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ROHINGYA'S REFUGEE CRISIS

"Give every human being every right that you claim for yourself"----- ‘Robert Ingersoll'

While we are going to discuss the Refugee's crisis of Rohingya's, we need to understand the
concept of Human rights. Rights, when infringed, give rise to punishment/damages. The rights
which we are discussing here are about fundamental rights of every human that are to be
protected by all the states. Refugees too are humans and they do have certain rights with them
that protect them from being deprived of their human life. No matter the state they are in, no
matter the position they are in, it is always upon the state/states to uphold the true value of life in
whatever situation an individual might be.
These are the rights that needn't bother with any extraordinary prerequisite. These are accessible
to each individual by the ideals of being a human.

Human rights incorporate common and political rights:

1. The ideal to flexibility of articulation
2. The ideal to flexibility of religion or heart
3. The ideal to property
4. The ideal to flexibility of gathering
5. The appropriate to protection
6. The appropriate to vote.
Human rights additionally cover financial and social rights:
1. The appropriate to a sufficient way of life
2. The appropriate to sufficient nourishment, lodging, water and sanitation
Human rights have a place with everybody, all over the place, paying little heed to nationality,
sexuality, sex, race, religion or age. The establishment of present day human rights is the
Universal Declaration of Human Rights (UDHR). The 30 articles of the Declaration were
embraced in 1948 by the United Nations General Assembly, and after some time these have been
coordinated into national laws and universal arrangements. The center estimations of the UDHR
are "human nobility, reasonableness, equity, non-segregation - apply to everybody, all over the
place". These rights need not be specially provided to any person. Even though, they are branded
as “Refugees” they don’t lose their fundamental human rights.
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Rohingya's and their origin:

They are also known as Arakanese Muslim. Their existence has been present in the Myanmar
country for centuries now. This problem has been in the country for quite a time now. But this
religious problem has been triggered in the recent years. According to the "1982 Burmese
Citizenship law", a Rohingya is eligible for citizenship if only they provide documentation that
their ancestors were living in the country for more than 60 years. Even if they get citizenship,
they are not 1st class citizens; they are "naturalized" citizens. What this means is that, they do not
get to vote in the elections, they are not provided with secondary education, they are not allowed
to become a lawyer or hold the posts of Civil Services. All this citizenship was made eligible to
Rohingya's only after 1982, till then there was no status of "Naturalized" citizens to the
Rohingya's too1.
The population of Rohingya's in Myanmar has been mostly located in Rakhine state. It is
estimated that there is a presence of "1.1 million Rohingya Muslims" in the Rakhine state. After
the communal violence, about 1/3rd of the population has been scattered in many states
including Sri Lanka, Bangladesh, and India.
UN describes Rohingya's as "Religious and Linguistic minority from western Myanmar".
Chain of events that have triggered the Communal violence in Myanmar in recent times:
1. In 2012, a Buddhist woman has been raped and murdered by 3 Muslim men who were
believed to be Rohingya's.
2. In 2013, an argument in the golden shop in the state of "Meiktila" in Central Myanmar
and this has led to violence in the state between Buddhist and Rohingya Muslims. This
violent clash between these two clans has "lead to the death of 40 innocent people".
3. In 2013 August, rioters have burnt down many houses of Muslims after police denied
handing over a Muslim man to the mob. This Muslim man was accused of raping
Buddhist women. This recent incident has brewed the dispute between Buddhist and
Muslims (especially Rohingya Muslims)
4. Again in the year 2016, ARSA (A militant group which aims to fight for Rohingya's
freedom) has attacked border posts and has killed 9 military soldiers in that attack.

1
http://www.thehindu.com/opinion/op-ed/can-india-ignore-the-rohingya-crisis/article19686341.ece
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5. In the same year, it has launched a coordinated attack on different police posts in Rakhine
state.
International Aspect:
The problem/issue that India needs to answer is, even though it is not a member of 1951 UN
Refugees Convention or its 1967 protocol, the fundamental principle of "non-refoulement" has to
be observed by every country. According to this "non-refoulement" theory, no refugee should be
returned to any country where he or she is likely to face persecution, other ill-treatment or
torture2.
India has not signed the 1951 refugee convention but has to observe the fundamental principles
of every human being. India is one of many countries which have always allowed refugees,
kicking away Rohingya's or sending them back to Myanmar would not be a wise move because
Rohingya's in Myanmar are still being hunted every day. Even though the ties with Myanmar
are not going to be disturbed if India does send back the Rohingya's back.
What many people around the world feel is that, "why should India act as a big brother for the
problems of Myanmar?" Every matter/dispute in a state has to be settled within its own state. The
intervention from the 3rd parties has to be kept to, let's say, a minimum where other states do not
get involved in sensitive issues of the state. Rohingya's are the most persecuted people in
Myanmar. For centuries, Rohingya's are living in a state called Rakhine which is located in
Myanmar. There has always been the dispute among these sects.
Crisis of Refugees:
If the same situation would have been regarding any Hindu dispute, India would have stood up
as big brother. Bangladesh has really done a fabulous job when it came to providing the basic
requirements to the Rohingya refugees. They have set up both permanent and temporary camps
sites to provide shelter to refugees. Most of the migrated refugees from Myanmar have been
residing in Cox's bazaar. With everything going on, Bangladesh has managed to provide good
humanitarian aid to Rohingya's and at the same time maintaining stability and security in their
country. It is always difficult for a government to maintain internal affairs/internal disputes
despite all the process that is going on. Bangladesh in the camps is said to be restricting the
freedom of movement of Rohingya's. They are not allowed to roam outside except in the

