Only Grass And Dirt To Eat

Starvation: A War Of Attrition
(part of The Darkness Visible series)

(Rohingya Refugee Camp: Searching For Food In The Ditch)

The photo above was taken more than a month ago and was taken in near a Rohingya refugee camp. These Rohingya are living life beyond the villages where their fellow Rohingya live in modern day concentration camps. These Rohingya live where food consist of grass and weeds found alongside dirty streets. They are not allowed to go into the Rakhine villages and purchase food. They are forbidden to use the same water as their Rakhine neighbors. Yet in comparison to the Rohingya still living in the villages, these are the lucky ones. 

Checkpoints much like those seen around the ghettos the Nazi's built during the Holocaust pot mark the area around the refugee camps. Though there are coconuts hanging in the trees outside the camps, though there is rice in the fields that the Rakhine now claim... the Rohingya starve. The barbed wire is a constant reminder that they are considered less than human in their own homeland. The lack of food makes it clear that they are considered of less value than the livestock the Rakhine raise in nearby pastures. This is the life that the Burmese have damned the Rohingya to. 

Ali Hassan, a 24 year old Rohingya man told Phuket Wan Travel News, "My babies are starving in front of my eyes. I cannot buy anything now I have no money." 

Ali Hassan had newborn twins at the time. It is impossible to know for sure if his children have survived. It is hard to imagine any child, let alone babies, living a life of starvation. But his story survives. Even if he and his family do not, his story will never perish. 

This war, this barbarism that Myanmar carries out, is meant to starve the Rohingya out of existence. The violence that plagued the Arakan state forever lingers in the air. Death hovers behind every shadow. It waits for the Rohingya... with open arms it accepts them of every age, gender, shape, and size. This is a war in as much as it pins one group against the other. Yet in this horrific struggle only one is armed... only one gets to fight... only one survives. 

There is an abundance of fish in the seas and waters along the Rakhine coasts. However the Burmese officials have confiscated almost all the fishing equipment the Rohingya once owned. Nets, poles, and hooks... nothing is left to harvest the food that the Rohingya so desperately need. 

For now the Rohingya slowly waist away as the little aid that is making it through the blockades is barely enough to keep even a small portion of them alive. It is in this slow starvation that many are turning to the the very people who cause their suffering to offer "a way out". The Rakhine Nationalities Development Party uses this wide spread starvation to traffic the Rohingya out of Myanmar. 

Over the last couple days nearly 700 Rohingya have turned up in human trafficking camps in Thailand. Over 500 Rohingya had to swim ashore in Malaysia after their boat sank 500 km off the coast. All of these Rohingya were trafficked out of the country by the RNDP. And of the RNDP's trafficking victims... they could easily be considered the lucky ones. 

Over half of the Rohingya who are sent out to sea each year die trying to make their way to Malaysia. Almost all Rohingya who are sent into Thailand are sent back to Myanmar having lost everything they had including the bribes that got them out of Burma the first time. These 1,200 Rohingya are lucky just to still be alive and outside of Myanmar. 

It is important to note at the close of this post that this tragedy, this genocide, could had been prevented. This horrific case of ethnic cleansing could be immediately stopped. All that is needed is for the outside world to finally wake up. To wake up and start taking action.

Lost Boys

Not Exactly Never-never Land
(Part of The Darkness Visible series)

(Rohingya Preparing To Flee)

Every day off the coast of Burma the Rohingya people take to the sea in hopes of fleeing the ethnic clashes that have enveloped much of their homeland. These "terrorist", "invaders", and "outsiders" have been targeted for extermination in what appears to be a repeat of ethnic cleansing campaigns of the past. They are an indigenous minority of the region. The areas along the border with Bangladesh and Myanmar has been their home for as long as anyone can tell. But for now, once again, many are forsaking Myanmar and its abuses and risking everything by throwing themselves at the mercy of the sea. 

Around half of those who attempt to flee Myanmar by the water die at sea. Their bodies and their names are forever lost to the cruel ocean and their lives forgot by those who drove them there in the first place. In many ways the ocean is just playing its part in Myanmar's genocide. 

For 112 Rohingya the voyage out of Myanmar took them somewhere just north of Phuket, Thailand yesterday. This refugee boat was different form most however in the fact that the majority of the refugees were children. 56 of the refugees were teenagers, with the youngest being only 14 years old. The remaining 46 are believed to be under the age of 26. 

So what happened to this ship full of Rohingya boys? Are they safe in Thailand? Are they getting aid from the UN in a ASEAN nation? 

This is the disappointing and rather scary nature of what happens to Rohingya refugees when they have the misfortune of landing in Thailand. If they are allowed to land at all. 

