Picture yourself being denied an identity and a place to call home. Your rights to study, work, travel, marry and practice your religion simply non-existent– because you belong nowhere. You are not given any way to prove who you are or where you are from, so gaining citizenship status anywhere is almost impossible. Wherever you go, you are locked in detention – merely because of who you are. This is the life of a Rohingya person. The history: Since 1948, citizenship law in Myanmar (Burma) has been restrictive, resulting in stripping the Rohingya people access to full citizenship. The government stress that the Rohingya people are not Burmese citizens, despite having lived in Myanmar for generations. Thus, to this day, they have neither a real home nor citizenship. Just before 2012, violence broke out in Myanmar as Rohingya men were accused of raping and killing a Buddhist woman. With no proof to confirm this, Buddhist nationalists (Rakhine Buddhists - who make up the majority of the population in Myanmar,) responded by burning Rohingya homes, killing Rohingya people and displacing tens of thousands. Human Rights Watch had called this a ‘campaign of ethnic cleansing[1],’ which is exactly what it was then and has continued to be 5 years on. As these attacks worsen, more people have been forced to flee and leave their homes – yet Rohingya people are rejected almost everywhere they seek refuge; leading many to live limbo across Southeast Asia, some even stranded at sea – it is estimated that hundreds have died trying to make it to safety. Due to this exclusion, their everyday life options are limited from marriage, family planning, employment, freedom of movement and freedom of religion – which are basic human rights. For instance, they are only allowed to have two children per family, they must seek permission to marry and in order to move, they must seek approval from the government. Imagine a life completely dictated by your government and your system, merely due to your religious and ethnic identity. Thus, they are deemed as the most prosecuted minorities on Earth. Why is there no outrage or real coverage? There are reasons as to why big media outlets have not been able to cover the crisis, however, it is heavily argued to be ‘not good enough.’ Burmese government have censored coverage and banned journalists from the area since Suu Kyi has come into power, simultaneously denying reports of these atrocities and refusing visas to UN officials. The leader herself has also remained silent on the matter due to her reputation and for being a ‘Nobel Prize winner’ (ironic, I know.) Yet, the very rare occasions where she does give interviews, she has said the violence had stemmed from fear felt on both sides and rejects claims of ethnic cleansing (2013[2].) In 2016, she further went onto accusing the international community, for focusing on the ‘negative side of the situation[3]’ (because ‘evidently,’ there is a positive twist to it, which no one but her can see?) I sat watching the news at 5pm yesterday and again at 10pm, there was absolutely no mention of this humanitarian crisis, which only sent the message of ‘it’s not a western country, so we are not going to even try and cover it.’ Most media outlets are known to be able to get their way around situations in order to be able to broadcast news, so why not use those measures now? Granted, it is may be more difficult to retain primary information, yet a mere mention or clips produced by Times for example (available on YouTube or on their site,) would suffice. At least that way, people would be aware enough to potentially do their own research and help. What should happen next? Ultimately, the Myanmar government need to end the violent crackdown on Rohingya people and amend or repeal the 1982 Burma Citizenship Law to provide them with full citizenship in their country. In the meantime, countries like Bangladesh in Southeast Asian need to ensure those fleeing are protected and are granted access. They also need to prevent any arbitrary detainment of Rohingya people; instead they should protect their rights as human beings. I am not in a position to tell anyone what they should do, that being said, I am in a position to raise awareness and give you coverage of what the media is not. Likewise, you are in a position to spread this awareness and give back to those suffering this crisis. The task of raising the alarm over the Rohingya’s plight has been left to human rights advocates around the world – which is why it is important for us to be aware and to help spread the awareness in order to prevent and pacify such a vile situation, through political pressures to end this humanitarian crisis. Accordingly, I have linked a charity and a fundraiser, raising money for Rohingya crisis: Partners: rohingya.partners.ngo (according to reports: 85% go towards the program.) Local (Oxford:) charity football match, contact @rkhr90 (instagram.) [1] https://www.hrw.org/report/2013/04/22/all-you-can-do-pray/crimes-against-humanity-and-ethnic-cleansing-rohingya-muslims [2] http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-asia-24651359 [3]https://www.theguardian.com/world/2016/dec/03/aung-san-suu-kyi-accuses-international-community-of-stoking-unrest-in-myanmar
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