137-631: The Rohingya people ( / r oʊ ˈ h ɪ n dʒ ə , - ɪ ŋ j ə / ; Rohingya : 𐴌𐴗𐴥𐴝𐴙𐴚𐴒𐴙𐴝 (romanization: ruáingga), IPA: [rʊˈɜi̯ɲ.ɟə] ) are a stateless ethnic group who predominantly follow Islam and reside in Rakhine State , Myanmar . Before the Rohingya genocide in 2017, when over 740,000 fled to Bangladesh, an estimated 1.4 million Rohingya lived in Myanmar. Described by journalists and news outlets as one of
274-424: A "joint working group" for the repatriation of Rohingya refugees who had fled to Bangladesh. The governments of Myanmar and Bangladesh signed a memorandum of understanding on 23 November 2017 regarding the repatriation of Rohingya refugees to Rakhine State. Bangladesh's Foreign Minister stated that a joint working group composed of UNHCR and members of both nations was to be established within three weeks to fix
411-782: A Rohingya rebel attack that killed 12 security forces on 25 August 2017, the Myanmar military launched "clearance operations" against the Rohingya Muslims in Rakhine state that, according to NGOs, the Bangladeshi government and international news media, left many dead, and many more injured, tortured or raped, with villages burned. The government of Myanmar has denied the allegations. The modern term Rohingya emerged from colonial and pre-colonial terms Rooinga and Rwangya . The Rohingya refer to themselves as Ruáingga /ɾuájŋɡa/ . In Burmese they are known as rui hang gya (following
548-633: A South African anti-apartheid activist . The most recent mass displacement of Rohingya in 2017 led the International Criminal Court to investigate crimes against humanity, and the International Court of Justice to investigate genocide . The Rohingya maintain they are indigenous to western Myanmar with a heritage of over a millennium and influence from the Arabs , Mughals , and Portuguese . The community claims it
685-422: A challenge in the refugee camps due to a shortage in supplies, space, and staff. This integration continues to be a goal and efforts towards program implementation and training of healthcare professionals in the field have been an area of focus. However, the increases in the camp population, especially during the rapid population influx of an estimated 700,000 in 2017, only exacerbated these challenges. Furthermore,
822-460: A concerning number of cases reported involving "explosive anger, psychotic-like symptoms, somatic or medically unexplained symptoms, impaired function and suicidal ideation," along with a documented history of reported high anxiety, hypervigilance, depression, and appetite loss within the population. Relatedly, screening 958 refugees in Kutupalong camp in 2022 for mental health issues resulted in
959-644: A condition resulting from starvation and malnutrition. Infants under 6 months are among the most vulnerable and have malnutrition rates near 50%. This is in part due to mothers lack of ability to provide breast milk due to their own lack of nutrition. Refugees are dependent on humanitarian aid and while efforts to combat malnutrition are underway, there is still an alarming rate of malnutrition. Efforts in Bangladesh and other surrounding countries by UNICEF, Action Against Hunger and other aid relief are helping to provide food and water. Rohingya refugee children are facing
1096-672: A considerable portion of the population to central Burma, leaving Arakan a scarcely populated area by the time the British occupied it. According to an article on the " Burma Empire" published by the British Francis Buchanan-Hamilton in 1799, "the Mohammedans , who have long settled in Arakan ", "call themselves Rooinga , or natives of Arakan ". However, according to Derek Tokin, Hamilton no longer used
1233-410: A consonant then the article is the end-consonant plus án or wá for singular or ún or ín for plural. 3. If a noun ends with r , then the article is g plus án or wá for singular or ún or ín for plural. gún is used for human and gín for non-human. Indefinite articles can be used either before or after the noun. Uggwá usually is used for roll/round/fatty shaped objects and ekkán
1370-509: A few Rohingya trace their ancestry to Muslims who lived in Arakan in the 15th and 16h centuries, most Rohingyas arrived with the British colonialists in the 19th and 20th centuries. Most have argued that Rohingya existed from the four waves of Muslim migrations from the ancient times to medieval, to the British colony. Gutman (1976) and Ibrahim (2016) claiming that the Muslim population dates before
1507-712: A focus for grass-roots Burmese nationalism, and in the years 1930–31 there were serious anti-Indian disturbances in Lower Burma, while 1938 saw riots specifically directed against the Indian Muslim community. As Burmese nationalism increasingly asserted itself before the Second World War, the 'alien' Indian presence inevitably came under attack, along with the religion that the Indian Muslims imported. The Muslims of northern Arakan were to be caught in
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#17327658923351644-574: A guerrilla sanctuary. In 2015 the government of Bangladesh proposed a relocation plan for the Rohingya refugees in Bangladesh to the remote island of Bhasan Char in the Bay of Bengal . The plan was pushed back following criticism by human rights activists and the UNHCR . Between October and November 2016, about 65,000 Rohingya refugees arrived from Myanmar. The government of Bangladesh decided to revive
1781-453: A high risk of death considering the WHO refers to malnutrition as critical issue when rates reach 15%. Acute malnutrition in the refugees exceeds levels between 24.5% and 26.5%. Malnutrition is well above emergency levels. Of the thousands of children that have fled to Bangladesh, chronic malnutrition is prevalent in around 60% of Rohingya children in Bangladesh. There are many factors that play
1918-630: A historian at Kanda University in Japan, has written that as a consequence of acquiring arms from the British during World War II, Rohingyas tried to destroy the Arakanese villages instead of resisting the Japanese. Chan agrees that hundreds of Muslims fled to northern Arakan, though states that the accounts of atrocities on them were exaggerated. In March 1942, Rohingyas from northern Arakan killed around 20,000 Arakanese. In return, around 5,000 Muslims in