Upon landing in the province of Phang Nga the Rohingya were most likely "greeted" by Thai military or coast guard. We do not know who made it to the shipwreck site first. All we do know is that the Thai authorities had scuttled the ship and dispersed the Rohingya before anyone could claim these boys were refugees. This is the customary approach in Thailand. If the ship can't be dragged back out to sea then it will be destroyed and the people aboard told to disappear.  Rohingya are not granted refugee status in Thailand. 

For a few brief moments that Thai authorities did classify the Rohingya as "Burmese". This is ironic since the Rohingya are denied citizenship in Myanmar itself. But the act of being called a citizen is not the same thing as being a citizen for Rohingya. The Thai may have or may be in the act of sending the Rohingya back to Myanmar. Nobody can say for sure what happened to the boys. 

It is a simple fact that human rights organizations are not granted access to Rohingya refugees within Thailand. Had the Rohingya been classified as refugees we would have known. Groups like the Red Cross or the UN would have been on the scene to do their job... we would hope. But the Rohingya aren't allowed that comfort in Thailand. 

Instead these boys did what all Rohingya do when they are unfortunate enough to crash in Thailand. They vanished. 

The most likely explanation is that the Thai police most likely rounded up the boys and sent them to the border with Burma. There they were most likely deported back to the country they attempted to flee from. And with their money spent on this first failed attempt... it will most likely be a long time before any of the 112 Rohingya try to flee again.

As for Thailand.

The lack of humanity shown by the Thai is not new or unique to this latest outbreak of ethnic cleansing in Burma. The Thai have for decades now used their navy to "help along" Rohingya boats that loose power or become disabled off the Thai coast. The practice of shipping Rohingya back to Burma has been standard policy in Thailand for just as long. It is blatantly obvious that the Rohingya just plain are not welcome in Thailand.

Instead of offering to let outside human rights organizations access to the refugees, Thailand stonewalls any attempt by the media or human rights groups to investigate the issue. Any offer to help the Rohingya is denied since the Thai do not want to "encourage" more refugees. And absolutely no sense of transparency is eluded to as the Thai secretly wage war on the world's most neglected group of people.

In the case of the lost boys... never-never land is just a dream.

Neptune And The Exodus

Life At Sea Over Death At Home
(Part of The Darkness Visible series)

(Rohingya Boats Off Bangladesh) 

For decades now the Rohingya boats have made attempt after attempt to leave Myanmar by sea. These rickety vessels are far from seaworthy and often packed with more people than they can hold. But the threat of death at home in Burma drives the ethnic minority to flee in the only way left available to them. Thus the exodus by sea begins once again. 

An estimated 24,000 Rohingya currently call Malaysia home. These Muslim refugees that have fled to Malaysia did not walk across the border. The trip takes a departure from Myanmar under the cover of darkness or in rough seas. Just getting out to sea can be deadly. Then comes the long voyage from Myanmar to Malaysia over open water. And finally, if they are fortunate enough, the survivors try to land in Malaysia without the police or military spotting them first. 

Many Rohingya who try to stop in Thailand due to lack of water, food, or potential sinking are turned back to the open sea. Thai naval ships and police often drag the Rohingya's boats back out to open water where they are abandoned to the elements. Bangladesh will do the same if they are given the opportunity.

This leaves the hundreds of thousands of internally displaced Rohingya few options. They can either risk being killed by the ruthless Rakhine mobs or risk their lives gambling with Neptune. Many are choosing the god of the sea over the god of war. 

On October 31st this daring escape from Burma proved just how risky it really is. Around 130 Rohingya refugees perished in the darkness somewhere in the Indian Ocean off the coast of Bangladesh. The governments of Myanmar and Bangladesh did nothing to recover the bodies or try to look for survivors. It was clear to all those who followed the story that the two governments looked at the deaths as a gift rather than a tragedy. 

This trip into the darkness can cost a Rohingya refugee the equivalent of $1,500 United States dollars. Yet not surprisingly many young Rohingya find the money by saving everything and selling off all they have. They are leaving in these boats with nothing. They are going committing an international crime to be free. And in the end it is predicted that around half of them will never survive the journey. 

Some will perish as the boats succumb to the violent sea itself. Others will die of disease and dehydration as their boats loose power or go off course. Some will suffer at the hands of those who the paid to get them out of the country. But for a many the promise of a better life will keep them alive as they struggle to get out of Myanmar. 

(Rohingya In Burmese Town Of Sittwe)

All of this risk could be taken away. All this needless death could be stopped. And all this suffering could be ended. All the Rohingya need is an ally within the regime of Myanmar's "democratic" movement. 

