600,000 lived in camps in Burma under restrictions on movement, education and treatment

After 5 years of repression, the Rohingya are deprived of a future in Myanmar

• The Rohingyas celebrate the fifth anniversary of their flight to Bangladesh.

  Reuters

picture

After his mother begged him to stay, Maung Soi Naing decided not to flee to Bangladesh with his "Rohingya" comrades to escape a bloody crackdown by the Burmese army against this Muslim minority five years ago.

Maung does not regret his choice. He feels at home in Burma despite his disastrous living conditions and restrictions on his movements.

The military crackdown in 2017 drove more than 740,000 people into Bangladesh, and killings, arson and rape were reported in a crackdown that the United States says amounts to genocide.

About 600,000 Rohingya who remained in Burma live in camps, after they were displaced during previous waves of violence, or live in their villages at the mercy of the army and border guards, most of whom are deprived of citizenship and subject to restrictions on movement and access to health care, education and treatment, she says. The NGO Human Rights Watch says this amounts to "apartheid".

Maung was working away from his home when soldiers started wreaking havoc in Rohingya villages following attacks by Rohingya insurgents on August 25, 2017. “I was so scared that I couldn't,” Maung told AFP, using an assumed name for fear of reprisals. Stand still.”

He hid with a Rakhine friend, waited for the violence to end and the raging crowds left, before reuniting with his mother a month later.

"I stayed for my mother because she was crying on the phone, afraid she would not see me again if she ran away" to Bangladesh, Maung said.

But all hopes that life would improve after the violence were dashed, as the authorities “restricted our movements more than before, and cut off work and communication opportunities,” according to him.

"We still wonder if there will be another crackdown," he said.

We have no future.”

Like him, Zarni Soi, 22, who is also a "Rohingya", from northern Rakhine State (west), braved the violence in the hope of restoring some semblance of normality to his country when the campaign ended.

Sui completed high school, but was later banned from university. “We are restricted in all aspects of our lives,” he says.

MSF's head of mission in Burma, Marjan Biswegen, explains that access to specialized care and emergency care is "extremely limited" for the Rohingya who live in camps in central Rakhine state.

"Some patients are reluctant to come for treatment after hearing stories of discrimination and mistreatment (Rohingya) in institutions," she added.

Since the coup of February 1, 2021, security forces have arrested about 2,000 Rohingya, including hundreds of children, on charges of "unauthorized movement," according to Human Rights Watch.

Currently, Muslim-majority Malaysia is the preferred destination for those trying to leave Burma, whether with the help of overland smugglers or perilous boat trips lasting months in tropical seas.

The army's return to power last year has dampened hopes of obtaining citizenship or even easing existing restrictions.

On Wednesday, US Secretary of State Anthony Blinken said that the military group's campaign against the opposition "has exacerbated the deterioration of the humanitarian situation, especially for ethnic and religious minorities, including (the Rohingya)."

He adds that this group "remains among the most vulnerable and marginalized population groups in the country."

The leader of the military group, Min Aung Hlaing, who led the armed forces during the 2017 crackdown, described the Rohingya's identity as "false".

For those living in the camps, repatriation is unlikely, Biswegen said.

"Even if they were able to move around, many of the villages and communities they used to live in no longer exist," she explains.

"We have no future and no hope in this country, where there is deep racial hatred towards us," Maung says.

"We want to live with dignity," said Sui visited me.

The military crackdown in 2017 drove more than 740,000 people into Bangladesh, and killings, arson and rape were reported in a crackdown that the United States says amounts to genocide.

The leader of the military group, Min Aung Hlaing, who led the armed forces during the 2017 crackdown, described the Rohingya's identity as "false".

Follow our latest local and sports news and the latest political and economic developments via Google news