I had
written
earlier
about the sectarian strife in Rakhine state of Burma or Myanmar and
about the displaced refugees living in squalid camps in the capital
of Rakhine state, Sittwe. The situation in these camps has turned
from bad to worst and some of the refugees describe it as living
hell. In the two rounds of communal violence that erupted in Rakhine
in June and October, more than 115,000 people have been displaced and
scores have died in the conflict and whole villages, mainly those of
Rohingya Muslims, have been forced to flee their homes. United
Nation's under-secretary-general for humanitarian affairs and
emergency relief coordinator, Ms. Valerie Amos, who paid a visit
recently to some camps, describes the situation as greatly
concerning, with many people in overcrowded, unsanitary camps and
says; "They don't have jobs, children are not in school and they
can't leave the camp because their movement is restricted. The
situation is dire." Talking about the decades-old animosity
between Buddhists and Rohingya Muslims from Rakhine state, she added
that; "Tensions between the communities are still running very
high. People from both communities gave me the same message. They are
living in fear and want to go back to living a normal life. There is
an urgent need for reconciliation. The trust is not there. We need
the political leaders in Myanmar to support the important
humanitarian work being done by the United Nations and our partners."
Refugees trying to escape to Bangladesh
With
the living conditions so bad in these camps, it is no wonder that the
Rohingya Muslim inhabitants of these camps want to escape to anywhere
else with chance of better life. The neighbouring Bangladesh refuses
to allow these Muslims to enter, saying that they are Burmese
citizens. But Myanmar's 800,000 Rohingya are seen as illegal
immigrants, from neighboring Bangladesh, by the government and many
Burmese people also. The only country where they have some chance of
being accepted is Malaysia, which is a Muslim majority country.
United Nations’ refugee agency says that thousands have sought
refuge in Malaysia, a largely Muslim country that has a big Rohingya
population, estimated to number about 23,000. Recently, Malaysian's
rescued 40 Myanmar shipwreck survivors, who are thought to be Muslim
Rohingya and wear denied entry to Singapore.
With
the conditions in the Sittwe refugee camps, turning unbearable, more
and more refugees are trying to escape by any means and are ready to
take any risk. About a week ago, 500 refugees, who had allegedly paid
about $ 300 each to an agent in Rakhine state for a trip to Malaysia,
wear crammed on a rickety, 30-meter long junk boat and wear packed
off towards Malaysian island of Langkawi in Malacca straits.
However as the boat reached a point less than a Kilometer away from
Langkawi coastline, after a 15 day boat journey, the captain of the
ship ordered all the refugee travellers to jump off the boat, in the
sea. One man was killed after being hit by the boat’s propellers
when he jumped into sea. Balance of them somehow made it to the coast
after swimming a distance of 500 meters in the sea.
Malaysian
Police say that they have so far found 482 people, including the
captain of the vessel, and are still looking for a “handful” more
, hiding out on the northwestern island of Langkawi. The immigrants
have been handed over to the immigration department to be processed
at detentions centers nationwide with their future still uncertain.
This
group of Rohingya Muslims is believed to be one of the largest
groups to have reached Malaysia this year after fleeing sectarian
violence at home in Burma. This clearly shows how desperate the
situation has become for them. They have long been considered by the
United Nations as one of the most persecuted minorities on the
planet. Running away from Burma does not appear to be a solution for
these people. The United Nations have planned to provide a relief of
$69 Million for the displaced refugees over next nine months. They
must be resettled in Burma with UN help as quickly as possible.
3
January 2013
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