What is a refugee?
The UNHCR (officially the United Nations High Commission on Refugees but commonly referred to as the UN Refugee Agency) defines refugees this way:
- Refugees are people who have fled war, violence, conflict or persecution and have crossed an international border to find safety in another country.
Officially, the term refugee is defined in Article 1 of the 1951 Convention Relating to the Status of Refugees, which states, "For the purposes of the present Convention, the term 'refugee' shall apply to any person who … owing to well-founded fear of being persecuted for reasons of race, religion, nationality, membership of a particular social group or political opinion, is outside the country of his nationality and is unable or, owing to such fear, is unwilling to avail himself of the protection of that country; or who, not having a nationality and being outside the country of his former habitual residence as a result of such events, is unable or, owing to such fear, is unwilling to return to it”.
Refugees are often unable to take along their possessions. They may have to leave family members behind as there is not enough money for all to travel. Travel to the new country is often dangerous. Refugees may have to rely on "guides" who will offer to help them get to the other country (for a large fee) or they may have to travel across bodies of water in unsafe boats. Once in the new country, they may find that they placed into overcrowded camps as is the case of the Rohingya.
Burma or Myanmar?
As noted below, the Rohingya had been living in Myanmar (or is it Burma?) prior to their resettlement in Bangladesh.
In the past, the US still referred to the country as "Burma" even after the name change which occurred in 1989 following a military takeover. Other countries had followed suit, not using the new name as a form of protest against the takeover.
This article from the Associated Press points out that it really doesn't matter which name is used as they both mean the same thing: "In the Burmese language, “Myanmar” is simply the more formal version of “Burma.” The country’s name was changed only in English."
Why are the Rohingya in Bangladesh?
Who are the Rohingya?
The Rohingya, who are Muslim, are a minority population in modern-day Burma (also called Myanmar) who trace their roots back to the Kingdom of Arakan which was absorbed into Burma in the 1780's. Burma was invaded by Japan, then Great Britain during WW II, but gained independence by 1948. Two Rohingya served on the governing body in 1947 and all Rohingya were recognized as Burmese nationals by the first prime minister of Burma in 1954. They co-existed peacefully with their predominantly Buddhist neighbors until fairly recently with most living in Rakhine State.
What changed?
The military under General Ne Win seized power in 1962 and singled out a Rohingya language learning program by canceling it (programs other ethnic groups were not canceled). The rights and freedoms of the Rohingya people began being slowly stripped away. Other minority groups also saw their freedoms denied as well. By 1982, they were no longer considered citizens of Burma.
Years leading up to the latest crisis
In the late 1980's and early 1990's, the Rohingya were subjected to violent attacks by the military that included murder, assault, and rape as well as the destruction of homes and property. By 1992, more than 250,000 Rohingya had relocated to Bangladesh. By 1994, Rohingya infants were not granted birth certificates; the following year Rohingya were given "white cards" which were for identification purposes only.
The 2000's were marked by political upheaval throughout the country and rising nationalism. In 2014, ultra-nationalist monks found a pro-Buddhist movement that became extremely anti-Rohingya. The Rohingya lose their white cards, no longer having any form of identification. They are provided with new cards that identify them as immigrants from Bangladesh instead.
In 2016, the military began a new operation against the Rohingya in Rakhine State after several police posts were attacked and 9 officers killed. Multiple Rohingya were killed, women raped, and villages destroyed.
The watershed years: 2017 to present day
2017 marked the beginning of extensive violence toward the Rohingya. Following another attack by Rohingya against the police, the military cracked down on them, killing more than 9,000 and resulting in 700,000 to flee to Bangladesh.
Timelines
The US Holocaust Memorial Museum: "Burma's Path to Genocide"
- This site was used to create the abbreviated timeline above
Doctors Without Borders: Timeline: A visual history of the Rohingya refugee crisis
UNHCR: Rohingya Refugee Crisis Timeline (1990's forward)
- 100 days of horror and hope: A timeline of the Rohingya crisis (August-early November 2017)
Reuters: Timeline: Three years on, a look at the Rohingya crisis
Aljazeera: Timeline: How the crackdown on Myanmar’s Rohingya unfolded
Kutupalong refugee camp: The world's largest refugee camp
Kutupalong refugee camp (Wikipedia)
The Kutupalong refugee camp is one of two camps located in Cox's Bazar which is in the southeast corner of Bangladesh. The other camp is the Nayapara refugee camp; Rohingya are in both although Kutupalong is significantly larger than Nayapara.
A majority of the Rohingya in Bangladesh have come from Maungdaw township which is located in Rakhine State, located approximately 193 km or 110 miles from Kutupalong Refugee Camp as the crow flies.