Rohingya Crisis in Bangladesh: History, Consequences and Solution

Rohingya Crisis in Bangladesh: History, Consequences and Solution

Kamrul Kais, University of Dhaka, Bangladesh

The Rohingya refugee crisis is a continuous disrupting factor in bilateral relations between Myanmar and Bangladesh since the late 1970s. The crisis is seen as composed of various clusters of past and present human rights violations in Myanmar which has caused their forced migration to neighboring countries like Bangladesh contributing to security and socioeconomic problems. Bangladesh is the most vulnerable country facing Rohingya refugee crisis although it successfully resisted the eviction and in 1978 and 1992 through successful repatriation. But, recently, being attacked by Arakan Rohingya Salvation Army (ARSA), a Rohingya extremist group, Myanmar government and its Buddhist supporters started to persecute the race. As a result, estimated 603,000 refugees fled Rakhine, Myanmar for Bangladesh in 2017 and the United Nations called the exodus as ” textbook example ” of ethnic cleansing. Analyzing secondary sources and using qualitative method, this paper discovers the historical development of Rohingya, factors and effects of crisis on Bangladesh. This paper explores the local and international attempts to face the challenge and suggests other solution to solve the crisis. In the light of social work, the study also focuses on the responsibilities and duties of social workers for increasing social functioning through psyche-social development of Rohingyas.

 Rohingyas are a Muslim minority in Myanmar regarded by many Myanmar Buddhists as illegal migrants from Bangladesh (The Independent, 31 January 2017). The Rohingyas have lived in Myanmar for generations and the Bangladesh government has called for Myanmar to take back the refugees. Since the 1970s Rohingya refugees have been coming to Bangladesh from Myanmar. In 1978 and 1991 Bangladesh was faced with influx of Rohingya refugees from Myanmar. In 1978 about 200,000 refugees crossed into Bangladesh to flee being victim of persecution by the Myanmar army in the Arakan region. Their stay in Bangladesh at that time was short lived as the problem was resolved through diplomatic initiatives. In 1990s, more than 250,000 resided in refugee camps in Bangladesh. In the early 2000s, all but 20,000 of them were repatriated to Myanmar, some against their will (Thompson, 2005). Most of the refugees are located along the Teknaf-Cox’s Bazar highway that is parallel to the Naf River, which is the border between Bangladesh and Myanmar.

The Rohingya have faced discrimination, persecution, torture, rape and arson under the Myanmar junta governments and its Buddhist extremists for many decades. Effectively denied citizenship under the 1982 Citizenship Law, they are one of the largest stateless populations in the world. The Rohingya Muslims have a “highly complex patchwork of ethnicities” tracing their ancestry to Arab, Moors, Pathans, Moghuls, Bengalis and Indo-Mongoloid peoples. They consider themselves a distinct group of Muslims with a language and a cultural identity endemic to their community. While often referring to themselves as “Rakhine Muslims” the name Rohingya spread widely after Burma’s independence in 1948. Figures differ vastly as to their population in Myanmar with the UNHCR citing 800,000 while Arakan Rohingya National Organisation (ARNO) claim a presence of 2 million. ( Jaffer, 2017). 1948 Government of Myanmar had recognized Rohingya as citizen of state, but 1982 the military government denied their citizenship. The experience of having refugees is not pleasant for any society. The case of Rohingya refugees is no exception. The place where they have taken shelters after arrival is one of the poverty prone area of Bangladesh. Because of the mountainous location and lack of availability of cultivable land, most of the people depend on day labour (Chakraborty, 1984, P-13). This creates pressures on job market and simultaneously makes the ecosystem vulnerable. (Ahamed, 2010). Bangladesh is facing many problems and is now a hard nut to crack almost one million Rohingya.

According to United Nations, up to 600,000 Rohingyas have fled Myanmar for Bangladesh since the Myanmar army launched a crackdown on the ethnic minority group on August 25, 2017. The UN described the situation of the Myanmar army’s aggression against the Rohingya as ethnic cleansing. So, maximum of them are leading miserable lives now at different nearest countries. As of 2 December,2017, the Bangladeshi Immigration and Passports Department has registered 730,654 people through biometric registration. Maximum of them are not interested to be registered since they don’t want to return their native land at present situation.

Rohingyas are staunch followers of Islam. Most of the elderly Rohingya grow beards and the women wear hijab. All Rohingya houses are surrounded by high bamboo walls. There are mosques and Madrassahs (religious schools) in every quarter and village. The men pray in congregation, whereas the female pray at home. There is still in existence of a social bond in every village called Samaj. All social welfare activities like Eidul Azahah ( Adhahi ) meat distribution, helping the poor, widows, orphans and needy, marriage and funereal functions are done collectively by the Samaj.

These steps, along with a concrete proposal for establishing a safe zone within Myanmar by the UN for persecuted Rohingyas, are a step in the right direction, although a bit late. Final Report of the Advisory Commission on Rakhine State, whose chair was Kofi Anaan has given outstanding guideline to solute the Rohingya refugee crisis in Myanmar. The recommendations by the report are as follows (Final Report of the Advisory Commission on Rakhine State, August 2017).

Though the origin of this crisis and the solution to this crisis both lie in Myanmar, Bangladesh should repeatedly appeal to United Nations and the international communities to take immediate and effective measures for a permanent solution. It is Bangladesh that has to play prime role to solve the crisis as it has been bearing the brunt of Rohingya crisis. To the extent that the Government wishes to treat the Rakhine State, then it should at least declare its readiness to aid all people residing in Rakhine State, irrespective of ethnicity, religion and citizenship status, on the basis of fairness and equity.