Making money from the tragedy of Rohingyas

It is despicable when some unscrupulous, greedy men turn the plight of people into a business for making money. A report published in this paper yesterday revealed how some opportunist brokers are charging exorbitant amounts of money from Rohingyas to help them cross into Bangladesh.

The issue here is not one of whether Bangladesh should close its borders to the Rohingyas or not. We understand the horror of the situation of the Rohingyas in Myanmar, as the genocide against this minority continues unabated. The international silence is complicit in the mass murder and rape that the Rohingyas are victims to. And while we have previously said that Bangladesh should do what it can on humanitarian grounds, it cannot be the solution. (Courtesy of thedailystar.net)

Stop ethnic cleansing of Rohingyas, urges Malaysia

Wisma Putra has summoned the Myanmar ambassador to Malaysia over the escalation of violence in Myanmar’s Rakhine state resulting in the loss of innocent lives and displacement of thousands of people.

The Cabinet which met yesterday discussed the situation in Rakhine and directed Foreign Minister Da­­tuk Seri Anifah Aman to meet Myan­­mar State Counsellor and Fo­­reign Minister Aung San Suu Kyi as soon as possible.

In a statement issued by Wisma Putra yesterday, Malaysia condemned the escalation of violence and called on all parties involved to refrain from taking any action that would aggravate the situation.

The Myanmar Ambassador U Zaw Myint met the Foreign Minis­try’s deputy secretary-general (1) Datuk Shahrul Ikram Yakob yesterday. (Courtesy of thestar.com.my)

Myanmar's Rohingyas: Many go to Cox's Bazar, beyond

Three brothers -- Omar Farukh, Omar Khayer and Omar Sadeque -- were still in school uniform which had the logo of their school in Myanmar. The white shirts of the boys, aged between 8 and 10, became quite dirty as they had been wearing them for over a week.

On Friday night, they along with their mother, Shamsunnahar, 34, and three younger siblings reached the Nazirartek dry fish processing zone in Cox's Bazar town.

Their father, Hossain Ahmed, a farmer from Bar Gazobil village in Myanmar, has been missing since Myanmar police arrested him two weeks ago.

“We crossed the Naf river on Thursday morning and reached the fisheries project area near Rongikhali. There, BGB men stopped us and gave us food. Later that evening, they sent us back in our boat,” said Shamsunnahar. (Courtesy of thedailystar.net)

Buddhist leaders condemn atrocities on Rohingyas

Protesting the atrocities on the Rohingyas in Myanmar, leaders of Bangladesh Buddhist Federation today condemned the ongoing repression.

The Buddhists organisation also demanded the Myanmar government and authorities concerned to resolve the ongoing Rohingya issue immediately. (Courtesy of thedailystar.net)

Displaced Rohingya Children’s Lives at Risks as Deadly Infectious Diseases Surge

Hundreds of displaced Rohingya children’s lives are at grave risks as the deadly infectious diseases surge in northern Maungdaw, according to reliable sources.

Currently, hundreds of displaced Rohingya children in the region are suffering from diarrhea, disease like pneumonia-like disease and malnutrition. Three children were reported to have died at Dargyizar IDP camps on Friday.

At least 5 children get affected the infectious diseases daily at Dargyizar (Shudo Gozi Bil), Kyetyoepyin (Kiyari Ferang) and Pyaungpaik (Haant Gojja Fara) making the numbers of children infected by the diseases exceed 300 overall. Going by the unfolding situation, the lives of the children could well be at risks if they do not get access to healthcare.

The displaced Rohingyas hardly have any food and medicines as the Burmese government have blocked humanitarian access to the region since the army assaults (on the civilians) began on October 9. (Courtesy of rvisiontv.com)

The plight of the Rohingyas in Myanmar Time to act

In an op-ed piece I had written for this daily shortly after the historic elections in Myanmar in November 2015, I had expressed my fear that among all the euphoria that followed Aung San Suu Kyi's thumping victory, the fate of the disenfranchised and persecuted Rohingyas in Myanmar may continue to remain uncertain if the elected leadership fail to take concrete remedial steps in earnest. A year later, my fears are turning out to be true and in a worse form than what one would have thought.

The history of the sufferings of the Rohingyas in Myanmar is all too well known and is well documented. That the community had been socially marginalised and politically persecuted for long is also an established fact. One had been guardedly optimistic that a democratically elected government would make a sincere effort at rectifying the situation. However, as recent events show, things on the ground have turned for the worse; today the Rohingyas are being subjected to a systematic cycle of military repression that borders on ethnic cleansing, one that should bring back memories of the horrors the world witnessed helplessly in the Balkans in Europe over two decades back. Sadly, the victims in both cases have been Muslims. (Courtesy of thedailystar.net)

Death of a baby as unwanted Rohingya hunt for a home

Alam's short life ended on Saturday in a dark, tattered tent in Bangladesh, the Rohingya child's skeletal body succumbing to illness contracted while fleeing Myanmar where his stateless people are under attack.

He was six-months-old.

Alam died hours after arriving at a makeshift refugee camp close to Teknaf, the gateway to Cox's Bazar, a poor, densely populated coastal area already home to more than 230,000 Rohingya refugees.

But for the Rohingya, Bangladesh is far from a promised land.

So far little or no aid has been provided for the new arrivals, with Bangladeshi authorities fearing food, medicine and shelter will encourage more to cross the border. (Courtesy of msn.com)