 |
| Total population |
|---|
| About 729,000 (United Nations estimate 2009) |
| Regions with significant populations |
| Burma (Arakan), Bangladesh, Saudi Arabia, Pakistan,Thailand, Malaysia , |
| Languages |
| Religion |
The Rohingya is a Muslim ethnic group of the Northern Arakan State of Western Burma (also known as Myanmar). The Rohingya population is mostly concentrated in two bordering townships of Arakan to Bangladesh, namely Maungdaw and Buthidaung, and is spread in three townships of Akyab, Rathedung and Kyauktaw.
Contents |
History
It is thought, according to Rohingya history, that in the beginning of the 7th century AD, merchants from the Arab World, Mughal Empire and neighbouring Bengal began to settle in Arakan territory. In the 19th century, the British captured control of Arakan after the first Anglo–Burmese War and many more Bengalis from British East Bengal came to settle in Arakan.
It is thought, according to various indigenous ethnic groups of Burma, the local Arakanese people and the Burmese military government, that waves of later Bangali migrations to Arakan started in the 19th century after the British occupation.[1]
Language
The Rohingya language is the modern written language of the Rohingya People of Arakan (Rakhine) State in Burma (Myanmar). It is linguistically similar to the Chittagonian language spoken in the southern area of Bangladesh bordering Burma. Rohingya scholars have successfully written the Rohingya language in different scripts such as Arabic, Hanafi, Urdu and Burmese. Hanifi script is of newly developed alphabets mainly derived from Arabic and four characters added from Latin and Burmese Scripts. But above all, the latest and the most successful one is that which has been developed using only Roman script making it compatible with today's modern technology. While designed intuitively to accurately represent Rohingya tongue, yet it is made so easy to learn and write in a very short time even for non-Rohingyas. This modern writing system is known as Rohingya Lish which has been recognized by ISO with ISO 639-3 "reg" code.[2]
Religion
Religion is particularly important to the Rohingya people, who are predominantly Muslims. Mosques and religious schools occupy most villages. Traditionally, men pray in congregation and women pray at home.
Human rights violations & refugees
According to Amnesty International, the Muslim Rohingya people have continued to suffer from human rights violations under the Burmese junta since 1978, and many have fled to neighbouring Bangladesh as a result:[3].
"The Rohingyas’ freedom of movement is severely restricted and the vast majority of them have effectively been denied Burma citizenship. They are also subjected to various forms of extortion and arbitrary taxation; land confiscation; forced eviction and house destruction; and financial restrictions on marriage. Rohingyas continue to be used as forced labourers on roads and at military camps, although the amount of forced labour in northern Rakhine State has decreased over the last decade."
"In 1978 over 200,000 Rohingyas fled to Bangladesh, following the ‘Nagamin’ (‘Dragon King’) operation of the Myanmar army. Officially this campaign aimed at "scrutinising each individual living in the state, designating citizens and foreigners in accordance with the law and taking actions against foreigners who have filtered into the country illegally." This military campaign directly targeted civilians, and resulted in widespread killings, rape and destruction of mosques and further religious persecution."
"During 1991-92 a new wave of over a quarter of a million Rohingyas fled to Bangladesh. They reported widespread forced labour, as well as summary executions, torture, and rape. Rohingyas were forced to work without pay by the Burmese army on infrastructure and economic projects, often under harsh conditions. Many other human rights violations occurred in the context of forced labour of Rohingya civilians by the security forces."
As of 2005, the UNHCR had been assisting with the repatriation of Rohingya from Bangladesh, but allegations of human rights abuses in the refugee camps have threatened this effort.[4]
Despite earlier efforts by the UN, the vast majority of Rohingya refugees have remained in Bangladesh, unable to return because of the negative attitude of the ruling regime in Myanmar. Now they are facing problems in Bangladesh as well where they do not receive support from the government any longer.[5] In February 2009, many Rohingya refugees were rescued by Acehnese sailors in the Strait of Malacca, after 21 days at sea.[6]
Over the years thousands of Rohingya also have fled to Thailand. There are roughly 111,000 refugees housed in 9 camps along the Thai-Myanmar border. There have been charges that groups of them have been shipped and towed out to open sea from Thailand, and left there. In February 2009 there was evidence of the Thai army towing a boatload of 190 Rohingya refugees out to sea. A group of refugees rescued by Indonesian authorities also in February 2009 told harrowing stories of being captured and beaten by the Thai military, and then abandoned at open sea. By the end of February there were reports that of a group of 5 boats were towed out to open sea, of which 4 boats sank in a storm, and 1 boat washed up on the shore. February 12, 2009 Thailand's prime minister Abhisit Vejjajiva said there were "some instances" in which Rohingya people were pushed out to sea.
"There are attempts, I think, to let these people drift to other shores. [...] when these practices do occur, it is done on the understanding that there is enough food and water supplied. [...] It's not clear whose work it is [...] but if I have the evidence who exactly did this I will bring them to account." [2]
The prime minister said he regretted "any losses", and was working on rectifying the problem.
See also
- Rakhine people
- Persecution of Muslims in Burma
- Islam in Burma
- Burmese Indians
- Muslims of Manipur
- Rohingya massacre
- Mujahideen
Notes
- ^ Saw Yan Naing. "Unwanted: Dead or Alive". Irrawaddy, February 10, 2009. http://www.irrawaddy.org/article.php?art_id=15082. Retrieved 2009-02-10.
- ^ ISO 639 Code Tables - SIL International
- ^ Myanmar - The Rohingya Minority: Fundamental Rights Denied, Amnesty International, 2004.
- ^ "UNHCR threatens to wind up Bangladesh operations". New Age BDNEWS, Dhaka. 2005-05-21. http://www.newagebd.com/2005/may/21/front.html#9. Retrieved 2007-04-25.
- ^ Burmese exiles in desperate conditions
- ^ [1]
References
- "Rohingya". Banglapedia, Asiatic Society of Bangladesh. http://banglapedia.search.com.bd/HT/R_0217.htm. Retrieved June 2005.
- "A Short History of Arakan". Mohammad Ashraful Alam. http://www.freerohingyacampaign.org/cms/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=13&Itemid=29. Retrieved June 2005.
- "Myanmar, The Rohingya Minority: Fundamental Rights Denied". Amnesty International. http://web.amnesty.org/library/Index/ENGASA160052004?open&of=ENG-MMR. Retrieved August 2005.
- Amnesty International (English)
- The Muslim “Rohingya” of Burma by Martin Smith 1995 Arakan Rohingya National Organisation
External links
*Arakan Rohingya National Organization (ARNO)
- Rohingya Radio
- Burmese Rohingya Organisation UK (BROUK)
- Rohingya and Burmese news Agency International
- Arakan Rohingya Co-operation Council Europe
- Free Rohingya Campaign
- Rohingya Times
- Rohingya Sprache
- Rohingya News (Burmese)
- Golden Arakan
- Kaladanpress Network
- UNHCR Homepage
- Rohingya League for Democracy
- Rohingya Students Development Movement
- Arakan Today News in (Arabic)
- Arakan Today News in (Urdu)
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