Two months after Cyclone Mocha barreled ashore in Rakhine State, one ethnic group is feeling the brunt of the Myanmar junta’s indifference, the Muslim Rohingya.
A vast swathe of Rakhine State was hit by high winds and heavy rains that wrecked a large area of the state, ripping off building roofs, knocking down trees and power lines, and proving particularly destructive to the flimsy shelters used by internally displaced people or IDPs.
Many disadvantaged people are calling out for help, but there is one group that appears an outcast, not even on the junta’s list.
PERMISSION NOT GRANTED
An increasing number of reports indicate that the Military Council has not approved permission to renovate damaged Rohingya IDP camps and little or no basic humanitarian supplies are getting through.
“The military has not ratified the restoration of the damaged camps. Thus, the IDPs are staying under the tarpaulins and other possible places. It’s because almost all houses in the camp do not have roofs anymore. Since the restoration has not been granted, they are staying just like that,” an aid worker attempting to help Rohingya IDPs in Sittwe told Mizzima.
Those seeking resettlement, renovation, and relocation of the damaged IDP camps have to seek permission from the state government. However, it was reported that the Rakhine State government running under the military regime has not allowed the renovation until now, over two months after Cyclone Mocha. Now the winds and rain of the monsoon have set in.
Aid delivery to those in need after Cyclone Mocha has been sporadic at best, or deliberately blocked, but those at the wrong end of the stick are the Rohingya.
So far, according to local sources, the Rohingya IDPs have not received any support from the regime and the aid materials provided for the Rohingya refugee camps were said to have been confiscated by the administrative officials running under the Military Council, though this is hard to confirm.
ON THE GROUND
An aid worker on the ground in Rakhine State said the situation was difficult for the Rohingya IDPs.
“The government does not support rice or anything. In some places, tarpaulins are provided. Those tarpaulins were not given to the IDPs but kept by the administration. That incident happened at Kaung Oakkar Camp. To say an overall situation of the Rakhine State, it is certain that the IDPs do not receive as much as given by the military to others. The deliveries given by them are very rare too,” said the aid worker, preferring not to give his name.
There are 14 IDP Rohingya camps in Sittwe including Kaung Oakkar refugee camp, and all camps are reported to have not received permission for renovation yet.
Although international organizations including the United Nations asked consent from the Military Council to help the Rohingya IDPs, even before the cyclone, they have not received permission to provide aid. Also, even after the cyclone, the Military Council restricted the international organizations’ access to travel and help.
The restriction by the military regime on the international organizations regarding their access to travel is “an act of indifference” towards the Rohingya IDPs, the aid worker added.
“Mainly speaking, it is an act of treating IDPs disrespectfully and neglecting them. It’s because they know that the IDPs are relying on NGOs and INGOs. The fact that NGOs and INGOs are restricted means that they are stopping the aid reaching the IDPs. Some of the IDPs are struggling badly,” he noted.
SOME HELP
Despite the World Food Programme (WFP) providing 27,000 Kyat (approx. $13) a month per person to Rohingya IDPs, at least that is what is claimed, the unemployed Rohingya are facing difficulties in living due to rising commodity prices.
On 13 May, a day before Cyclone Mocha hit, military troops came warning the Rohingya IDP camps close to the sea to evacuate to a safe place. However, the military failed to provide enough accommodation for hundreds of thousands of Rohingya, according to local reports.
About 98 Rohingya refugees died in Sittwe Town due to Cyclone Mocha, according to a person compiling a list of casualties in the Rohingya camps after the storm hit. The deaths may have been due to drowning in the floodwaters. It is unclear how many of the casualties were women and children.
TROUBLED HISTORY
Myanmar’s “outcasts” are likely to be one of the most poorly treated minorities in the world.
About 153,000 Rohingya are living in relief camps in Rakhine State while about 1 million are taking refuge in Bangladesh refugee camps, the UN stated in September 2022.
Myanmar’s Rohingya have a troubled history marked by multiple waves of violence and persecution. The crisis for this ethnic group traces back to the 1970s when the Rohingya, an ethnic Muslim minority group in predominantly Buddhist Burma, faced systematic discrimination and denial of citizenship. General Ne Win’s military junta that came to power in 1962 exacerbated their plight by implementing oppressive policies that rendered them stateless and excluded them from basic rights, leading to sporadic violence and forced migration to neighbouring countries. Their circumstances were not helped by the Burma’s 1982 Citizenship Law that effectively made them non-citizens.
In the 1990s, the Rohingya crisis escalated further as the military regime intensified its crackdown on the community, resulting in mass exoduses of Rohingya refugees to Bangladesh and other neighbouring countries. Reports of widespread human rights abuses, including rape, killings, and destruction of villages, emerged, drawing international attention and condemnation.
The crisis reached a new peak in 2017 when a military-led campaign unleashed brutal violence against the Rohingya population in Rakhine State. The campaign was ostensibly in response to attacks by a Rohingya insurgent group the Arakan Rohingya Salvation Army or ARSA on security forces but resulted in a grossly disproportionate and indiscriminate use of force against civilians. Hundreds of villages were burned, and countless innocent lives were lost, leading to a massive refugee crisis as over 740,000 Rohingya fled to Bangladesh in search of safety.
The international community responded with outrage, branding the military's actions as ethnic cleansing and calling for accountability and justice. Humanitarian organizations worked to provide aid to the displaced Rohingya, while diplomatic efforts sought to pressure the Myanmar government to address the crisis and recognize the rights of the Rohingya people. A court case still languishes in The Hague, accusing the Myanmar military of crimes against humanity.
Despite these efforts, the Rohingya crisis remains unresolved, with many of this ethnic group still living in dire conditions as stateless refugees in Bangladesh and other countries, continuing to endure persecution.
What this means for most Rohingya today in Rakhine State is confinement in poorly supplied and maintained camps. Little wonder that Rohingya refugees in Bangladesh have so far rejected exploratory plans to resettle them in model villages in Rakhine State. These plans prevent the refugees returning to where they used to live, and to not supply them with Myanmar citizenship.
LIMITED FUNDS
Rohingya in Myanmar are arguably the most down-trodden ethnic group in Myanmar today. What this means is they appear to be the last on the list when it comes to the “troubled” humanitarian aid supply crisis post-Cyclone Mocha that has set off alarm bells.
Ongoing conflict and natural disasters are continuing to exacerbate humanitarian needs across Myanmar and there is the problem of under-funding.
Six months into 2023, the combined $886.7 million Humanitarian Response Plan and Cyclone Mocha Flash Appeals for Myanmar, remain critically underfunded, with only 17 per cent of the required funding received, as of 14 July, according to the UN.
Given the ongoing post-coup crisis in Myanmar, millions of people are living below the poverty line and are in need of help, a mix of various ethnic and religious groups. And bottom of the Myanmar junta’s priority list – if there is such a list – lay the blocked outcasts, the Rohingy.