2055-446: A lack of trust in medical personnel and practices, as well as barriers to transportation. Women also tend to be less independently mobile within their communities compared to men. Women and girls usually receive information on sexual and reproductive health through elderly women within the population and although this can be helpful, very often false information is given to people about reproductive health. Having limited participation with
2192-653: A mass exodus of up to an estimated 900,000 refugees to date. The traumatic events that have occurred in Rakhine State included burning of villages, arrests, torture, sexual assault, and loss of family and livelihoods. Major agencies involved with mental health response for the Rohingya in Bangladesh include: The Bangladesh government (Ministry of Health and Ministry of Women and Children), UN agencies (IOM, UNHCR , UNICEF ), International NGOs (Terre des hommes, ACF, Danish Refugee Council, Handicap International, International Rescue Committee, MSF, Relief International, Save
2329-429: A memorandum of understanding regarding the repatriation of Rohingya refugees, the details of which were kept secret until they were leaked online on 29 June 2018. The agreement was immediately criticised and rejected by Rohingya leaders, who say it does not address the concerns of their community. Since the rapid influx of Rohingya refugees into Bangladesh began in 2017, public health officials have been concerned that
2466-441: A myriad of health issues among the refugees would arise. As predicted, mental health has deteriorated, food- and water-borne diseases are spreading, infectious diseases are emerging, malnutrition is prevalent, and reproductive health for women and girls must be addressed. The major health problems prevailing among Rohingya refugees are unexplained fever, acute respiratory infections, and diarrhea. Rohingya camps also experienced
2603-549: A quarter million per year. The numbers rose steadily until the peak year of 1927, immigration reached 480,000 people, with Rangoon exceeding New York City as the greatest immigration port in the world. This was out of a total population of only 13 million; it was equivalent to the United Kingdom today taking 2 million people a year." By then, in most of the largest cities in Burma, Rangoon , Akyab , Bassein and Moulmein ,
2740-552: A referral rate of 20.46%. The referral rate was unevenly distributed between women (17.56%) and men (30.27%). Both groups commonly reported stressors such as cramped living conditions, idleness, breakup of extended families and uncertainty about the future, but women were more often subject to being housebound and domestic violence, and men more often reported issues related to a lack of earning opportunities and joblessness. Factors causing these mental health concerns appear to involve not only daily stressors of refugee living situations and
2877-444: A registered Rohingya refugee born in Bangladesh, was expelled from Cox's Bazar International University, where she was studying law, because refugees were not allowed to attend educational institutions. As of 2020, approximately one-third of refugee Rohingya children were able to access primary education , primarily through temporary centers run by international organizations. UNICEF runs approximately 1,600 learning centers across
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#17327658923353014-418: A registered camp's clinic between 25 August and 2 December 2017. There were also 15 reported deaths due to AWD during that time. The threat of food- and water-borne diseases is especially concerning among vulnerable populations, including children and pregnant women. In official camps, 40% of children less than 5-years-old, have been infected with a diarrheal disease. The prevalence of diarrheal symptoms within
3151-621: A result of British policy or they were a new migrant population with no ancestral roots to Arakan. The British census of 1872 reported 58,255 Muslims in Akyab District. By 1911, the Muslim population had increased to 178,647. The waves of migration were primarily due to the requirement of cheap labour from British India to work in the paddy fields. Immigrants from Bengal, mainly from the Chittagong region, "moved en masse into western townships of Arakan". Albeit Indian immigration to Burma
3288-440: A role in the alarming rates of malnutrition among Rohingya refugee children including food security, infectious disease, poor sanitary conditions and contaminated water. Food security is a specific concern since only 6% of refugees report having acceptable food consumption scores. There are still refugees arriving at Cox's Bazar from Myanmar, creating an even greater lack of already very limited resources. A major upcoming concern for
3425-521: A staggering 90% of female refugees have been victims of rape. Many victims of rape at the hands of soldiers are killed because of their race. Gender inequalities and marginalization of women are additional reasons for the high rates of violence against women. Child marriage is a common practice among the Rohingya. There is also a lack of legal procedures for marriage in the camps that refugees are placed in. Very often marriages are based on dowries and arranged marriages tend to happen early for girls within
3562-627: A strain on its infrastructure. The refugees lack access to services, education, food, clean water, and proper sanitation; they are also vulnerable to natural disasters and infectious disease transmission. As of June 2018, World Bank announced nearly half a billion dollars in monetary support to help Bangladesh address Rohingya refugees' needs in areas including health, education, water and sanitation, disaster risk management, and social protection. On 1 March 2019, Bangladesh announced that it would no longer accept Rohingya refugees. An August 2018 study estimated that more than 24,000 Rohingya were killed by
3699-557: A sudden outbreak of diphtheria in November 2017 and a measles outbreak in December 2017-April 2018. Mental health problems like post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD), depression, and suicidal thoughts were also prevalent in the Rohingya community. More than half of the Rohingya refugees are women, and many of them do not have access to quality antenatal care while pregnant. In humanitarian crises, mental health responses typically follow
3836-448: A threat to the Rohingya refugees are cholera , hepatitis A , hepatitis E , and typhoid . Currently, diarrheal diseases contribute significantly to health morbidity in the Rohingya camps. Approximately 8% of morbidity among Rohingya refugees is attributable to acute watery diarrhea (AWD), and the prevalence of AWD among individuals who seek clinical care is 22%. According to the UNHCR , 63,750 Rohingya refugees suffering from AWD visited
