How The Rohingya’s Origins Were Erased
The Rohingya are an ethnic Muslim minority persecuted in Myanmar (formerly known as Burma). They are denied citizenship by the government based on their so-called inability to trace their ancestry to a time before 1823, before British rule [1]. However, the government in reality has been working to erase the Rohingya’s historical presence in the region as a basis for denying them citizenship. The Rohingya’s origins in Rakhine State (once called Arakan) date as far back as the 16th and 17th centuries, well before British rule in the 19th century [2].
Even disregarding the problematic nature of the citizenship laws in how they not only exclude people who can still trace their origins in the region for around a hundred years or longer, the government also but completely dismisses the original population that had existed in Burma far longer and much earlier than the British arrived. For instance, the ‘’Rooinga’’ can be traced back to the late 18th century [3] — the British arrived in the 19th century.
In the 16th and 17th centuries, the native non-Muslim Arakanese regularly raided neighboring Bengal as well as took Bengali Muslims as captives, forcing them to settle in Arakan either as slaves or conscripted soldiers for the king [4]. The term ‘’Rohingya’’, which means ‘’inhabitant of Rohang’’, first appeared around this time [5].
Although the Rakhine state has vociferously denied that the Rohingyas have roots in the region, claiming they were Bengalis only around since British rule, historians have uncovered the term ‘’Rohingya’’ being used long before then [6]. The ‘’Rooinga’’ are explicitly identified as the long-settled natives of Arakan in Francis Buchanan’s ‘’A Comparative Vocabulary of some of the Languages Spoken in the Burma Empire’’, published in 1799 [7]. The Classical Journal of 1811 mentions ‘’Roinga’’ too, both as a language and as a people [8].
Granted, the British (who conquered Burma in 1825) indeed facilitated the movement of hundreds of thousands of Muslim Bengalis (whom they called the ‘’Chittagonians’’) from Bengal to Arakan to prop up the colonial economy. By 1941, roughly a third of the population of Sittwe (currently the capital city of Rakhine state) originated from Bengal. These migrants likely assimilated into the aforementioned ‘’Roinga’’ or ‘’Rooinga’’ population already present [9].
The enmity between the Rohingya and the Rakhine as well as the eventual oppression of the former arguably have their roots in World War II. The British armed some Rohingya in the region to fight against the Arakanese as part of the Allied Burma Campaign, the latter largely siding with the Japanese as part of the Burmese National Army. The British promised the Rohingya a ‘’Muslim National Area’’, while the Japanese promised the Arakanese Buddhists freedom from British rule [10].
This enmity worsened when the Rohingyas tried to return to their villages — the communal violence that broke out was so great that the British military marked Akyab a ‘’protected area’’ and stopped the Rohingyas from returning to prevent further carnage. At the time, the British sympathized with the Rohingya, describing the latter as being “much more hard-working and prolific than the Arakanese,” adding that some were “great seamen” who “manned about 20% of the British merchant navy during the war’’ [11].
However, the British did not keep their promise to the Rohingya. After Burma gained independence, the Rohingya continued to demand their own region, aspiring to integrate Maungdaw and Buthidaung into Bangladesh (formerly ‘’East Pakistan’’) — a proposal that was shot down by the Constituent Assembly in Rangoon, even as the government escalated tensions by treating the Rohingya as illegal immigrants, confiscating the land and property of Rohingya refugees who had fled during WWII, for instance, or limiting their movements [12].
When talks with the government failed, some of the Rohingya decided to rebel. Calling themselves the Mujahid, they took to guerilla warfare against the Burmese government from 1947 onwards [13]. However, the Burmese army eventually quashed the rebellion in 1961 [14]. The militant outfit ARSA (Arakan Rohingya Salvation Army) eventually succeeded it, committing grievous crimes of their own against Hindu and Buddhist civilians while also launching attacks on multiple police and army posts (which allegedly sparked the 2017 crisis) [15].
From 1962 onward, the military took complete control of the government and perpetrated a vicious assault on the Rohingya people’s rights. This included denial of citizenship, murders, rapes, destruction of religious spaces, torture, detainment, and forced labor. The loss of citizenship also came with the loss of rights such as the right to marry, practice religion, have more than two children, and get healthcare. The junta nationalized Rohingya businesses and stole their funds [16].
The military also actively spreads lies and propaganda against the Rohingya, up to the present day, including through books and social media. Fake photos were found in its ‘’True News’’ history book, framing or implicating ‘’Bengalis’’ for murdering ‘’local ethnics’’ for instance (said photo was actually of Bengalis murdered by the Pakistani army and their collaborators) [17]. Military personnel, disguised as entertainers, war heroes, or independent bloggers, spread hate speech against the Rohingya on social media. Sometimes it gets caught [18].
Source: Al Jazeera and agencies, UNHCR, IOM | Last updated: Oct 2017
From since at least the 1970s to even a few years before the most recent crisis, large numbers of Rohingya have been migrating from Myanmar to elsewhere across the region to avoid the government’s brutality. According to BBC News, the number of Rohingya migrants living elsewhere today is often much higher than officially reported. [19].
Most of the Rohingya refugees who fled in 2017 have sought refuge in Bangladesh (around 1 million according to recent estimates [20]), while hundreds of thousands migrated elsewhere such as Malaysia, Indonesia, and the Philippines [21]. While attempts at repatriation may be underway, they have so far not succeeded and there is little to no guarantee the Rohingyas will be safe upon returning or that they will be given the rights they were denied [22].
At this stage, it would be extremely optimistic to suggest a clear plan of action that will sufficiently ameliorate the dangers the Rohingya face. However, readers can at least begin by familiarizing themselves with the work of human rights organizations such as the United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF), United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR), Amnesty International, and the International Rescue Committee (IRC) who are doing important work in supporting the Rohingya refugees as well as raising awareness of the plight they face.
