Restless Beings Project:

Stateless Rohingya

Country of origin:	Burma, Arakan
Countries of residence:	Bangladesh, India, Thailand, Malaysia, China, UAE, Saudi Arabia
Total population:	approx 1.5 million in Burma, approx 200,000 in Bangladesh
Language:	Rohingyan, Bengali, Arakanese
Religion:	Islam

Who are the Rohingyas?

The Rohingyas are one of the most persecuted communities in the world. Although, they have been living in the state of Arakan since the 8th century (which is now part of Burma), the Rohingyas have been under extreme scrutiny by the Burmese government. They haven't been recognised as citizens of The Union of Burma since the 1962 coup d'etat by General Ne Win. After decades of oppression and marginalisation, the passing of the 1982 Citizenship Law deemed them officially stateless.

Timeline

8th century: Dated Rohingya ancestry in Arakan
1799: A Comparative Vocabulary of Some of the Languages Spoken in Burma Empire published by Francis Buchanan- The first historical document mentioning the Rooinga or today’s Rohingya.
1947: Constitution of the Union of Burma is proclaimed with some of Burma’s first citizenship laws. The Rohingya vote in the 1st Constituent Assembly Elections.
1948: Independent Union of Burma is created.
1959: Rohingya recognised as race with equal rights, by Prime Minister U Ba Sue.
1962: General Ne Win overthrows U Nu government in a military coup.
1978: Operation Naga Min was launched, Rohingya targeted and massacred; 250,000 Rohingya fled to Bangladesh
1982: Burma Citizenship Law enacted, no longer recognized Rohingya as citizens; 800,000 Rohingya left stateless
1982 onwards: Rohingya subjected to abuse, forced labour, harassment, rape, arbitrary land seizure, destruction of property
2012: 2 waves of violence erupted between the Rohingya and Rakhine in Arakan, devastating both community resulting in mass killings and torture, 135,000 Rohingya displaced whom now live in IDP camps in the Sittwe township.

WARNING: There are distressing images in the film.

Why are they in trouble?

Human rights abuses against the Rohingya have been entrenched into the social, political and economic systems of Burma or Myanmar for decades. Pushed to the margins of society, they are:

restricted in their movement
required to attain permission to marry from the NaSaKa (Arakan border force)- failure to do so will result in arrest
denied the right to work
denied education
denied freedom to practice their religion and cultural customs

This is simply because the Rohingya- as one of the many ethnic minority groups in Burma, are different in:

race (Rohingya are darker in appearance to the majority Burmese, with different physical and facial features.
their language
their faith (Rohingya community follow religion of Islam)
their traditions and culture

As a result of these difference which many racist claims claim makes them not Burmese, but in fact Bangladeshi, the Rohingya are subjected to living as ‘non- citizens’ in their own homeland.

Situation in Bangladesh

In Bangladesh, the Rohingyas are faced with hardly any protection from their host country. A burden to the densely populated country, the Rohingyas are living a harsh life in refugee camps, struggling from malnourishment, isolation, illiteracy and neglect. There is one registered camp situated meters away from the unregistered camp where 90,000 refugees live. There is also another camp 15 miles away in Leda Bazaar, where approximately 25,000 Rohingya live.

Similar to the Rohingyas living in Burma, the Rohingya refugees are limited in their movement and often subject to exploitation. In refugee camps, the Rohingya women are victims of sexual violence, children are denied education and there is limited access to health and medical aid. The hostile environment for Rohingyas in Bangladesh urges the refugees in Bangladesh and Burma to seek help in other parts of Asia such as Malaysia, Thailand and Indonesia; however, these parts are not usually welcoming or like Bangladesh, do not have the resources to house another community. It is Burma's duty to accept the Rohingya as citizens, accept their history and ensure the safe repatriation of each and every single member of the community back into Arakan. Although safer then being persecuted and killed in Burma, the Rohingya community in Bangladesh are a stateless community who want to return to Arakan when it is safe to call it home.

Proposal

Restless Beings aims to champion the rights of the Rohingya community via an international campaign, and work towards encouraging the Burmese government to grant the Rohingya citizenship that is rightly owed to them. We also aim to help facilitate the repatriation of the Rohingya from the IDP camps back to their homes in Arakan and repatriate Rohingya refugees living in host countries back into Burma.

What have we done so far?

Since the launch of our Stateless Rohingya Project, we have been working towards making consistent change to reach our end goal.

In Bangladesh, Leda Bazaar is ‘temporarily’ home to 90,000 Rohingya refugees in the registered camp and another 25,000 in an unregistered camp. In 2009 and 2010 Restless Beings visited these camps and met the Rohingya refugees living in dire conditions. We monitored the lack of access to education and employment and we are continually finding ways in which they can be supported.
Restless Beings had also established relationships with the Rohingya diaspora living in the UK and other countries and learnt about the Rohingya culture, heritage and also about their own personal plight. Through this, we have worked together on many occasions to champion the rights of the Rohingya community .
In 2012, the ethnic strife in Arakan between the Rakhine and Rohingya devastated both communities after two bouts of violence broke out in June and October; Restless Beings responded to this matter in a number of ways with immediate effect from protests and petitions to facilitating updates (photos and footage) to the likes of Channel 4, BBC and Al Jazeera. We had compiled our own report from what we had received from our sources in Arakan.
Protests and Petitions:
- In response to the outbreak of violence in June and outraged by the lack of support from the international community, we had launched our own campaign to voice the Rohingya. We first held a protest outside the Bangladeshi embassy in London and handed in our petition signed and supported by 2462 people.
- During the Olympics a peaceful protest was held to raise awareness for the barbaric human rights abuses and state sponsored ethnic cleansing being inflicted upon the Rohingya communities by the Burmese government.
- After the second wave of violence in October we had launched our second campaign, ‘Global Day of Action’; A petition signed by 11,112 people from all over the globe to urge the UK government to take action and to stop defending the Burmese government for allowing the massacre to continue; this was followed by worldwide simultaneous protests, held on the same day to raise awareness injustice inflicted on the Rohingya.