3973-401: A vowel lengthens it. Thus, tonals are marked by arranging the location of a stressed vowel in a lengthened pair, like ⟨aá⟩ and ⟨áa⟩ . 1. If a noun ends with a vowel then the article is either an or wa if singular, or un or in if plural or uncountable. Usually wa is used for round-fatty objects, and an for flat-thin objects. 2. If a noun ends with
4110-789: Is Subject–Time-Place-Object–Verb . Ibá I beínna Rohingya refugees in Bangladesh Rohingya refugees in Bangladesh mostly refer to forcibly displaced Myanmar nationals from Myanmar who are living in Bangladesh . The Rohingya people have experienced ethnic and religious persecution in Myanmar for decades. Hundreds of thousands have fled to other countries in Southeast Asia, including Malaysia, Indonesia, and Philippines. The majority have escaped to Bangladesh, where there are two official, registered refugee camps. Recently violence in Myanmar has escalated, so
4247-723: Is 20, according to the Minimum Standards in Humanitarian response. In the Rohingya refugee camps in Bangladesh, the actual prevalence of latrines is one latrine for 37 individuals. Clean water is also in demand for the Rohingya refugees. Many people draw from nearby rivers for drinking water, but these rivers are also sources of bathing and open defecation, especially in unofficial Rohingya camps. Contamination of these rivers and latrines by harmful pathogens becomes an even greater risk during monsoon seasons for Rohingya camps in both Myanmar and Bangladesh. Poor infrastructure in
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4384-423: Is a large concern. As of February 2018, there have been 5,710 reported cases and 35 reported deaths due to diphtheria. Mass vaccination efforts to stop the spread of diphtheria have been difficult due to cultural barriers and hesitation of the Rohingya. However, steps are being taken by public health officials to understand these barriers and to better the Rohingya's understanding of vaccination in hopes of increasing
4521-705: Is an Indo-Aryan language spoken by the Rohingya people of Rakhine State , Myanmar . It is an Eastern Indo-Aryan language belonging to the Bengali–Assamese branch, and is closely related to the Chittagonian language spoken in neighbouring Bangladesh . The Rohingya and Chittagonian languages have a high degree of mutual intelligibility. Rohingya has primarily the following 25 native consonant phonemes. There are some other consonant phonemes which are from foreign languages such as Arabic, Bengali, Burmese and Urdu. There are six vowels and several diphthongs in
4658-488: Is descended from people in precolonial Arakan and colonial Arakan ; historically, the region was an independent kingdom between Southeast Asia and the Indian subcontinent . The Myanmar government considers the Rohingya as British colonial and postcolonial migrants from Chittagong in Bangladesh. It argues that a distinct precolonial Muslim population is recognized as Kaman , and that the Rohingya conflate their history with
4795-460: Is for thin/flat shaped objects. Rohingya word order-1 is Subject–Object–Verb . Añí I bát rice hái eat. Añí bát hái I rice eat. Ite He TV TV saá watches. Ite TV saá He TV watches. Ibá She sairkél bicycle soré rides. Ibá sairkél soré She bicycle rides. Itará They ham ot to work za go. Itará {ham ot} za They {to work} go. Rohingya word order-2
4932-541: Is not clear who the original settlers of Arakan were. Burmese traditional history claims that the Rakhine have inhabited Arakan since 3000 BCE but there is no archaeological evidence to support the claim. By the 4th century, Arakan became one of the earliest Indianized kingdoms in Southeast Asia. The first Arakanese state flourished in Dhanyawadi . Power then shifted to the city of Waithali . Sanskrit inscriptions in
5069-612: Is scant historical data and archaeological evidence about the early political and religious history of the Arakan people and the Rakhaing region. The limited evidence available suggests that Buddhism, possibly the Mahayana tradition, was well established by the 4th-century in the region under the Candra Buddhist dynasty. Muslim community's expansion and the growth of Islam into the region came much later with Bengali Muslims from
5206-415: Is the easternmost point of Islamic expansion, not to say further into Arakan. The alternate view contests that Islam arrived in the Arakan region in the 1st-millennium. According to this view, this Rohingya history is not based on any evidence, rather is based on "fictitious stories, myths and legends". According to Southeast Asian Buddhism history scholar and an ordained Buddhist monk Ashon Nyanuttara, there
5343-488: Is worry that outbreaks of vaccine-preventable diseases, such as polio, measles, and tetanus, will occur if living conditions are not improved. But the UN and the WHO, along with Bangladesh Government, were quick to begin mass vaccination of the population. Measles outbreak is a dangerous threat and in 2017, the WHO announced that 136,000 children under 15 years of age were vaccinated against measles and rubella. An oral polio vaccine
5480-570: The 1956 Burmese general election and subsequent by-elections. Sultan Mahmud , a former politician in British India, became Minister of Health in the cabinet of Prime Minister of Burma U Nu . In 1960, Mahmud suggested that either Rohingya-majority northern Arakan remain under the central government or be made a separate province. However, during the 1960 Burmese general election , Prime Minister U Nu's pledges included making all of Arakan into one province. The 1962 Burmese coup d'état ended
5617-567: The Arakan Mountains in the 9th century. The Rakhines established numerous cities in the valley of the Lemro River . These included Sambawak I, Pyinsa, Parein, Hkrit, Sambawak II, Myohaung, Toungoo and Launggret. Burmese forces invaded the Rakhine cities in 1406. The Burmese invasion forced Rakhine rulers to seek help and refuge from neighbouring Bengal in the north. Early evidence of Bengali Muslim settlements in Arakan date back to
