What happens when the ones who are there to protect become the threat?
This is the exact situation which the Rohingya Community in Myanmar is currently under. As the massive 1.1 million of the Myanmar population flees to neighbouring countries in the hopes of refuge, the question arises as to why the Army took such drastic measures? And as to what their motivations were? All these questions remain unanswered, but the sad undeniable answer is that the refugees desperately look for a safe place for refuge and their efforts now shift towards Bangladesh.
However, the road to Bangladesh has not been an easy one for the refugees, most have suffered through unbearable torture as detailed by one refugee, “The feast of the sacrifice’ while quoting an old Muslim proverb.
The refugees travelled long distances barefoot in the western state of Rakhine in Myanmar to reach the coasts often reaching their dehydrated from the journey of up to two days. This assertive action by the military has been defined by many activists as “As disheartening as the Rwandan genocide”.
The journey from the coasts of Myanmar to the southernmost tip of Bangladesh involves the journey across the Naf river. The immediacy of the movement resulted in the refugees utilising makeshift rafts to make the treacherous journey down the river incurring numerous casualties as some unfortunately drown.
The situation in Bangladesh also does not reflect liveable conditions as the country scrambles to deploy its refugee reserve resources but as one survivor put it, “At least here, they’re not killing us.”
This refugee crisis mirrors the mass movement of the Syrian refugees into Europe in 2016 and is being called “A critical humanitarian emergency” is only at its beginning stage.
What remains to be seen is how the situation in Myanmar is handled by the deadly militia but perhaps more importantly how the Rohingya refugees survive without a home and constantly depleting resources.
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