In the Curtin and Gaither (2007) chapter “Contested
Identities, Shifting Publics in a Globalized World,” the authors refer to a
nation as an “imagined community, constructed and maintained by those who claim
membership” (pp. 175). In the case of the Rohingya in Myanmar, the state has
denied membership to a group of people that call this nation home.
The Rohingya are a Muslim ethnic group that is not
recognized among the official ethnicities of the country. Many Rohingya are
confined to internally displaced camps and must bribe their way out. Often
those who do manage to escape end up trafficked as slave laborers in Thailand
or Malaysia.[1]
Zigor Aldama, a journalist for Al Jazeera, described their
situation: “They can’t leave the camps, they can’t marry without permission,
most are unemployed and have no source of income, and they rely on the World
Food Programme to survive. A law passed in 1982 denies them citizenship and
makes them stateless because they are considered immigrants from neighboring
Bangladesh, who came along with British troops in the 1800s.”
The story of the Rohingya follows much the same pattern as
that of the Roma. The ethnic divide between the Rohingya and the Buddhist
population of Myanmar began as the result of an alleged rape and killing of a
young Buddhist woman by Rohingya men. In retaliation for this alleged crime, 10
Muslims were beaten to death by a group of angry Buddhists.
One of the few Rohingya politicians in Myanmar, Kyaw Min,
fights for the rights of the Rohingya people. According to Min, the Rohingya
have existed peacefully in the country formerly known as Burma since before British
colonization, and more specifically, since the year 785.
How is it that a nation can rewrite its history and
marginalize an entire ethnic group and get away with it? The UN considers the
Rohingya to be “one of the most persecuted minorities in the world,”[2]
but still nothing is done to help the situation. After reading the article, do
you think there is there anything that can be done to help improve the current
situation in Myanmar for the Rohingya people?
It is always sad to read such stories like of the Rohingya and the Roma where they are oppressed by the dominating cultures and never accepted. This situation has replayed itself over and over again throughout history; there always seems to be one group of people that is oppressed by a dominating group, and a major event has to take place in order for anyone to acknowledge it and to try to help them. People think of such major events like the Holocaust and the Rwanda genocide, but hardly ever do you hear the news or the general public mention the Rohingya or the Roma. It’s easy to just suggest for us to complain to the country, threaten them with war or embargos, and hope that they will change their ways, but it’s never that simple. Humans have a very complex way of functioning and everyone is dynamic and complex in their own way. Why it is that there is always one group of people that is beaten down and restricted can be caused for a variety of reasons. Greed and hatred tend to blind people’s souls, the parts that feel compassion for fellow humans, and when that happens people don’t care what they do to others as long as what they want is accomplished. All I can say is that the best we can do is keep raising awareness for the Rohingya and Roma and others and helping them fight to regain their home, wherever that may be. Even if it isn’t a question of them finding their home, at least being able to restore their human rights.
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