Rohingya: the most persecuted refugees in the world

Imagine you had no identity or a place to call home. Your rights to study, work, travel, marry and practice your religion didn’t exist — because you belong nowhere.

You have no way to prove who you are or where you’re from, which restricts the ability to gain full citizenship status. Wherever you try to find refuge and you’re locked up in detention because of who you are.

This is the life of a Rohingya.

Who are the Rohingya refugees?

They are the people with no home or citizenship. Their origin has long been disputed; some say they are from the Rakhine State in Burma, others assume the Rohingya were first from Bengal (now Bangladesh).

All that remains unquestioned is their displacement across the Asia-Pacific and ongoing abuse and exploitation. According to the UN, they are one of the most persecuted minorities in the world.

Two years ago, religious and ethnic tensions between the Rohingya Muslims 
and the Rakhine Buddhists, who make up the majority of the population, 
escalated into widespread, deadly rioting.

Even though the Rohingya people have lived in Burma’s Rakhine State for generations, they are now living in limbo.

How many displaced Rohingya people are there?

In 2012, an estimated 140,000 people were internally displaced within Burma, and almost 86,000 made the hazardous journey into neighbouring countries.

In an attempt to flee the violence, the Rohingya people have become among the world’s least wanted, failing to be resettled in Thailand, Bangladesh, Malaysia or Australia.

These people are risking everything for a chance at safety, many dying at sea or in overcrowded detention.

Muslim Rohingya refugees from Burma gather behind bars of a locked room at a detention center in Phang Nga province, southern Thailand © EPA/STR THAILAND OUT

What is life like for Rohingya people?

Rohingya women and children, like Yasmine, a Rohingya woman forced to flee Burma with her young children, Amina, six and Tasmin, three, are at great risk of danger.

They are trapped in a tiny room on the outskirts of Bangkok, living in constant fear the Thai authorities will arrest her and deport her back to the violence and persecution in Burma.

Her journey — like many others — was horrendous. She knew the dangers of escaping the conditions in Burma, but for her and her children, she had no choice.

Yasmine and her children boarded a fishing boat late one night, hoping to register as refugees and be resettled in Malaysia. Instead, for 16 days, the family suffered seasickness and overcrowded conditions before they were taken to Thailand.

Those who reach Malaysia face life in with filthy and crowded detention centres. They have no timeline for their stay and have little access to proper health care, food or clean drinking water.

Many refugees have no option left but to travel here, to Australia. After a dangerous and desperate journey for a better life, they face some of the harshest policies towards asylum seekers.

Rohingya refugees wait on board a ship to be evacuatied to temporary shelters in Krueng Raya, Aceh Besar, Indonesia © EPA/HOTLI SIMANJUNTAK

Why are the Rohingya stateless?

A Burmese law passed in 1982 denied the Rohingya people of their citizenship. The Burma Citizenship Law denies their rights to a nationality, and subsequently, removes their freedom of movement, access to education and services, and allows arbitrary confiscation of property.

To Burma (and the rest of the world it seems), the Rohingyas are not people. They are stateless. Without the proper required identification documents, they have no chance at being a citizen anywhere.

For families like Yasmine and her children, their only form of identification, a household registration card, was taken away by authorities and never replaced.

This meant no identification and no rights. The only option for Yasmine’s family was to leave.

Rohingya Muslim women and children sit in a boat after they were intercepted by the Bangladesh Border Guard (BGB) members in Teknaf, Bangladesh © EPA/STRINGER

What needs to happen?

Amnesty International’s Burma Researcher Benjamin Zawacki said in 2012, “For too long Burma’s human rights record has been marred by the continued denial of citizenship for Rohingyas and a host of discriminatory practices against them.”

The Government of Burma should amend or repeal the 1982 Burma Citizenship Law and provide the Rohingya people with full citizenship in the country.

The Australian Government must seek to protect people like Yasmine and her family and not subject them to appalling treatment on the mainland and in offshore detention centres.

How you can help

We often take for granted our freedom and nationality in Australia, yet the Rohingya people have spent their lives searching for a place to call home and be recognised as citizens.

But you can help.

Make a donation to our Rohingya: Searching for safety appeal and help us address this humanitarian crisis and provide Rohingya with the protection they so desperately need.