By Cresa Pugh (The Conservation)
Myanmar recently claimed to have repatriated its first Rohingya refugee family.
But, as an official from the United Nations noted, the country is still not
safe for the return of its estimated 700,000 Rohingya Muslim refugees, who fled
to Bangladesh in 2017 to escape an ongoing state-sponsored military campaign
and persecution from Buddhist neighbors. https://lnkd.in/gtme5Xv
Indeed, in recent times, the Myanmar military has been building a fence
along the 170-mile border and fortifying it with landmines, to prevent the
Rohingya from returning to their villages. https://lnkd.in/g2aYWri
I spent two months between June and July 2017 talking to
Rohingya individuals who are still in the country living in an internally
displaced person camp, about their experiences of violence, displacement and loss. My research
shows the difficult conditions under which the Rohingya live in Myanmar today
and why there is little hope of a safe return for the vast majority of the
refugees anytime soon. https://lnkd.in/gkB5ffi
Conditions in Rohingya camps
Since 2012, more than 1 million Rohingya refugees have
fled their homes in Rakhine. The vast majority that fled in 2017 sought refuge
in Bangladesh, where fears
of an imminent monsoon flood are currently looming. https://lnkd.in/gsMDchR
In addition, there are an estimated 3.5 million Rohingya
dispersed across the globe, the majority of whom have either fled or were born
into exile due to violence
in their homeland. https://lnkd.in/gj4ufr3
Those who remain in Rakhine are either in their homes and
are prohibited from traveling away from their villages, or dwell in temporary
camps. There are roughly 120,000
Rohingya encamped in settlements, located on the outskirts of Sittwe,
the capital of Rakhine, just a few miles from their former homes. https://lnkd.in/gMT-K_U
Most residents have lived in the camps since 2012, despite the fact that
they were forcibly relocated by the government on a purportedly temporary
basis. https://lnkd.in/gRxE3g8
The camps are managed jointly by the government and
military, and receive substantial assistance from international NGOs and U.N.
agencies. However, there have been times when even the humanitarian organizations have been barred
from delivering food rations and other goods and services by the government and
military. https://lnkd.in/gcq5rQb
I received government approval to visit the camps last
year. In Northern Rakhine, I was interrogated by military officials, and one
officer came to my friend’s home where I was having dinner to ask for my
passport and travel documentation. I was then allowed to stay.
When I visited the Rohingya camp on the outskirts of
Sittwe, the fear was palpable. The only road leading to the camp was dotted
with police checkpoints staffed by AK-47-wielding officers. One of my
interviews was cut short because there was a rumor of a man being shot dead,
while trying to escape the camp. The entire quarter was put on high alert.
I happened to be visiting the camp on Eid al-Fitr, the
last day of Ramadan
when Muslims break their monthlong fast. In the midst of the tension, there was
joy as well. Young girls with freshly oiled hair adorned with satin bows and
sequined dresses played alongside the officers with machine guns. https://lnkd.in/gXkeStT
At the same time, there was also the trauma of not being
able to freely honor and practice their faith. Residents of the camp spoke to
me of the limitations on
their religious expression. They explained how camp officials required
them to remain in their homes from 10 p.m. onward and how it was not possible
for them to gather at a mosque to participate in traditional celebrations
central to the Islamic faith, even during Ramadan. https://lnkd.in/gECYSmA
Destruction of mosques
Another sad reality for many Rohingya in Myanmar is the
destruction of their religious buildings. All mosques in Rakhine have been
either destroyed or shuttered after communal riots broke out between the local
Buddhist population and Rohingya in 2012.
Many of the abandoned mosques that I saw had been reduced
to rubble, and many of them continued to be heavily policed. The government has
also made it illegal to construct new mosques to replace those that have been
destroyed or to make repairs or renovations. In addition, in 2016 state
authorities announced plans to demolish dozens of other mosques and madrasas (Muslim religious
schools), based on a claim, that they had been illegally built. https://lnkd.in/gKSaWVd
In the camp, I learned that residents were allowed to
build two small mud and thatch huts, which would serve as their mosques. These
small structures were hardly able to accommodate the thousands who wanted to
pray there. People must therefore pray separately, a move which has deeply
fractured social relations within their community.
Residents reminisced about the beauty of their now
demolished mosques, some refusing to even call the structure in the camp a
mosque for they believed it was disrespectful to their religion. For some
residents, offering prayers in this structure was not a true practice of their
faith. As one young man told me, “Without being able to worship Allah, we no
longer have our lives.”
Furthermore, it is only men who are allowed into this
space. Women are required to pray within their shelters. During one of my
interviews with a young man, I saw his wife crouching down on the dirt floor in
the rear corner of their bamboo hut amid a pile of cookware. I asked what she
was doing. “Praying,” he said.
Even before the 2012 military crackdown, restrictions had been placed on
many of the religious obligations and rituals of the Rohingya. From my interviews
I learned that for the better part of the decade, no Rohingya living in Rakhine
has been able to engage in spiritual pilgrimage to Islamic holy sites in other
areas of the country and globe. They have also been prohibited from inviting
Muslim religious leaders to visit their mosques. https://lnkd.in/gjP4hRD
When I spoke with Rohingya individuals in the camp, they
told me the deep religious significance of these practices. To many, it wasn’t
just a denial of their religiosity, but of their humanity. “Our history is Rohingya,
our religion is Islam, and our home is Rakhine,” said one older man, as he
showed me the damp, often muddy, dirt floor where his family of eight sleep has
slept every night since June 9, 2012.
Not losing faith
Over the past several years, opposition to the Rohingya has deepened. https://lnkd.in/gGMHKDd
Many residents of Rakhine believe that the Rohingya are
illegal immigrants from Bangladesh, referring to the fact that some of the Rohingya trace their
heritage to Bengal, an area that became part of British India in the mid-18th
century and from which many people migrated during the colonial period. https://lnkd.in/g4k6wcg
Nonetheless, despite their persecution, the individuals
with whom I spoke remained unwavering in their faith. As I was departing, a
young man, who had spent five years, or roughly a third of his life, in the
camp, told me, “This has only made me stronger. The government has tried to
destroy our religion and destroy our people, but a child never loses faith in
his mother, and we can not lose our faith now.”
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