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| Having survived brutal sexual violence in the hands of Myanmar security
forces, these two Rohingya women managed to escape a military camp in Maungdaw, Rakhine and flee to Bangladesh. But fear of social stigma keep them from openly speaking about their rape and seeking medical helpAdil Sakhawat |
Survivors claim Myanmar Army taking away young Rohingya
women as sex slaves
Sexual violence has become an effective tool of oppression
for the Myanmar security forces who continue to raid villages in the country's
Rakhine state in search of insurgents, allege locals and the Rohingyas who have
taken refuge in Bangladesh.
This correspondent spoke with several Rohingya women who
claimed to have been picked up by the military and taken to camps.
The victims, new arrivals at the refugee camps in Cox’s
Bazar, said the military gang-raped them for days.
“I escaped a military camp where I was detained and
repeatedly raped by army men,” said an 18-year-old Rohingya woman now staying
at Kutupalong registered camp in Ukhiya upazila. The victim, from Kularbill
village close to Maungdaw town, said she was abducted by the army who killed
her parents in front of her. “They took me to their camp because they found me
attractive. In exchange for my life, they gang-raped me every day,” she said. She
tried to escape after three days, but was caught by the camp guards. “Then they
tied me up to a fence and raped me again.” She could not say how long she was
held in the camp. “I escaped again and went to the border. A middleman saw my
bloodied state and took mercy on me. He brought me here for free.” She was
referring to boatmen who ferry the fleeing Rohingyas from Myanmar to Bangladesh
on Naf River for money.
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Another victim, a 20-year-old from Hatipara village in
Maungdaw, tried to explain the sheer horror of being violated in such a brutal
way.
“You do not know how humiliating it is to be subjected to
such violence,” she said. “Sometimes three or four army men raped us for
hours.” She was in the same camp as the 18-year-old, she told the Dhaka
Tribune. Their stories are similar to the accounts of 23 other Rohingya women
this correspondent spoke with at Kutupalong registered camp. So are the stories
coming from other refugee camps – both registered and unregistered – in Teknaf
and Ukhiya upazilas.
“These days, the military is searching houses for young
Rohingya women,” claimed Abul Hasan (not his real name), resident of Baluhali
village in Maungdaw. “When they find young Rohingya women in a house, they do
not attack the men. They just take the women to their camps,” he said. He
claimed many families were sending their young females away to Bangladesh to
save them from the military.
Among the most affected villages in Maungdaw are Wah Paik,
Hawarbill, Bur Gow Zi Bill, Surow Gow Zi Bill, Kularbill, Lu Daing, Hatipara,
Bura Shiddar para and Nasa Furu. The Dhaka Tribune has not been able to
independently verify any of the allegations. Meanwhile, the Myanmar government
continues to refute these allegations, saying they have not found evidence of
such assaults and killings.
Read More- Inside the Rakhine State
insurgency
Fear of stigma keeping rape victims from seeking help
Many Rohingya rape victims want to hide that they were
raped, fearing social stigma. This makes is it difficult to determine how many
Rohingya women have been abused by the Myanmar security forces.
Humanitarian organisations such as International
Organisation for Migration (IOM) and MSF (Médecins Sans Frontières – Doctors
Without Borders) are providing primary treatment to the Rohingya rape victims
at the camps.
None of the aid organisations could give an official count
of how many victims they have attended to so far. “We have been receiving
victims of sexual violence here, but we cannot confirm how many we have
provided treatment to,” said Eric Beausejour, project coordinator of MSF
Kutupalong clinic. “We also cannot disclose the nature of the violence, nor can
we confirm who the perpetrators were.” But several aid workers, seeking
anonymity, said the number was quite high as many victims were reluctant to
seek treatment. “Most victims take too long to come to us for help. Sometimes
we receive patients who have become pregnant from rape,” said a field worker of
an international aid organisation.
“But these women have taken an arduous journey to cross over
to Bangladesh after suffering horrific violence. We never force them to come
forward; it is their choice whether they want to speak about it and get the
help they need.”
Another aid worker at MSF Kutupalong clinic said they had
treated 40 rape victims as of December 26.