Rohingya are a Muslim ethnic group living primarily in Burma and Bangladesh. [1] They have faced decades of persecution and discrimination. [2] The Burmese government considers them non-citizens and has restricted their basic rights. [3] Hundreds of thousands of Rohingya have fled to Bangladesh and other countries to escape abuse. [4] The Rohingya remaining in Burma continue to face human rights violations including rape, forced labor, and destruction of their villages. [5] Long term solutions require changes to government policy and improving community relations and living conditions. [6] International advocacy and support for Rohingya refugees can also help address this humanitarian crisis.

4. Rohingy
a
the forgotten people
Qolbi Lillah

5. Rohingya
Country of origin : Burma ,Arakan

7. Rohingya
Countries of residence
: Bangladesh, India,
Thailand, Malaysia,
China, UAE, Saudi
Arabia

8. Rohingya
Total population : approx 1.5 million in Burma,
approx 200,000 in Bangladesh

10. Rohingya
Language : Rohingyan, Bengali, Arakanese
Religion : Islam

11. Who are the Rohingyas? (1)
• The Rohingyas are one of the most persecuted
communities in the world.
Persecuted v.
meaning
to treat someone cruelly or
unfairly over a period of time,
especially because of their
religious or political beliefs:

14. Who are the Rohingyas? (2)
They have been living in the state
of Arakan since the 8th century.
They have been under extreme
scrutiny by the Burmese
government.
They haven't been recognised as
citizens of The Union of Burma
since Burmese independence in
1948, instead they are known as
'non citizens‘.

15. Why are the Rohingyas in
trouble? (3)
The Burmese Junta have discriminated the Rohingya,
because they are not similar in ….
o Looks
o speak a different language
o have a different religion.

16. Why are the Rohingyas in trouble? (4)
• As a means of clamping down on the Rohingya, the Junta
have restricted even the most basic of rights such as
education, marriage and citizenship.

22. Why are the Rohingyas in trouble? (5)
o The Burmese government endorse
the Burmese culture and the Buddhist
faith for their national citizens.
o But the Rohingyas fall
outside of this ideal criteria
because they want to retain
their own culture and the
Muslim faith.
o As a result, the Rohingyas, sidelined
and marginalised, have to live with
their derogatory national status of
'non-citizens‘.

24. The exodus
o Between 1978 and 1992, approximately 200,000 Rohingyas left
Burma to escape the tyranny of the Burmese military.
o Most of them moved to southern
Bangladesh where they remain as
refugees.
o In one of the most densely populated countries in the world,
life in Bangladesh proved just as hard as it did in Burma.

25. Situation in Bangladesh
o In Bangladesh, the Rohingyas are faced with hardly any
protection from their host country.
o A burden to the densely populated country, the Rohingyas are
denied humanitarian aid which forces them to turn to other
means of income such as drug trafficking.
o There is one registered camp situated meters away from the
registered camp where 90,000 refugees live.
o Another camp 15 miles away, in Leda Bazaar where approximately
25,000 Rohingya live, is where our focus has been.

27. Human rights abuses against the
Rohingyas in Burma (1)
• Human rights abuses against the Rohingyas in Burma.

28. Human rights abuses against
the Rohingyas in Burma (2)
• In 1962, the Rohingyas were
systematically denied of political,
civil, economic and social human
rights.
• Nowadays, the Rohingyas in Burma
cannot commute from one village to
another due to the security forces
known as 'Nasaka' who patrol their
• This affects their education and movement at various checkpoints.
access to medication.

29. Human rights abuses against
the Rohingyas in Burma (3)
• Rohingyas are denied citizenship
despite living in Arakan for centuries
because Muslims are portrayed as
'relics of a colonial past'.
• This stems from the fact that
Muslims supported the British
during the colonial period because
they were promised autonomy in
Rakhine previously known as
Arakan.

30. Human rights abuses against
the Rohingyas in Burma (4)
• Rohingyas have been subject to the systematic use of rape as
a weapon of war, forced labour, and land confiscation. Over
3,500 villages have been destroyed since 1996.

31. What is the best solution
for solving Rohingya issues ?
o This issue is very complex, we should try to deal with more
than simply government policy, but a cultural divide as well.
o The intolerance spans throughout the general populace, thus
you see violence against Rohingya, not only by authorities,
but by 'lynch mobs' as well.
o The answer is two-fold; government policy change, and
community development.
xenophobia (adj.)
o The government must set examples by integrating and or dislike of
strong fear
showing tolerance, while equally, improving living conditions
people from other
and industry in local communities. countries
o Community cohesiveness must include the Rohingyas, as opposed
to them, or any Muslim, being an easy targets for xenophobia.

32. What can we do for them? (1)
• Raise the Rohingya people issue in your local
communities, mosques, churches (and other
faith institutions) and gatherings.

33. What can we do for them? (2)
• Seek to meet with members from the
Rohingya communities in order to learn from
them directly.

35. What can we do for them? (3)
• Contribute to media
outlets including social
networks. In particular the
interfaith networks need to
be mobilized to ensure that
religious differences are
not abused by the ethnic
tensions

36. What can we do for them? (4)
• Lobby your local MP
and bring local
community pressure
on them about the
Rohingya people
issue.

37. What can we do for them? (5)
• Write letters of protest
to the Myanmar
Embassy: Myanmar
Embassy, Consulate
Section, 19A Charles
Street, Berkeley
Square,London W1J
5DX Tel.
02033974463.

38. What can we do for them? (6)
• Lobby the Bangladesh Embassy in London and
the Government to allow aid agencies to
continue to work with existing refugees.

39. What can we do for them? (7)
• Encourage and contribute to charitable fund
giving for the Rohingya people through
registered charities, e.g. Muslim Aid.

40. Refferences
o http://www.restlessbeings.org/projects/rohingya
o http://merhrom.wordpress.com/2012/07/31/news-
update-from-arakan-state/
o http://www.thestateless.com/2012/07/rohingya-say-
they-are-being-terrorized.html
o http://islamicforumeurope.com/images_uploaded/2
012/08/img3456.pdf

41. Thank you