Our stateless Rohingya project is predominantly about raising awareness of decades long abuse against a community that rightfully deserve citizenship in their own homeland. It is essential that the rights of the Rohingya are recognised internationally and we need your support to continue to ensure that it is. You can read the latest updates from Arakan on our website and also our Twitter and Facebook accounts.

Exclusive Images: Rohingya in Sittwe IDP Camps to Pay for Donated Food Rations

Reports have come in today that the Rohingya now have to pay for food rations that have been donated to them. The village leaders and those incharge of the IDP camps in Sittwe are in full control over whatever is donated to the Rohingya and take full advantage of thier power. The Rohingya who have very little to nothing to their name once again have been stripped of another right which is owed...

UNHCR help Rohingya relocate from IDP Camp in Sittwe, Arakan - with images

In preparation of the looming Cyclone Mahasen, reports have come in today that the Rohingya have been moved from T.K.P (Thet Kay Pyan village) Madrasa and the village school, aided by the UNHCR. The pictures below show the Rohingya moving from the camp to the T.K.P Madrasa (Islamic school) and the village school – contrary to the Lone Htin (police force), who had planned to...

Rohingya boat capsizes after attempts to escape looming cyclone in Myanmar

The news of the impending cyclone to hit Myanmar on Thursday has shaken the Rohingya community, giving rise to further fears that they will be defenceless to protect what little they have left.

Today our sources have informed in detail that 7 boats left Pauktaw township from paddy fields carrying both Rohingya and Kaman people. The boat intended to travel north to near the Rauthedaung...

Anti Muslim Violence Spreads To Oak Kan Township

Whilst calling for more aid and access, the Rakhine Commision report failed to mention Rohingya community by name and instead referred to the community as Bengali settlers. This use of language is believed to have stoked the violence being witnessed today in Oak Kan township.

Violence broke out across three Muslim villages Chew Bon, Kyauk-Tet and Pea-net-Gone late this morning with sustained attacks on villagers shops and places of worship. As of this afternoon, a number of sources have reported that 2 mosques and 2 Islamic education schools have been destroyed and damaged. More than 150 shops have been damaged with high value goods being looted. In contrast to violence in Meikhtila and Arakan state, there have been fewer arson attacks.

Rohingya Update: Rohingya forced into being registered as Bengali for President’s census

The recent news of 'Bengalization' of the Rohingya has been a longstanding operation performed by the NaSaKa for number of years, long before last year's violence where many Rohingya had found themselves forced to change their nationality to Bengali.

However, within the last month, this operation has intensified and is now being carried out under the banner of the 'The President's Census', which is due to take place on a national level next year. Sittwe has been the first area targeted, and now, the operation is not only being carried out by the Nasaka but it also reinforced by key authoritative forces- the Police, Immigration, military and Lone Htain (security forces), expecting the Rohingya to easily accept and succumb to their superior demands. The Rohingya are well aware that this operation will lead to the extinction of their race and naturally, they refused to take part, defying all authoritative forces.

Audio slideshow: Plight of Myanmar's Rohingya (Photographs by Greg Constantine)

We have been following the work of Greg Constantine for some time now, as he continues to document the struggles of stateless ethnic minority groups, who have had their citizenship stripped from them. Having been lucky enough to meet him in London last year during an exhibition of his book Exiled to Nowhere: Burma's Rohingya he has now shared his latest work on the...

Myanmar: 969 Extremist Violence Spreads to Yangon

The last few weeks fears have materialised to reality, as extremist Buddhist attacks have spread further than just within the Arakan region in Myanmar, to Mandalay and now to Yangon (formerly Rangoon).

The opportunistic ‘969’ extremist group, had started the violent rampage in the Meikhtila township of Mandalay, which is now razed to the ground, unrecognizable to the local inhabitants who used to call the area their home.

Rohingya Update: Further Attacks Against Muslims by Extremist Group in Burma (with images)

Despite their own hardship, our sources in Arakan express deep concern over the widespread violence against Muslims in other areas of Burma. Angered by the ineffective international laws, our sources explain how the extremist Buddhist community are taking full advantage continuing their racially aggravated violent rampage without any accountability. Now, Buddhist extremist groups have...

Muslims Targeted in Meikhtila as Thein Sein Declares State of Emergency

It is hugely evident that racial and religious discrimination against Muslims is not just a regional problem confined to Arakan. Rioting and wanton attacks have now been reported to have swept the city of Meikhtila. Although the violence started from a market squabble in a jewellery shop, the concurrent attacks were focused directly towards the Muslim...

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As another massacre is unfortunately anticipated to take place in Arakan, the Rohingya, still continue to be deprived of the most basic human rights. Previously we have reported on the boycott of Rohingya trade, the terrible living conditions of the Rohingya forced to live in the IDP camps, and the wanton attacks and killing of men, women and children- for no...

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