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5754-730: The British Raj . In 1799, Francis Buchanan wrote an article called "A Comparative Vocabulary of Some of the Languages Spoken in the Burma Empire", which was found and republished by Michael Charney in the SOAS Bulletin of Burma Research in 2003. Among the native groups of Arakan, he wrote are the: " Mohammedans , who have long settled in Arakan , and who call themselves Rooinga , or natives of Arakan ." The Classical Journal of 1811 identified "Rooinga" as one of
5891-569: The Imperial Japanese Army (IJA) invaded British-controlled Burma . The British forces retreated and in the power vacuum left behind, considerable inter-communal violence erupted between Arakanese and Muslim villagers. The British armed Muslims in northern Arakan in order to create a buffer zone that would protect the region from a Japanese invasion when they retreated and to counteract the largely pro-Japanese ethnic Rakhines . The period also witnessed violence between groups loyal to
6028-602: The Kaladan River . The Mughals placed the northern part of Arakan under its administration and vassalage. Following the Konbaung Dynasty 's conquest of Arakan in 1785, as many as 35,000 people of the Rakhine State fled to the neighbouring Chittagong region of British Bengal in 1799 to escape persecution by the Bamar and to seek protection under the British Raj . The Bamar executed thousands of men and deported
6165-527: The Legislative Council of Burma and Legislature of Burma . During the 1936 Burmese general election , Advocate U Pho Khaine was elected from Akyab West and Gani Markan was elected from Maungdaw - Buthidaung . In 1939, U Tanvy Markan was elected from Maungdaw-Buthidaung. Their elections in the Burmese native category set them apart from immigrant Indian legislators. During World War II,
6302-561: The MLC Transcription System ) ( Burmese : ရိုဟင်ဂျာ /ɹòhɪ̀ɴd͡ʑà/ ) while in Bengali they are called Rohingga ( Bengali : রোহিঙ্গা /ɹohiŋɡa/ ). The term "Rohingya" may come from Rakhanga or Roshanga , the words for the state of Arakan . The word Rohingya would then mean "inhabitant of Rohang", which was the early Muslim name for Arakan. The usage of the term Rohingya has been historically documented prior to
6439-569: The Minbya and Mrauk-U Townships were killed by Rakhines and Red Karens . As in the rest of Burma, the IJA committed acts of rape, murder and torture against Muslims in Arakan. During this period, some 22,000 Muslims in Arakan were believed to have crossed the border into Bengal , then part of British India, to escape the violence. The exodus was not restricted to Muslims in Arakan. Thousands of Burmese Indians, Anglo-Burmese and British who settled during
6576-735: The Persian alphabet on the other. Arakan's vassalage to Bengal was brief. After Sultan Jalaluddin Muhammad Shah 's death in 1433, Narameikhla's successors invaded Bengal and occupied Ramu in 1437 and Chittagong in 1459. Arakan would hold Chittagong until 1666. Even after independence from the Sultans of Bengal, the Arakanese kings continued the custom of maintaining Muslim titles. The Buddhist kings compared themselves to Sultans and fashioned themselves after Mughal rulers. They also continued to employ Muslims in prestigious positions within
6713-481: The Silk Road connected India, Burma, and China since the neolithic period. Arab traders are recorded in the coastal areas of southeast Bengal, bordering Arakan, since the 9th century. The Rohingya population trace their history to this period. According to Syed Islam, the earliest Muslim settlements in the Arakan region began in the 7th-century. The Arab traders were also missionaries and they began converting
6850-494: The V Force , instead of fighting the Japanese, destroyed Buddhist monasteries, pagodas, and houses, and committed atrocities in northern Arakan. The British Army 's liaison officer , Anthony Irwin, on the other hand, praised the role of the V Force. During the Pakistan Movement in the 1940s, Rohingya Muslims in western Burma organised a separatist movement to merge the region into East Pakistan . The commitments of
6987-487: The 1950s to create "an autonomous Muslim zone" in Rakhine. The government of Prime Minister U Nu , when Burma was a democracy from 1948 to 1962, used the term "Rohingya" in radio addresses as a part of peace-building effort in Mayu Frontier Region. The term was broadcast on Burmese radio and was used in the speeches of Burmese rulers. A UNHCR report on refugees caused by Operation King Dragon referred to
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#17327658923357124-1024: The Bangladesh curriculum as it does not want them to integrate in the country. Rohingya children could learn in Bengali easily because their native language is similar to the Chittagongian dialect of Bengali . The only languages permitted in the learning centres of Rohingya refugee camps in Bangladesh are English , Burmese , and Arabic . On 13 December 2021, the Refugee Relief and Repatriation Commissioner announced that private schools in Rohingya camps are illegal as they lack government approval and must be shut down. Since then, government authorities have shut down multiple such community-based and home-based learning centres, including schools teaching Myanmar curriculum, and confiscated their assets. Some of these schools were created because UNICEF-run primary schools did not serve children between ages 14 and 18. The shutdowns are viewed as dangerous for
7261-509: The Bangladeshi government has relocated nearly 20,000 Rohingya refugees to Bhasan Char since December 2020. The government says the relocation is needed because the mainland refugee camps are getting too crowded, and that only refugees who volunteer are being moved. In 2023, a growing number of Rohingya refugees fled the overcrowded camps of Cox's Bazar on Bangladesh's southeast coast and traveled in flimsy boats 1,800 kilometers (1,120 miles) south to Indonesia due to deplorable living conditions in
7398-559: The British and the Burmese nationalists. The Arakan massacres in 1942 involved communal violence between British-armed V Force Rohingya recruits and pro-Japanese Rakhines , polarising the region along ethnic lines. Tensions boiling in Arakan before the war erupted during the Japanese invasion of Southeast Asia and Arakan became the frontline in the conflict. The war resulted in a complete breakdown of civil administration and consequent development of habits of lawlessness exacerbated by
7535-465: The British regarding the status of Muslims after the war are not clear. V Force officers like Andrew Irwin felt that Muslims along with other minorities must be rewarded for their loyalty. Muslim leaders believed that the British had promised them a "Muslim National Area" in Maungdaw region. They were also apprehensive of a future Buddhist-dominated government. In 1946, calls were made for annexation of
