Myanmar

The Refugee Crisis in Myanmar 

Myanmar is a country in South Asia near India

Google Map of South Asia

https://www.google.com/maps/@20.0813592,88.5708756,3.96z

Myanmar (also known as Burma)

In 1989, the ruling military junta changed the country's name from Burma to Myanmar.  The democracy movement in the country prefers Burma.  Both names are used and both have an extensive history of use within the country. Since the current government created the refugee problem, this site will use Myanmar (Me-Ann-Mar).

Rohingya Refugees

The Rohingya are a Muslim population living in a majority Buddhist country. In 2017, the Rohingya numbered about 1 million. The current government has denied them citizenship, does not recognize them as people, and is seeking to force them from Myanmar. They primarily live in Rakhine State near Bangladesh, a majority Muslim country.

After Rohingya militants attacked 30 police posts in 2017, the Myanmar government responded by destroying 288 Rohingya villages, while leaving non-Rohingya villages intact.  According to the UN, this created the "world's fastest growing refugee crisis."

"A brutal military response that failed to discriminate between militants and the general population, followed by continued insecurity and restrictions that have imperiled livelihoods, has driven more than 624,000 Rohingya into Bangladesh."

In November, 2017, Bangladesh and Myanmar signed a repatriation agreement for the Rohingya refugees.  However, most refugees are afraid to leave the camps to return to Myanmar.

“There are an estimated 3.5 millionRohingya dispersed worldwide.”

More refugees are fleeing Myanmar than are fleeing Syria

Life in the Largest Refugee Camp

Association of Southeast Asian States (ASEAN)

“The Rohingya crisis has become, in five years, a full-blown humanitarian crisis that has regional consequences.”

"The continuing Rohingya crisis has shown how ill-prepared the region is to deal with such a movement of refugees from one member state to others."

"ASEAN as yet lacks a Human Rights Court to interpret and enforce the ASEAN Human Rights Declaration, a further factor that must be remedied if the region's refugees including Rohingya are to be protected."

How Women and Children are Treated in the Camps

Rape is common

o   Rohingya women even have a song about it.

Rape can happen to anyone.

I am not happy for this rape.

Nobody is here to listen to me.

Rape is not my fault.

o   Clinics have painted symbols and code words for rape

Suicide is high among women

Women and children vulnerable to exploitation

o   Human trafficking

Children are malnourished

MSF has trained Rohingya women to help raise awareness in the camps about sexual violence.

Groups that Provide Aid to the Rohingya

BRAC
Action Against Hunger UNICEF Save the Children Doctors Without Borders [MSF] World Food Program

“While Bangladesh showed extraordinary generosity by opening its doors to the refugees, the future for the Rohingya community here remains uncertain. Countries in the region deny them any formal legal status, despite the fact that they are refugees and have been made stateless by Myanmar. They have limited access to justice to defend their rights.”

“The Rohingya remain forcibly confined to the camps, where they generally have poor access to clean water, latrines, health care, education, and job opportunities.”

The United States and Refugees

The Obama administration increasedthe number of refugees the United States accepts annually from all countries, from 85,000 infiscal year (FY) 2016 to 110,000 in FY 2017.

Trump has issued executive orders to cut the refugee admission ceiling for FY 2017 from 110,000 to 50,000, and to suspended the refugee resettlement program for 120 days.

In 2018, only 45,000 total refugees would be allowed.  The actual number is much smaller.

Refugees Accepted into the US from Myanmar/Burma

The Burmese Refugees group (in purple) is not limited to the Rohingya.

Burma in Turquoise

The US is providing aid to the Rohingya in the camps in Bangladesh, but has only taken in around 5000 Rohingya refugees since 2015.

 Enculturation and Acculturation: from Refugee to US Resident

The information in this site is not limited to Rohingya refugees.

Tensions Follow Rohingya Refugees to the United States

Attitudes of US Citizens Towards Refugees 

"We have seen an unfortunate rise in xenophobia..."
"Refugees are not terrorists. Refugees are not the enemy. But refugees are a convenient target because they do not possess the capacity to defend themselves."