References:
[1] Selth, Andrew. “Burma’s Muslims: A Primer.” The Interpreter. The Interpreter, February 27, 2017. http://www.lowyinstitute.org/the-interpreter/burmas-muslims-primer.
[2] “The Most Persecuted People on Earth?” The Economist. The Economist Newspaper, June 13, 2015. https://www.economist.com/asia/2015/06/13/the-most-persecuted-people-on-earth.
[3] Bell, Henry Glassford. An Account of the Burman Empire, Compiled From the Works of Colonel Symes, Major Canning, Captain Cox, Dr. Leyden, Dr. Buchanan, &c. &c. &c.: a Description of Different Tribes Inhabiting In And Around That Dominion And a Narrative of the Late Military And Political Operations In the Burmese Empire, With Some Account of the Present Condition of the Country, Its Manners, Customs And Inhabitants. 1803–1874.
https://babel.hathitrust.org/cgi/pt?id=hvd.32044020011219&view=1up&seq=80
[4] The Economist, supra note [2]
[5] U.S. Dep’t of State, Myanmar Country Report: Information on Rohingya Refugees in Burma (2003), https://www.justice.gov/sites/default/files/eoir/legacy/2013/06/13/MMR00001.pdf [hereinafter Myanmar Country Report].
[6] Bell, Henry Glassford, supra note [3]
[7] Buchanan, Francis. A Comparative Vocabulary of Some of the Languages Spoken in the Burma Empire.” Asiatic Researches 5 (1799): 219–240.
[8] Valpy, Abraham John, and Edmund Henry Barker. The Classical Journal. Vol. 4. Cambridge University Press. The Classical Journal (Vol IV), September and December 1811. http://www.burmalibrary.org/docs14/1811-Rohingya-or-Rooinga-Name-in-Fourth-volume-of-The-Classical-Journal.pdf
[9] Nemoto, Kei. “The Rohingya Issue: A Thorny Obstacle between Burma (Myanmar) and Bangladesh.” (1991). http://www.burmalibrary.org/docs14/Kei_Nemoto-Rohingya.pdf
[10] The Economist, supra note [2]
[11] Sarkar, Jayita. “How WWII Shaped the Crisis in Myanmar.” The Washington Post. WP Company, March 10, 2019. https://www.washingtonpost.com/outlook/2019/03/10/how-wwii-shaped-crisis-myanmar/.
[12] Ibid.
[13] Hugh Tinker, The Union of Burma: A Study of the First Year of Independence, (London, New York, and Toronto: Oxford University Press) 1957, p. 357.
[14] Yegar, Moshe (1972). Muslims of Burma. Wiesbaden: Verlag Otto Harrassowitz. p. 96. http://www.netipr.org/policy/downloads/19720101-Muslims-Of-Burma-by-Moshe-Yegar.pdf
[15] “Myanmar: New Evidence Reveals Rohingya Armed Group Massacred Scores in Rakhine State.” Amnesty International, May 22, 2018. https://www.amnesty.org/en/latest/news/2018/05/myanmar-new-evidence-reveals-rohingya-armed-group-massacred-scores-in-rakhine-state/.
[16] Abdelkader, Engy. “The History of the Persecution of Myanmar’s Rohingya.” The Conversation, July 8, 2019. https://theconversation.com/the-history-of-the-persecution-of-myanmars-rohingya-84040.
[17] McPherson, Poppy. “Exclusive: Fake Photos in Myanmar Army’s ‘True News’ Book on the Rohingya Crisis.” Reuters. Thomson Reuters, December 28, 2018. https://www.reuters.com/article/us-myanmar-rohingya-photos-exclusive/exclusive-fake-photos-in-myanmar-armys-true-news-book-on-the-rohingya-crisis-idUSKCN1LF2LB.
[18] Mozur, Paul. “A Genocide Incited on Facebook, With Posts From Myanmar’s Military.” The New York Times. The New York Times, October 15, 2018. https://www.nytimes.com/2018/10/15/technology/myanmar-facebook-genocide.html.
[19] “Myanmar Rohingya: What You Need to Know about the Crisis.” BBC News. BBC, April 24, 2018. https://www.bbc.com/news/world-asia-41566561.
[20] Beaubien, Jason. “Bangladesh Struggles To Cope With Pressures Of Hosting 1 Million Rohingya Refugees.” NPR. NPR, April 15, 2019. https://www.npr.org/2019/04/15/710256666/bangladesh-struggles-to-cope-with-pressures-of-hosting-1-million-rohingya-refuge.
[21] France-Presse, Agence. “South-East Asia Migrant Crisis: Gambia Offers to Resettle All Rohingya Refugees.” The Guardian. Guardian News and Media, May 21, 2015. https://www.theguardian.com/world/2015/may/21/south-east-asia-migrant-crisis-gambia-offers-to-resettle-all-rohingya-refugees.
[22] Emont, Jon. “Myanmar Fails to Convince Rohingya It Is Safe to Return.” The Wall Street Journal. Dow Jones & Company, July 28, 2019. https://www.wsj.com/articles/myanmar-fails-to-convince-rohingya-it-is-safe-to-return-11564309711.
Bibliography:
https://www.theatlantic.com/international/archive/2017/09/rohingyas-burma/540513/
http://www.burmalibrary.org/docs14/Kei_Nemoto-Rohingya.pdf
http://www.rohingyablogger.com/2013/05/the-official-evidence-of-rohingya.html
https://www.csis.org/analysis/separating-fact-fiction-about-myanmar%E2%80%99s-rohingya