7672-687: The Burmese army. It was transferred to the Ministry of Home Affairs in 1964 by the Union Revolutionary Council . The socialist military government inducted the zone into Arakan State in 1974. Racism towards people with links to the Indian subcontinent increased after the 1962 Burmese coup. The socialist military government nationalised all property, including many enterprises of the white collar Burmese Indian community. Between 1962 and 1964, 320,000 Burmese Indians were forced to leave
7809-572: The Burmese conquest. The Arakanese continued their raids of Mughal Bengal. Dhaka was raided in 1625. Emperor Aurangzeb gave orders to his governor in Mughal Bengal, Shaista Khan , to end what the Mughals saw as Arakanese-Portuguese piracy . In 1666, Shaista Khan led a 6000 man army and 288 warships to seize Chittagong from the Kingdom of Mrauk U. The Mughal expedition continued up till
7946-917: The Children, World Concern), National NGOs (BRAC, Gonoshasthaya Kendra, Mukiti), and Red Cross Societies (Danish Red Cross, International Federation of the Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies). Mental health workers and some specialists have been deployed, but mental health service delivery continues to be problematic and there is a recognized gap in services. Efforts since the beginning of the crisis have focused on providing basic psychosocial training and non-specialized community interventions, including training in Psychological First Aid. Integrating MHPSS interventions and awareness in primary healthcare services have also been problematic, as providing adequate access to basic health services itself has been
8083-510: The Cox's Bazar region of Bangladesh are at risk for mental health issues due to a wide variety of factors, including prior history of systematic dehumanization, persecution, having witnessed or experienced traumatic events, and daily stressors of remaining in a refugee settlement. The history of the Rohingya located in the Rakhine State of Myanmar includes protracted social and economic exclusion, which ultimately escalated to extreme violence resulting in
8220-922: The IASC pyramid of Mental Health and Psychosocial Services (MHPSS). Ideally, different levels of care are to be provided to best serve communities, as well as individuals. The philosophy behind this model maintains that individual psychological treatment and broad social interventions are both essential to overall mental wellbeing and resilience. It also acknowledges that most of a population requires minimal psychosocial interventions to improve or prevent adverse mental health outcomes, which can be facilitated by mental health workers. But those who experience impaired functioning due to severe emotional distress or who require pharmaceutical treatment for an existing or developing condition would require more specialized services facilitated my more highly trained professionals, such as psychiatrists and psychologists. The Rohingya refugees settled in
8357-625: The Indian immigrants formed a majority of the population. All of Burma was officially a Province within the British Indian Empire ('the Raj') from November 1885 until 1937, when Burma became a separate Crown colony within the British Empire . The Burmese under British rule felt helpless, and reacted with a "racism that combined feelings of superiority and fear". Professor Andrew Selth of Griffith University writes that although
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#17327658923358494-603: The Myanmar military and local Buddhists militia since the "clearance operations" started on 25 August 2017. It also estimated that at least 18,000 Rohingya Muslim women and girls were raped, 116,000 Rohingya were beaten, and 36,000 Rohingya were thrown into fires set alight in an act of deliberate arson. On March 5, 2023, a massive fire broke out in the Balukhali camp in Cox's Bazar district, leaving an estimated 12,000 people without shelter. No casualties have been reported, but
8631-693: The Myanmar security forces have been conducting " summary executions , enforced disappearances, arbitrary arrests and detentions, torture and ill-treatment, and forced labour " against the community. Before the 2015 Rohingya refugee crisis and the military crackdown in 2016 and 2017 , the Rohingya population in Myanmar was close to 1.4 million, chiefly in the northern Rakhine townships, which were 80–98% Rohingya. Since 2015, over 900,000 Rohingya refugees have fled to south-eastern Bangladesh alone, and more to other surrounding countries, and major Muslim nations. More than 100,000 Rohingyas in Myanmar are confined in camps for internally displaced persons . Shortly before
8768-423: The Rohingya as ethnic cleansing . The UN human rights envoy to Myanmar reported "the long history of discrimination and persecution against the Rohingya community... could amount to crimes against humanity ", and there have been warnings of an unfolding genocide . Probes by the UN have found evidence of increasing incitement of hatred and religious intolerance by "ultra-nationalist Buddhists" against Rohingyas while
8905-517: The Rohingya before research and a substandard understanding of cultural idioms of distress. This allows for possible misinterpretation of mental health concerns. Multiple involved agencies have recommended further evaluation into cultural idioms of distress, validity of results and continued research. Poor infrastructure and sanitation in refugee camps place the Rohingya at increased risk for food- and water-borne diseases. The recommended number of residents per latrine to reduce risk for waterborne disease
9042-450: The Rohingya language. They contrast between "open-o" ( [ ɔ ] ) and "closed-o" ( [ o ] ) by using the different spellings ⟨o⟩ / ⟨ó⟩ and ⟨ou⟩ / ⟨óu⟩ respectively. According to another, [ o ] is interpreted instead as a diphthong [ɔu] , leaving only 5 vowels. Accented vowels, marked with an acute accent , represent stressed (or "hard" vowels), and repeating
