Kyaw Min<\/p>\n
While many in the world community have correctly condemned Myanmar\u2019s junta for deposing an elected government, the Rohingya\u2019s situation must not be overlooked<\/p>\n
Russia invaded Ukraine on February 24, 2022, escalating the Russo-Ukrainian War, which started in 2014. With more than 6.5 million Ukrainians fleeing the country and a third of the population displaced, the invasion has triggered Europe\u2019s fastest-growing refugee crisis since World War II.
\nWhile Bangladesh\u2019s Rohingya\u2019s plight has been overshadowed by the Covid-19 outbreak, Myanmar\u2019s military coup in February, the Afghan refugee crisis, and now the Ukraine crisis, the community remains in limbo, with many of its members missing citizenship and the rights that come with it. Around a million Rohingya refugees have been living in Bangladesh since 2017, while others have sought sanctuary in nations all over the world.
\nWhen the Myanmar military began a clearance operation against them in 2017, several members of the community were forced to flee. Rakhine state was particularly tense, with tales of rape and murder against Rohingyas abounding. The International Court of Justice has charged Myanmar with genocide over these atrocities. Meanwhile, the community\u2019s living conditions in refugee camps are deteriorating. Due to the extended ambiguity surrounding their repatriation to Myanmar, Rohingya refugees in Bangladesh are becoming frustrated. Such ambiguity poses a significant risk because it tempts many people to engage in illicit activity. Bangladesh confronts increasing difficulty in managing the displaced people as foreign support for the Rohingyas dwindles, with little hope of repatriation in the near future. Following the ongoing Ukraine crisis, and the Taliban\u2019s takeover of Afghanistan, which has already displaced millions of Afghans both inside and outside the nation, another humanitarian crisis has emerged.
\nWhile many in the world community have correctly condemned Myanmar\u2019s junta for deposing an elected government, the Rohingya\u2019s situation must not be overlooked. The international community must demand justice for the Rohingya in addition to restoration to representative rule in Myanmar. Despite the fact that members of the Muslim Rohingya population claim generations of roots in the country formerly known as Burma, Myanmar\u2019s ruling generals have long promoted the xenophobic stereotype that they are \u201coutsiders\u201d in the Buddhist-majority country.
\nBangladesh is home to nearly 1.1 million forcibly displaced Rohingyas, the majority of whom arrived on August 25, 2017, following a murderous crackdown by Myanmar\u2019s army described as a \u201ctextbook example of ethnic cleansing.\u201d The international community should have always taken the safe repatriation of refugees seriously. Bangladesh\u2019s administration began diplomatic attempts to return them and negotiated agreements with Myanmar. However, even five years later, not a single Rohingya has returned to their homeland for fear of persecution. It appears that Bangladesh is paying the price for expressing sympathy for a persecuted minority community in another country.
\nBangladesh wants to resolve the Rohingya situation through peaceful negotiations, and Myanmar and the international community should do the same. Myanmar has been attempting to mislead the international community in order to avoid fulfilling its duties for the repatriation and reintegration of the forcibly displaced Rohingyas.
\nThe host country has done everything. It wants to ensure Rohingya return through peaceful means, but nothing has worked out so far. It goes without saying that voluntary repatriation of Rohingyas is the most sustainable and long-term solution to the situation. However, because of the Rohingyas\u2019 lack of faith in the Myanmar government, repatriation attempts failed twice in November 2018 and August 2019.
\nMyanmar must ensure that Rohingya refugees are not persecuted upon their return in order to facilitate voluntary repatriations. To this aim, the international community and the United Nations should increase pressure on Myanmar to create a safe, secure, and dignified environment for the Rohingya refugees to return home. The international community should play a more assertive diplomatic role in pressuring Myanmar to return the Rohingyas.
\nThe UN High Commissioner for Refugees, Filippo Grandi, has stated recently during his visit to Bangladesh that while focusing on the \u201ccatastrophic disaster\u201d in Ukraine, they must not forget about other challenging situations across the world, such as the Rohingya crisis, which require attention and resources.
\nDespite new financing to Ukraine in response to an \u201cexceptional humanitarian situation,\u201d the US is committed to continuing to support Bangladesh in the Rohingya crisis, according to a top USAID official who visited Rohingya camps in Bangladesh on May 11, 2021.
\n\u201cWe are dedicated to maintaining our support for the Rohingya response,\u201d USAID Deputy Administrator Isobel Coleman told a small group of journalists at an American Centre press conference in the capital before ending her five-day visit to Bangladesh. She continued, \u201cWe have a very fundamental approach to humanitarian response, and ensuring that the refugees (Rohingyas) who are here receive the basic necessities to meet is a priority for us.\u201d
\nHundreds of thousands of Rohingya refugees and host communities in Bangladesh, as well as Rohingya and other conflict-affected persons in Myanmar, will benefit from an additional \u20ac22 million in humanitarian help from the European Commission. Protection services, food aid, nutrition, health, and shelter will all benefit from the investment. Since 2002, the EU has been actively assisting people in Bangladesh and Myanmar (since 1994), with a particular focus on disaster preparedness and emergency response activities, providing life-saving assistance to Rohingya refugees and funding emergency aid to people affected by natural disasters.
\nRohingyas need more assistance from the international community. They\u2019ve spent the last five years telling the world about their situation and repeating the same stories. They\u2019ve got nothing but compassion and hollow promises in exchange. With the world\u2019s attention focused on the migrants in Ukraine, we hope the world should not overlook the misery of 1 million Rohingya refugees in Bangladesh. The international community\u2019s plea for repatriation to Myanmar must be louder, more visible, and more frequent. Bangladesh\u2019s government must continue to ensure that any transfers are entirely voluntary. Any long-term solution must take into account the local and national context. But the flow of humanitarian assistance must be ensured till then because they need to fulfil their basic needs. They have the right to survive with dignity because they are also human beings. But peaceful and sustainable repatriation of the Rohingyas in Myanmar is the final solution. But till then, they need to survive! survive! survive! Please don\u2019t forget them.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
Kyaw Min While many in the world community have correctly condemned Myanmar\u2019s junta for deposing an elected government, the Rohingya\u2019s situation must not be overlooked Russia invaded Ukraine on February 24, 2022, escalating the Russo-Ukrainian War, which started in 2014. With more than 6.5 million Ukrainians fleeing the country and a third of the population […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[10],"tags":[7787,7788,7786],"class_list":{"0":"post-262874","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","6":"category-article","7":"tag-forget","8":"tag-kyaw-min","9":"tag-rohingya-refugees"},"yoast_head":"\n