The worsened situation with the pandemic and the coup
Humanity is proven yet again to remain in its infancy with the Rohingya struggling to date to attain the most basic human rights. Since the "clearance operations" that started on 25 August 2017 at the hands of the Myanmar military, hundreds of thousands of Rohingya have been tortured, beaten, killed, and subjected to many forms of sexual violence. All of which, stemming from years and years of religious intolerance and difference of faith.
During World War II in Myanmar, Rohingya Muslims were allied with the British in prospects of a Muslim state offered in return. They fought against local Rakhine Buddhists, who were allied with the Japanese. Following independence in 1948, the newly formed union government of the predominantly Buddhist country denied citizenship to the Rohingyas, subjecting them to extensive systematic discrimination in the country. This marked the beginning of a humanitarian crisis which has now resulted in the Rohingyas being described as one of the world’s most persecuted minorities.
In October 2016, a group of Rohingya fighters - called the Arakan Rohingya Salvation Army (ARSA) - staged attacks on border posts in northern Rakhine State, killing nine border officers and four soldiers. The Myanmar military, in retaliation, launched a crackdown, sweeping through the townships of northern Rakhine, razing villages, and driving away citizens, accumulating a population of 900,000 in refugee camps in Bangladesh.
Myanmar’s democratic government formed by Suu Kyi did not consider the Rohingya to be one of the country’s 135 officially recognised ethnic groups. Over decades, government policies stripped Rohingya of citizenship and enforced an apartheid-like system where they were isolated and marginalised. Further, a military coup that came into power in February 2021, has worsened matters. Rights groups draw a direct line between the February 2021 military coup, and impunity for atrocity crimes against the Rohingya as well as other ethnic groups through decades of conflicts. According to experts, the coup was also conducted to protect himself in his role as a military leader - his role in the brutal crackdown of the Rohingya people.
The swollen refugee camps of southern Bangladesh now have the population of a large city but little of the basic infrastructure. The coronavirus pandemic has magnified the problems and aid shortfalls. Rohingya communities in both Bangladesh and Myanmar are served by an overburdened health care system that lacks adequate equipment, human resources, and space to address a COVID-19 pandemic. The majority of Rohingya refugees live in camps with population densities of less than 15 square metres per person – far below the minimum international guidelines of 30 to 45 square metres per person. The risk of disease outbreaks is high in such crowded conditions. In Rakhine State, there are just two government-run health centres out of which neither are believed to have COVID-19 testing capacity.
Since the emergence of the pandemic, both Myanmar and Bangladesh have come under international and domestic pressure to enact measures that would protect the Rohingya from widespread infection. While a major COVID-19 outbreak has thus far been avoided, measures enforced during the pandemic - internet bans, limitations on humanitarian access, and the denial of free movement - risk further exacerbating the marginalization and exclusion of the Rohingya community.
The combination of the lockdown and the internet blockade has major ramifications for aid delivery. Critical services such as vaccination programs have been negatively impacted, and several camps have reported serious food, water, and wage shortages. Despite the announcement by Myanmar of a COVID-19 ceasefire, Rakhine and Chin states have notably been excluded. Journalists who have dared to write about the mounting violence afflicting civilians in Rakhine State have been subject to arrest, detention, and attacks, in a deliberate effort to suppress information on the worsening situation inside Rakhine State.
The Rohingya have been subject to gruesome violence, statelessness and discrimination, the pandemic is no exception. Despite major efforts from various organizations and aid groups, their condition outside and within the refugee camps remains dire. Ultimately, to end the plight of the Rohingya community practical solutions by mediation need to be realized through mutual understanding and cooperation.