9179-822: The Rohingya population was breastfeeding. On average, Rohingya women will give birth to 3.8 children in their lifespan and will breastfeed for a total of 6.9 years. A large increase in childbearing has been seen and breastfeeding-safe regions have become very limited and overcrowded for women as a result. As well as having limited space to participate in breastfeeding, many mothers are not given accurate information on proper feeding practices. Bangladesh's government has prohibited Rohingyas from being formally educated outside their camps. The policy also applies to those born and raised in Bangladesh (they are not issued birth certificates). Some refugees have concealed their identity to access formal education. Many such students have been expelled after government notices. In 2019, Rahima Akter,
9316-542: The Rohingya-majority northern areas of Arakan existed between 1961 and 1964. Known as the Mayu Frontier District , the zone was set up by Prime Minister U Nu after the 1960 Burmese general election, on the advice of his health minister Sultan Mahmud. The zone was administered directly from Rangoon by the national government. After the Burmese military coup in 1962, the zone was administered by
9453-548: The Rohingyas who were displaced by World War II and began to return to Arakan after the independence of Burma but were rendered as illegal immigrants, while many were not allowed to return. ICG adds that there were "some 17,000" refugees from the Bangladesh liberation war who "subsequently returned home". On 25 September 1954, the then Prime Minister U Nu in his radio address to the nation talked about Rohingya Muslims’ political loyalty to predominantly Buddhist Burma. This usage of
9590-478: The U.N. Special Rapporteur on human rights in Myanmar has agreed. Jacques Leider writes that many Muslims in Rakhine simply prefer to call themselves "Muslim Arakanese" or "Muslims coming from Rakhine" instead of "Rohingya". The United States embassy in Yangon continues to use the name "Rohingya". The Rohingya population is concentrated in the historical region of Arakan , an old coastal country in Southeast Asia. It
9727-511: The abandonment of even more of the Muslim population as well as an increase in inter-communal violence. Moshe Yegar, a research fellow at Truman Institute, Hebrew University of Jerusalem , noted that hostility had developed between the Muslims and the Buddhists who had brought about a similar hostility in other parts of Burma. This tension was let loose with the retreat of the British. With
9864-409: The ages of 15 and 18 years old. Currently, there are approximately 19 facilities within the refugee camps that help give access to reproductive healthcare, however, there is a growing need for services and support for reproductive health issues. Another factor contributing to the health of Rohingya women is the ability to breastfeed infants and availability of spaces to do so. As of 2017, about 8.3% of
10001-411: The approach of the Japanese into Arakan, the Buddhists instigated cruel measures against the Muslims. Thousands, though the exact number is unknown, fled from Buddhist-majority regions to eastern Bengal and northern Arakan with many being killed or dying of starvation. The Muslims in response conducted retaliatory raids from British-controlled areas, causing Buddhists to flee to southern Arakan. Aye Chan,
10138-426: The arrival of ethnic Rakhine in the 9th to 10th century. Suggesting the Rohingya are descendants of a pre-Arakan population who existed for 3 thousand years and waves of Muslim who intermingled forming modern Rohingya. The impact of this immigration was particularly acute in Arakan. Although it boosted the colonial economy, local Arakanese bitterly resented it. According to historian Clive J. Christie, "The issue became
10275-523: The availability of modern firearms . The Japanese advance triggered an inter-communal conflict between Muslims and Buddhists. The Muslims fled towards British-controlled Muslim-dominated northern Arakan from Japanese-controlled Buddhist-majority areas. This stimulated a "reverse ethnic cleansing" in British-controlled areas, particularly around Maungdaw. Failure of a British counter-offensive, attempted from December 1942 to April 1943, resulted in
10412-435: The camps, due to fear of sexual violence. When women are married, they are told that they should have a large family as it is a sin for a woman to limit the number of children she bears. Contraception methods are very limited and many believe it may lead to infertility or death; family planning is also seen as immoral. Although there are reproductive health services within the camps, not many people seek reproductive care due to
10549-433: The clinics has to lead to increases in unsafe pregnancies and sexually transmitted infections. Most of the Rohingya refugees deliver infants with the help of midwives. The United Nations Population Fund ( UNFPA ) has been responsible for ensuring that the midwifery diploma program is in the refugee camps. An increase in violence among refugees has been documented and as a result, the midwives are sometimes unable to provide
10686-626: The colonial period emigrated en masse to India. To facilitate their reentry into Burma, the British formed Volunteer Forces with Rohingya. Over the three years during which the Allies and Japanese fought over the Mayu peninsula, the Rohingya recruits of the V-Force, engaged in a campaign against Arakanese communities, using weapons provided by V-Force. According to the secretary of the British governor ,
10823-756: The country in 1962, the Rohingya have been systematically deprived of their political rights. In 1962 military dictator General Ne Win, took over the government and started implementing a Nationalist agenda, which had its roots in racial discrimination. In 1978 military government launched operation Nagamin to separate nationals from non-nationals. This was the first concerted large scale violent attack on Rohingya. National Registration Cards (NRC) were taken away by state actors never to be replaced. Violence that followed forced 200,000 Rohingya to flee to Bangladesh. Bangladesh denied Rohingya admission into her territory and blocked food rations leading to death of 12,000 of them. After bilateral negotiations Rohingya were repatriated. In
10960-647: The country's Westminster -style political system. The 1982 Burmese citizenship law stripped most of the Rohingyas of their stake in citizenship. Rohingya community leaders were supportive of the 8888 uprising for democracy. During the 1990 Burmese general election , the Rohingya-led National Democratic Party for Human Rights won four seats in the Burmese parliament. The four Rohingya MPs included Shamsul Anwarul Huq , Chit Lwin Ebrahim , Fazal Ahmed and Nur Ahmed . The election