2
http://opil.ouplaw.com/view/10.1093/law/9780199207633.001.0001/law-9780199207633-chapter-5
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provided camps, you can't really criticize Bangladesh government though. A country when is
facing/is in middle of such crisis is and should always be protective and thoughtful of their
actions. Every state's primary concern would be regarding the safety of the citizens. Citizens of
that state come first when compared with the refugees of another state. It has been estimated that
over 655,500 refugees from Myanmar have moved to Cox's Bazaar.
Bangladesh and Myanmar have come to a 2-year agreement that, 655,500 have fled to
Bangladesh during the chaotic movement in Rakhine state will be made to bring back to
Bangladesh during the next days. Despite all their best efforts, refugees are still fleeing Myanmar
the reason being Rohingya population/people are still being slaughtered and their villages are
being burnt down alive. Bangladesh has bagged many compliments all around the world for
putting their best efforts for the safety of Rohingya's. Bangladesh has done their help by
providing help to Rohingya Muslims. But, the state is not able to provide all the requirements to
the Muslims. The reason being, Bangladesh is a very densely populated state in itself, if their
government still accepts the immigrants from Myanmar then there would be problems not with
the facilities but with the people itself. When "Pope Francis" has visited Bangladesh in
December 2017 has praised Bangladesh for lending a helping hand and doing their best they
could.
A famous analyst "Richard Horsey" in an Article in "Financial Times" which has been
published in December 2017 has said that "Rohingya camps that are set up in Bangladesh are
acting as Breeding groups for ARSA.3.
Medical facilities and other facilities:
While the refugee's count is not definitely going down, the count is always going up. So, it can
only be natural to assume that all the facilities are not/can't be provided to all the refugees. In the
recent reports that have been submitted often show that not even basic requirements are provided
to all the immigrated refugees. As of 11th Jan 2018 Bangladeshi immigration and Passports
Department has registered 971,627 through a biometric registration process.
The Bangladeshi government has allowed 3000 acres for development of new campsite in
Ukhia. Quoting ‘Uncle Ben’ from SPIDERMAN, I would say, "with great power comes, great
responsibility". For Rohingya, Bangladesh is the big brother that they now need for. According

3
https://thediplomat.com/2018/01/why-bangladesh-cannot-accept-all-the-rohingya/
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to ISCG, the report which has been published on 11th of this January shows that medical support
with regard to elderly people and disabled people is not being reached to them properly. It has
been reported that there have been as many as 31 deaths in total regarding medical issues. The
camps being heavily populated and crowded, many and new viruses are being reported on the
daily basis. On 11th January, it has been reported in the report that 3,960 people have fallen
victim to ‘Diphtheria'.
To bring refugees out of their trauma, Community Health Workers (CHWs) are formed, so that
they can talk and help them get past the misfortunate events that have fallen victim to. But, due
to the language barrier, the program that they have initiated has not been a big successful event.
When the population is in this large quantity, there are chances that not every person is not going
to be treated with all the due care and tidy environment. The report that has been submitted by
ISCG has contained in their report that, on 31st December 2017 315,000 people children from
age of 12-15 years were vaccinated with Diphtheria. The Camps were located on a very
disturbed road; vaccination to camps is not always reached to camps in time. Reaching vaccines
to the camps has always been a problem in both the host camps and regular camps. Cash
Vouchers and "MAMA AND BABY KITS" were distributed as an incentive for women to
deliver at health facilities. Not that I am complaining but the truth is that, the government of
Bangladesh is not able to keep up with all the immigrants that are pouring into their territory. It
(Bangladesh) has been praised by many famous personalities and many other organizations
(World Bank, UN, UDHR, Red Cross,) for all the good work they are doing. Financially,
Bangladesh has been given a lot of support by big players in the game i.e. UN, World Bank, etc.

