More than half a million Rohingya have fled from their homes in Myanmar into neighbouring Bangladesh in 2017 after another brutal round of genocidal violence by the Myanmar Army along with the Border Guard Police and local vigilantes. This violence caused the deaths of hundreds of women, men and children, rape of women and girls, and the destruction of hundreds of Rohingya villages.
Jobaida Begum, a Rohingya mother of two was among the thousands of victims of Tatmadaw’s brutal carnage of 2017.
On 13th October 2017 around 3:15 pm a group of 100 to 150 Myanmar military joined by local vigilantes surrounded her village- Norail Chaung of Maungdaw – and started randomly killing whom they wished or seriously injuring people with bayonets.
Amongst the victims was Jobaida’s mother Sakhina. She was brutally beaten whilst she attempted to save her daughter who had been raped by four Myanmar soldiers. The junta has almost beaten to death one of her brothers and another sibling was arrested on a false accusation of having a link with ARSA. (Later transferred him to Buthidaung prison.)
That day Jobaida was lucky to be able to hide until the forces left the village. But her luck did not last long, as the military (Tatmadaw) entered the Norail Chaung village again on 20th October. The militants demanded Jobaida’s father to hand her over and make a payment of 600,000 kyats. Immediately Jobaida, her husband Nayeem, along with their two children ran to the nearby hills and took shelter at a neighbouring village. Eventually, they walked many days without food until they crossed to Bangladesh through Zadimura area.
At present, Jobaida and her family reside in camp at Cox’s Bazaar. When she was asked how life is treating her she explained, “We had a good life in Burma. There my husband had a good source of income. We didn’t have to worry about anything. But after the massacre, we came here to save our lives. But life here in Refugee Camp is tough. The money he earns from DRC (Danish Refugee Council) is too little to survive. When I ask for anything he gets angry and always lives in a state of tension. He wasn’t like that before. The current situation and lack of minimum basic needs have affected our marriage. We are no more a happy couple as we used to be. Now we always have to worry about something. When the children ask their father when they will return back to their home, he gets angry. I wish we could go back to our ancestral land and start over.” Jobaida stated.
The United Nations along with the international community must ensure for the wellbeing of the Rohingyas living in refuge in Bangladesh and provide not only basic needs but also psychological counselling, proper education, and training.
The international community also must ensure a voluntary, dignified, safe and sustainable return of the Rohingyas to their ancestral lands as quickly possible.
The international community must also ask the Myanmar government about the 127000 Rohingyas who are still in IDPs in Sittwe and the nearby area since 2012, why they are not returned to their place of origin. And just think – if the IDPs are not returned to their home after 7 long years what will happen to the 1.2 million Rohingyas who took refuge in Bangladesh?
The world community says, “never again” yet when there is an ongoing genocide, we see the action which only seems laughable.