11097-499: The country, educating around 145,000 children. In April 2020, UNICEF and the Bangladeshi government launched a pilot program aiming to enroll 10,000 Rohingya children in schools where they will be taught the Myanmar school curriculum up to the ninth grade. While UNICEF schools provide education to children from age 4 to 14, older students rely on private schools or religious schools where the instructors have little education themselves. The government does not allow Rohingyas to study
11234-503: The country. As a result of Operation King Dragon by the Burmese junta, the first wave of Rohingya refugees entered Bangladesh in 1978. An estimated 200,000 Rohingyas took shelter in Cox's Bazar. Diplomatic initiatives over 16 months resulted in a repatriation agreement, which allowed the return of most refugees under a process facilitated by UNHCR . The return of refugees to Burma has been the second largest repatriation process in Asia after
11371-485: The crossfire of this conflict." In the 1931 census, the Muslim population of Burma was 584,839, 4% of the total population of 14,647,470 at the time. 396,504 were Indian Muslims and 1,474 Chinese Muslims, while 186,861 were Burmese Muslims. The census found a growth in the number of Indian Muslims born in Burma, primarily due to their permanent settlement in Akyab. 41% of Muslims of Burma lived in Arakan at that time. Due to
11508-403: The deputies of General Ne Win, in 1961 explained Rohingya as; “On the west, May Yu district borders with Pakistan. As is the case with all borderlands communities, there are Muslims on both sides of the borders. Those who are on Pakistan’s side are known as Pakistani while the Muslims on our Burmese side of the borders are referred to as ‘Rohingya’. But since Burma's military junta took control of
11645-654: The difficult terrain of the Arakan Mountains , the Arakan region was historically most accessible by sea. In British Arakan Division, the port of Akyab had ferry services and a thriving trade with the ports of Chittagong , Narayanganj , Dacca and Calcutta in British India ; as well as with Rangoon . Akyab was one of the leading rice ports in the world, hosting ship fleets from Europe and China. Many Indians settled in Akyab and dominated its seaport and hinterland. The 1931 census found 500,000 Indians living in Akyab. Several Rohingyas were elected to Burmese native seats in
11782-542: The ethnicity. Sultan Ahmed, who served as Parliamentary Secretary to the Ministry of Minorities, was a member of the Justice Sir Ba U Commission charged with exploring whether Arakan Division should be granted statehood. During the 1951 Burmese general election , five Rohingyas were elected to the Parliament of Burma , including one of the country's first two female MPs, Zura Begum . Six MPs were elected during
11919-407: The final terms for the beginning of the process. He also stated that those returning would be kept in temporary camps near their abandoned homes. Under the deal, Myanmar would ensure that they are not kept in the camps for long and are issued identity cards. The foreign secretaries of both nations met on 19 December to finalise the agreement. Bangladesh's foreign ministry issued a statement saying that
12056-459: The fire on Sunday razed 2,000 shelters after spreading quickly through gas cylinders in kitchens. Rohingyas are a Muslim minority in Myanmar regarded by many Myanmar Buddhists as illegal migrants from Bangladesh, a controversial claim without strong evidence. The Rohingyas have lived in Myanmar for generations and the Bangladesh government has called on Myanmar to take them back. They are denied citizenship in Myanmar and have been described as
12193-726: The first phase; in the second, an additional dose of the oral cholera vaccine was administered to 199,472 children ages 1 to 5 years. In addition, 236,696 children under 5 years of age were also vaccinated against polio. No new cases of cholera were detected in the 3 months following mass vaccination. But Rohingya refugees arriving after the mass vaccination remain unprotected. As a result, a new cholera vaccination campaign began in May 2018. Also in Cox's Bazar, Rohingya children up to age 6 were immunized in December 2017 against pneumococcal disease , pertussis , tetanus , influenza B , and diphtheria in an effort to prevent future outbreaks and to control
12330-481: The government of Myanmar agreed to repatriate only 374 Rohingya refugees out of a list of over 8,000 submitted by their Bangladeshi counterparts on 14 March 2018, citing incomplete paperwork as the reason for the slow process, but on 18 May 2018, they announced they would repatriate a total of 1,100 "verified" Rohingyas from the list. On 6 June 2018, the United Nations and the government of Myanmar signed
12467-663: The group would "ensure commencement of repatriation within two months" by developing a timetable for verification of identities and logistics. Bangladesh 's foreign ministry announced on 15 January 2018 that their government and Myanmar's had bilaterally agreed on a repatriation deal for Rohingya refugees in Bangladesh, which would aim to complete the process of repatriation within two years. Win Myat Aye , Myanmar's Minister for Social Welfare, Relief and Resettlement , also announced that his country would begin repatriating Rohingya refugees beginning on 23 January 2018. Originally,
12604-399: The history of Arakan Muslims in general to advance a separatist agenda. In addition, Myanmar's government does not recognise the term "Rohingya" and prefers to refer to the community as " Bengali ". Rohingya campaign groups and human rights organizations demand the right to " self-determination within Myanmar". Various armed insurrections by the Rohingya have taken place since the 1940s and
12741-532: The indigenous people of the Chittagong Hill Tracts . They have also been blamed for importing the narcotic drug Ya Ba . The Prime Minister of Bangladesh, Sheikh Hasina , declared that 35,000 Rohingya were transferred to Bhasan Char to "keep Rohingya youth away from criminal activities." She also emphasized the difficulty of repatriating Rohingya back to Myanmar due to the civil war , and preventing foreign armed groups from using Bangladesh as
