link: https://www.economist.com/asia/2015/06/13/the-most-persecuted-people-on-earth (accessed: 1-12-2019).
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There are different opinions about how long Rohingya have been present in the territory of modern Myanmar. According to some sources, the Rohingya's ancestral connection dates back to the 7th century, when Arab traders first landed in the northern Arakan region (today: Rakhine State) near the present-day city of Maungdaw (for details see Karim, Abdul (2016), The Rohingya: A Short Account of their History and Culture. Dhaka: Jatya Sahitta Prokash). It is certain that Muslims were already living in Arakan in the 15th century (see Wissenschaftliche Dienste Deutscher Bundestag (2017): Sachstand: Internationale Reaktionen auf die Verfolgung der Rohingya in Myanmar. Externer Link: https://www.bundestag.de/resource/blob/509980/ea510c63658bebee42469a985d01b4cc/WD-2-037-17-pdf-data.pdf (accessed: 20-4-2020).
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Azeem Ibrahim, Inside Myanmar’s Hidden Genocide (London: Hurts Publication, 2016).
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Lewa, Chris( 2008), 'Asia’s New Boat People'. Forced Migration Review 30, p.40-42. Available at: Externer Link: http://www.fmreview.org/sites/fmr/files/FMRdownloads/en/burma/lewa.pdf (accessed: 6-12-2019)
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UNHCR (2019): Rohingya Emergency, Externer Link: https://www.unhcr.org/rohingya-emergency.html (accessed: 18-11-2019).
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Ahmed, Imtiaz (ed) (2010), The Plight of the Stateless Rohingyas: Responses of the State, Society and International Community. Dhaka: The University Press Limited.
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See for detail, Uddin, Nasir (2019): The Rohingya: A Case of ‘Subhuman’. Delhi: Oxford University Press.
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Muntaha, Sadia (2018), 'Expatriate minister: 250,000 Rohingya went abroad with Bangladeshi passports'."
Available at: Externer Link: https://www.dhakatribune.com/bangladesh/2018/04/28/expatriate-minister-250000-rohingyas-went-abroad-bangladeshi-passports/ (accessed: 6-12-2019).
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UN Human Rights Council (2018): Report on Independent International Fact- Finding Mission on Myanmar (August 27, 2018). Available at: Externer Link: https://www.ohchr.org/EN/HRBodies/HRC/MyanmarFFM/Pages/ReportoftheMyanmarFFM.aspx (accessed: 6-12-2019).
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UN Human Rights Council (2018): Report of the detailed findings of the Independent International Fact-Finding Mission on Myanmar. 17 September. Externer Link: https://www.ohchr.org/Documents/HRBodies/HRCouncil/FFM-Myanmar/A_HRC_39_CRP.2.docx (accessed: 18-11-2019).
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Safi, Michael (2017): Myanmar treatment of Rohingya looks like 'textbook ethnic cleansing', says UN. The Guardian, September 11. Available at: Externer Link: https://www.theguardian.com/world/2017/sep/11/un-myanmars-treatment-of-rohingya-textbook-example-of-ethnic-cleansing (accessed: 28-10-2019).
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UN News (2019): Genocide threat for Myanmar's Rohingya greater than ever, investigators warn Human Rights Council. Externer Link: https://news.un.org/en/story/2019/09/1046442 (accessed: 18-11-2019).
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UNDP Bangladesh (2018): Report on Environmental Impact of Rohingya Influx, , September 30. Available at: Externer Link: http://www.bd.undp.org/content/bangladesh/en/home/presscenter/pressreleases/2018/09/18/Environmental_impacts_of_Rohingya_influx.html (accessed: 28-10-2019).
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Ahmed, Kaamil (2019): 'Rohingya women and girls being trafficked to Malaysia for marriage.' Aljazeera, May 8. Available at: Externer Link: https://www.aljazeera.com/indepth/features/rohingya-women-girls-trafficked-malaysia-marriage-190507212543893.html (accessed: 1-12-2019).
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In 2004, UNHCR defined protracted refugee situations as those in which "25,000 people [from the same nationality] or more have been in exile for five or more years" in a given host country. Executive Committee of the High Commissioner's Programme (2004): Protracted Refugee Situations. Available at: Externer Link: https://www.unhcr.org/excom/standcom/40c982172/protracted-refugee-situations.html (accessed: 6-12-2019).
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At the end of 2018, 15,9 million refugees were in protracted refugee situations according to UNHCR. UNHCR (2019): Global Trends. Forced Displacement in 2018, p. 22. Available at: Externer Link: https://www.unhcr.org/globaltrends2018/ (accessed: 6-12-2019).
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