The dramatic rescue of dozens of Rohingya refugees from the Indian Ocean last week after a wooden boat with nearly 150 on board capsized off the Indonesian coast has once again drawn attention to the plight of the refugees.
Rohingya
The Rohingya are a Muslim minority ethnic group with their roots in the Arakan kingdom in Myanmar, formerly known as Burma.
Describing the etymological origins of the term Rohingya, the Council on Foreign Relations notes thatRohang derives from the word ‘Arakan’ in the Rohingya dialect and ga or gya means from.
The Rohingya claim to have lived in Myanmar’s Rakhine State for generations, but successive governments in the country have disputed their ties, labelling them illegal immigrants from Bangladesh.
The Rohingya are culturally and religiously distinct from the majority Buddhist population in Myanmar, and speak a Bengali dialect which is different from the common Burmese language.
Myanmar has refused to recognise them as an ethnic group, denying them citizenship since 1982, thus making them the world’s largest stateless population, devoid of fundamental rights and security.
According to Myanmar’s 1982 citizenship law, members of the Rohingya community, along with other ethnic minorities, can only attain citizenship if they prove their ancestors resided in Myanmar before 1823.
Otherwise, even if one of their parents is a Myanmar citizen, they are deemed to be “resident foreigners” or “associate citizens.”
Issues Rohingyas facing
After decades of discrimination, violence and persecution at the hands of security forces, the Rohingya began fleeing Myanmar in significant numbers first in 2012, following a military crackdown triggered by the rape and murder of a Rakhine woman in a Rohingya-dominated area which flared tensions between the Rohingya and Rakhine’s Buddhist community.
Since then, escalating tensions in the region have often erupted into violence, leading hundreds of thousands to abandon their home and seek refuge in the neighbouring countries of Bangladesh, Thailand, Indonesia, Malaysia and India.
Their largest exodus began in August 2017 when a massive wave of violence broke out in Rakhine, driving more than 7.5 lakh people to seek sanctuary in Bangladesh to escape the brutality of security forces.
Entire villages were razed, families were torn apart or killed, and severe human rights violations like mass rape were reported.
The United Nations described the 2017 violence as “ethnic cleansing” and the humanitarian situation as “catastrophic.”
A 2018 UN fact-finding commission claimed the Myanmar government had “genocidal” intent against the Rohingya.
Its head said the commission had found clear patterns of abuse by the military, including systematic targeting of civilians, committing sexual violence, promoting discriminatory rhetoric against minorities, and creating a climate of impunity for security forces.
UN Report
The UN estimates that one in eight Rohingya who take the sea route dies or disappears in the attempt, making the Andaman Sea and Bay of Bengal among the deadliest stretches of water in the world.
Last year, the number of people embarking on sea journeys increased by 21%. Around 70% of the total refugees included women and children.
The UNHCR reported a 63% increase in deaths or disappearances last year compared to 2022.
At least 569 Rohingya died or went missing on their sea journey, including 200 in a single incident in November.
In contrast, there was a 170% drop in land movements.
The UNHCR reported seven tragic accidents at sea, resulting in 250 confirmed deaths and 319 persons missing in 2023, along with widespread reports of physical abuse and gender-based violence among survivors.
The report also highlighted the significant spike in the number of Rohingya arriving in Indonesia via sea in recent years.
This number increased by 1,261% between 2021 and 2023.
While 64% of the refugee boats docked in Indonesia last year, compared to 22% in 2022, only one boat carrying 83 individuals reached Malaysia, according to UNHCR data.
Indonesia is not a signatory to the 1951 Convention Relating to the Status of Refugees, but has international obligations to comply with the principle of non-refoulement.
