Political Considerations of the Rohingya Refugee Crisis and its Ramifications

According to the UNHCR, over a million Rohingya refugees have fled violence in Myanmar, most of them women and children who have almost nothing and are in great need. The Rohingya people, a stateless ethnic Muslim minority within Myanmar who are not recognized or protected by the Myanmar government, have encountered extreme persecution. The Rohingya are one of the most oppressed minority groups in the world and, in 2015, after half a century of frequent natural disasters, widespread infrastructural issues, and internal military tensions, Myanmar citizens of Rohingya ethnicity were forcibly displaced from the Rakhine state of Myanmar, primarily to Bangladesh. The crisis has had significant effects on international relations, and its effects on the political situations of both Myanmar and neighboring countries is large. A nationalist sentiment has risen which argues that Myanmar is not at fault, and other nations have agreed to offer temporary accommodation including Malaysia, Indonesia, Thailand and the Philippines. Even the United States has agreed to help as a part of its international efforts. However, some nations refuse to offer aid. This variance in international response prompts the question: to what extent can foreign intervention improve the political situation of the Rohingya refugees and of involved nations?

Burden-Sharing

Many in the field advocate that the most effective way to resolve the political rejection of the Rohingya is with support from other nations. Currently, according to the Center for Global Development, most refugees are living a set of camps in the Cox’s Bazar District, Bangladesh, where they are being supported by the government and by other organizations. Groups like the International Rescue Committee in the United States advocate for assistance to these refugees in the US, and similar efforts exist elsewhere to take the burden off  Bangladesh. Myriad articles and studies advocate for foreign assistance to accommodate these refugees. In one such study, S.R. Rashid argues that a context-specific solution is needed for these refugees, which uses political and economic burden sharing by more prosperous countries to enable refugee capacity building and restoration of civil, political, and human rights in Myanmar. However, there are difficulties involved with burden-sharing, specifically related to the influx of Rohingya into other nations. A study published by Iffat Idris, from the University of Birmingham, in Knowledge, Evidence, and Learning for Development, reveals that the influx of Rohingya refugees into Bangladesh has led to rising authoritarianism and extremism within radical Islamist groups, as well as holding the potential to fuel militancy in the region because refugees are vulnerable to recruitment by jihadist groups. As well, the prime minister benefited politically (and her party has gained popularity) from her position to accept these refugees, despite problems in the country due to backlash caused by nativist sentiment in response to the acceptance of the Rohingya. According to a study published in the Asian and Pacific Migration Journal by S.N. Parnini and her colleagues, tensions between Bangladesh and Myanmar are at an all-time high due to the crisis, which has strained Myanmar-Bangladesh relations. As well, political groups in Myanmar are using the suppression of the Rohingya to gain popularity.. If we dramatically increase the quantity of Rohingya that migrate to other nations, based on these developments it is likely that there will be further negative political ramifications.

Immediate Repatriation

Others have argued that the Rohingya people must be immediately brought back to their homeland in Myanmar’s Rakhine state through pressure from other nations. This solution aligns with the sentiment of the Rohingya people because, according to a study [pdf] by Ashraful Azad and Fareha Jasmin,  even young Rohingya want to return to Myanmar if they are safe and are able to do so with dignity. This solution may also decrease negative political ramifications in other nations such as Bangladesh who are hosting Rohingya  refugees.

However, a problem with immediate repatriation is the problem of continued violence even if there are attempts at foreign enforcement of peace. In a study published in the International Journal of Humanities and Social Science Studies K.M. Atikur Rahman argues that one of the prevailing root causes of the crisis is primordialism, which causes ethnic violence due to the fundamental denial of separate identities and citizenship. As well, distrust between ethnic groups breeds conflict, especially in settings where the allocation of resources is heavily disputed. Further, according to a study published by Ken Maclean in the Journal of Genocide Research, this crisis is part of a larger trend of persecution that began 40 years ago and will continue into the future. Thus, the problem facing the re-integration of the refugees in Myanmar is not one related to the actions of the Rohingya, but rather to persecution on account of their ethnicity, along with political trends in the region over time. Thus, no form of repatriation without resolving these issues will ultimately be effective.

Reconciliation and Integration Programs

Due to the fundamental problems of immediate repatriation, many argue that a “middleterm” solution must be implemented by foreign nations to bridge the ethnic gap in Myanmar while also decreasing negative political ramifications in other nations. According to the Center for Global Development, medium-term planning is critical, although safe, voluntary, and sustainable Rohingya return and repatriation to Myanmar is the best solution in the long run. As well, even if repatriation started immediately, the Center estimates that a large portion of the refugees would still be in refugee camps 10 years from now, due to the current political climate.

Nehginpao Kipgen argues that a promising way to accomplish this would be a reconciliation or integration program set up by the United Nations to create a safe “political environment where the Rohingya Muslims can fully participate in a multi-ethnic coalition government” in order to allow eventual voluntary repatriation, also facilitating needed infrastructural changes. However, the study concludes that this solution is only possible when the Rohingyas and Rakhines compromise and come together on their differences by respecting each other’s identity and culture. So, before repatriation is possible, we must first answer the root cause which has sparked this long-lasting humanitarian crisis. Part of this cause has become the unique Rohingya political identity and psychology of alienation formed by their social memory and life-politics, according to a study by Kazi Fahmida Farzana. An integration program must seek to restore the Rohingya political and psychological identity before repatriation.

Conclusion

The Rohingya people have been called the most friend-less people in the world, a result of differences in identity and culture which have caused complete exclusion from their home. Although there are myriad perspectives and proposed solutions, many agree that we must ultimately accomplish a complete, voluntary, and peaceful repatriation of the Rohingya people within the state of Myanmar. However, before this is possible, a middle-level solution must be implemented, for which a reconciliation and integration program shows great promise. The forced exclusion of the Rohingya people and their loss of political identity is one of the largest humanitarian crises in our contemporary world. Perhaps, in resolving this crisis by forgetting our own differences, we will find that which can unite all humanity.