India's help towards issue:

India has always stood up such issues, it even allowed whistleblowers. But this is a different
position all-together; the basic problem allowing refugees or allowing them to stay is because
that government is in constant fear that, Rohingya Muslim youth are being motivated to work for
them and to cause deaths in India. As if this wasn’t enough to handle for our government, some
traders of Jammu and Kashmir have warned that, they will identify and kill Rohingya’s living in
the state if the government does not deport them immediately. Jammu and Kashmir National
Panthers Party (JKNPP) have help hordings in Jammu and Kashmir stating that, if no action is
taken soon, then Rohingya Muslims are going to face consequences. Rohingya’s in India have
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mainly settled down in Telangana, Uttar Pradesh, Haryana, Jammu and Kashmir, Rajasthan and
Delhi. Out of thousands of Rohingya’s who have settled down in India, only 16,500 have
registered themselves as has been said by Human Rights Watch. All the Rohingya Muslims who
have not registered themselves are called by many as Illegal Immigrants.
“Advocate Hunar Gupta”- a member of state BJP’s legal cell has filed a PIL in High Court,
pleading the court for deporting them to their original place and has pleaded that Bangladeshi
refugees in Jammu and Kashmir. Now the matter is still in Supreme Court. “Narendra Modi”,
during his visit to Myanmar has said that “India does share Myanmar’s concern regarding
extremist conditions”. Both India and China are trying their best to extend their strategic
presence both financially and through other means. Now they have come to an agreement that,
they will help Myanmar in any possible way. They are trying to maintain and show that they are
regional leaders. With regard to deportation of Rohingya’s, this particular issue has raised many
eyebrows all around the world. “Human Rights Watch South Asia Director” (HRW) –
“Meenakshi Ganguly” has said that, “India shouldn’t forcibly return any rohingya’s to Burma
without 1st fairly evaluating their claim as refugees”4
United Nations Secretary General---“Antonio Guterres” has made a statement that, “India
has to be more careful towards this topic and has to act and try to settle the matter and said
that India should not return the refugees where they are feared of living.”

CONCLUSION
To me, I personally feel that discussions between "Nyi Pu" (Chief Minister of Rakhine) and the
Bangladesh state were quite successful and the only aspect that I feel bad about is that despite all
the diplomatic talks, Rakhine state is not able to provide safety and protection to their own
people. For these obvious reasons, these 2nd class citizens don't feel safe in this environment.
Any individual regardless the countries they are from, if are put in their shoes, I would guaranty
that they will do the same in all the situations. As the saying goes, "HOME IS HOME", nothing
can replace it. As a person with minimal knowledge about the ongoing issue, what I feel is that,
if Myanmar wants to really have diplomatic and friendly relations with all countries then all they
have really do is be thankful to Bangladesh and to all the countries that have helped them when

4
https://www.ndtv.com/india-news/india-should-not-forcibly-return-ethnic-rohingya-refugees-human-rights-
watch-1738742
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they were in the tight spot. All the surveys that are being conducted in India and other parts of
the world on Rohingya's who fled to other countries point us to one direction that, if they are
provided with facilities and they are given their freedom to go on with their life, then they don't
have the objection to stay in their own country.
Regarding this fight which is going on between ARSA and Myanmar, many innocent lives are
being put at stake. Many reporting does have clearly shown that the government is not
functioning in the way it was supposed to. Any failure or any loss of human lives is the failure of
the state government to protect its own individuals. As Martin Luther King Junior has quoted,
"Any nation or government that deprives an individual of freedom is in that moment
committing an act of moral and spiritual murder". I am a strong believer in this quote and
would like to say that it is, it has always been and will always be the failure on part of the state
for not carrying its functions as it was supposed to. The refugee is not a symbol a fear or of
coward, it is a sign to show that a human is strong enough to stand through difficult times. It is a
symbol of bravery. To me, I personally feel that refugees are to be showered and shared with all
the love that otherwise a normal person would get.

A recent update on the issue:

On 19th Jan 2018, a refugee camp which is in "Ukhiya", Bangladesh, a Rohingya leader was
shot dead. The witnesses have alleged that the persons who are against the Bangladesh-
Myanmar's repatriation are the ones who are making all these attacks against leaders of the camp.
Regarding the agreement which both the countries have agreed upon was supposed to start this
Tuesday (23rd of Jan). An official, ‘Abu kalam'- "Bangladesh's refugee relief and
rehabilitation Commissioner" has said that, "the agreement which both the states have agreed
upon will not be starting on the date they have agreed to, the reason being, the list that has
been received by the Bangladesh officials and the government is not complete5".

5 https://www.canindia.com/rohingyas-repatriation-to-myanmar-postponed/