Aung San Suu Kyi has been given the opportunity to speak up on the behalf of the Rohingya people. Her voice could go beyond the limitations left upon Western governments and organizations by the Burmese authorities. Yet the game of politics has left the Nobel laureate silent. Her lack of desire to speak up and help the Rohingya is directly linked to her political ambitions in Myanmar. Aung San Suu Kyi has found that even she, a supposed humanitarian, can not speak up for the Muslims in Burma and still keep favor with the racist Buddhist of Myanmar. And thus political gain keeps even the seemingly noble Suu Kyi silent while her countrymen suffer. 

For this reason it is likely that more and more Rohingya will perish at sea as they try to escape the ethnic cleansing taking place in Myanmar. For the lack of courage on the part of Burmese leaders and the Western nations thousands will die beneath the waves of the Indian Ocean. It leaves me to wonder just how many deaths it will take before we can finally stop playing politics and start trying to stop genocide.

Europes Sweetheart Hiding Bloody Hands

-
Voice of the Voiceless Series

A long and bitter past has haunted the Rohingya of Myanmar (Burma). For generations upon generations the Burmese have persecuted the Rohingya and more recently passed laws to outlaw them. In 1982 the Burmese government passed a law that made the Burmese Rohingya stateless. This meant that the country they had lived in for as long as anyone could remember now wanted them out. But the fate of the Rohingya was only about to get worse.

Aung San Suu Kyi has done nothing to alive the pain and suffering of people who she is supposed to lead. Instead it was her government that began officially labeling the Rohingya as "Bangladeshis". The irony of her government's ruling is that Bangladesh has gone out of its way to deny immigration of the Rohingya. This has left the Rohingya vulnerable to state sponsored discrimination and oppression. 

In Burma the Rohingya are depicted as ogres, animals, and monsters by their Buddhist neighbors. In rare incidents when the Rohingya have defended themselves against the Burmese mobs the government has stepped in to put down the Rohingya resistance. This has lead to an unknown number of deaths amongst the Rohingya at the hands of their neighbors and Burmese soldiers. 

 

In 1978 the Burmese government marched 200,000 Rohingya across the border into Bangladesh. It was there that around 10,000 of the evicted Muslims died due to the horrible conditions the Bangladeshi government imposed upon them. When not permitted to build more than huts to live in, no access to healthcare, or any form of education for the youth... the majority of the Rohingya immigrated back into their homeland (Burma). 

Sadly this sort of deadly treatment has become more and more normal and has repeated over and over again (more recently in 1991 and 1992). And yet this isn't the only mistreatment the Rohingya have had to endure at the hands of Aung San Suu Kyi's regime. Often the Rohingya are forced into slave labor by the Burmese military and local governments. This is a disgrace not imposed upon the Rohingya's neighbors, the ethnic Rakhine. 


To add to the laundry list of disgraces forced upon the Rohingya there have been numerous incidents of "Myanmar's boat people" drowning as neighboring governments turn the Rohingya away. In 2009 the Thai authorities intercepted five boatloads of Rohingya. The fleeing Rohingya were detained and beaten severely by the Thai forces. Then in the final act of cruelty, the Thai authorities sent the Rohingya boats (without motors or fresh water) back out to sea. Hundreds of the Rohingya aboard the boats are believed to drowned. 


So why is Europe swooning over Aung San Suu Kyi and her government of genocidal fanatics? 

Nobody in Europe today can truly understand the longstanding hatred for the Rohingya in Burma and the neighboring countries. It is not clear to the outside world why this ethnic hatred has burned out of control. And the reason...


For far to long the outside world has been kept in the dark when it comes to Myanmar. Of all the countries in this part of the world Myanmar is the least understood. So why is the West fascinated with Aung San Suu Kyi? Simple... she is the first person in Burmese government to allow the Western world to take a peak beneath the veil. 


But just like other oppressive regimes, Aung San Suu Kyi's government has tried to hide the genocide of the Rohingya within her borders. Instead the government officials in Myanmar have gone out of their way to describe the Rohingya as "Bangladeshi Terrorist". And the celebrities of Myanmar society have taken to the internet to express their rage against the Rohingya. One Burmese actress posted on her FaceBook account that she "hates them 100%". The UN ambassador from Burma has told any other ambassador who would listen that the Rohingya are "dark skinned ogres" who could never compare to the "true Burmese people". 


If anything emotion should be used to describe Western feelings for Aung San Suu Kyi it should be that of disgust. After all, she has done everything within her power to continue the slaughter of the Rohingya within Burma. And it is the government that she represents that continues to push its genocidal goals when dealing with the Rohingya who have called Burma home for as long as anyone can remember.

Source documents used (please note that not all sources are cited below)

The Huffington Post
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2012/06/14/myanmar-conflict-rohingya-muslims_n_1595976.html

New York Daily News
http://india.nydailynews.com/newsarticle/4fedddd2b1e35d8f3d000008/burma-s-rohingya-refugees-find-little-respite-in-bangladesh