12878-531: The languages spoken in the "Burmah Empire". In 1815, Johann Severin Vater listed "Ruinga" as an ethnic group with a distinct language in a compendium of languages published in German. In 1936, when Burma was still under British rule , the " Rohingya Jam’iyyat al Ulama " was founded in Arakan. According to Jacques Leider , the Rohingya were referred to as " Chittagonians " during the British colonial period, and it
13015-436: The local Buddhist population to Islam by about 788 CE, states Syed Islam. Besides these locals converting to Islam, Arab merchants married local women and later settled in Arakan. As a result of intermarriage and conversion, the Muslim population in Arakan grew. This claim by Sayed Islam saying that, by 788 CE, locals in Arakan were converting to Islam clearly contradicts historian Yegar's findings which say, even in 1203, Bengal
13152-423: The most persecuted minorities in the world, the Rohingya are denied citizenship under the 1982 Myanmar nationality law . There are also restrictions on their freedom of movement , access to state education and civil service jobs. The legal conditions faced by the Rohingya in Myanmar have been compared to apartheid by some academics, analysts and political figures, including Nobel laureate Bishop Desmond Tutu ,
13289-536: The north near modern Akyab ". Due to its coastline on the Bay of Bengal , Arakan was a key centre of maritime trade and cultural exchange between Burma and the outside world, since the time of the Indian Maurya Empire . According to Syed Islam, a political science scholar, Arab merchants had been in contact with Arakan since the third century, using the Bay of Bengal to reach Arakan. A southern branch of
13426-530: The number of refugees in Bangladesh has increased rapidly. According to the UN Refugee Agency (UNHCR), more than 723,000 Rohingya have fled to Bangladesh since 25 August 2017. On 28 September 2018, at the 73rd United Nations General Assembly (UNGA), Bangladeshi Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina said there are 1.1 million Rohingya refugees now in Bangladesh. Overcrowding from the recent population boom at Bangladesh's Rohingya refugee camps has placed
13563-660: The overcrowded camp, including food scarcity and lack of education, and work opportunities. In an effort to stop the landing of refugee boats, in May 2024, Indonesian police and fisherman started patrolling sections of Aceh province, located on Sumatra's northwest point. In November 2023, more than 1,000 Rohingya arrived — the highest number since 2015. After the ARSA attacks on 25 August 2017 and subsequent humanitarian crisis , Bangladeshi Foreign Minister Abul Hassan Mahmud Ali met with Myanmar officials on 2 October 2017, later stating after their meeting that both countries had agreed on
13700-877: The past 30 days among children living in unofficial camps, where adequate latrines are rare, is greater than 50%. Pregnancy often complicates a woman's ability to combat infection. Mortality rates for hepatitis E, for example are as low as 1% among the general population but can increase drastically to 20-25% for pregnant women. Due to poor sanitation, low water quality, close living quarters, and high levels of drug trafficking and sexual violence, infectious disease outbreaks in Rohingya refugee camps are of concern to public health officials. High rates of respiratory infections and diarrheal illnesses have already been documented and children seem to recover more poorly from infectious diseases than adults due to malnutrition, but all ages are struggling to recover from respiratory infections and diarrheal diseases. Currently, diphtheria resurgence
13837-444: The population as a whole has faced military crackdowns in 1978 , 1991–1992 , 2012 , 2015 , and particularly in 2016–2018 , when most of the Rohingya population of Myanmar was driven out of the country, into neighbouring Bangladesh. By December 2017, an estimated 625,000 refugees from Rakhine, Myanmar, had crossed the border into Bangladesh since August 2017. UN officials and Human Rights Watch have described Myanmar's persecution of
13974-583: The prelude to independence, two Rohingyas were elected to the Constituent Assembly of Burma in 1947, M. A. Gaffar and Sultan Ahmed . After Burma became independent in 1948, M. A. Gaffar presented a memorandum of appeal to the Government of the Union of Burma calling for the recognition of the term "Rohingya", based on local Indian names of Arakan (Rohan and Rohang), as the official name of
14111-407: The proper access to healthcare and resources. Many of the midwives in the region also can not give the best sexual health resources because of language barriers and cultural differences. Due to the Rohingya's conservative values, sexual and reproductive health information and care is limited and midwives are limited in the information they can provide. The majority of expectant women tend to be between
14248-423: The refugee camps will not protect against flooding events that can easily spread food- and water-borne pathogens. The inadequate sanitation and hygiene conditions in the Rohingya camps have resulted in increased risk for transmission of diarrheal infections. Escherichia coli , for example, has been detected in 92% of water samples taken from a Rohingya refugee camp. Other water- and food-borne diseases that pose
14385-544: The refugee camps, hepatitis E is a concern, particularly for pregnant women as the death rate increases from 1% to as much as 25% when infection occurs in the third trimester. There have been cases of acute jaundice syndrome, which is associated with hepatitis E infection. Starting in October 2017, Rohingya refugees migrated in droves into Bangladesh and since, massive spread of communicable diseases has occurred among them. Rohingya refugees are often not vaccinated and there
14522-471: The refugee population and are victims of sexual violence and exploitation. Of the 335,670 female refugees in the population, 70,000 (20%) are estimated to be pregnant or new mothers. This pregnancy rate is much higher than that of their native Myanmar where only 4.7% of women are pregnant or new mothers. Many experts believe that the increase in pregnancy rate is a result of sexual violence against displaced Rohingya women. The Bangladesh home ministry states that
14659-558: The refugees are located along the Teknaf-Cox's Bazar highway that is parallel to the Naf River , which is the border between Bangladesh and Myanmar. Most of the refugees are located in or near Cox's Bazar , a coastal area dependent upon tourism. Bangladesh blamed the refugees for crime and 2012 Ramu violence in Cox's Bazar. Bangladesh also follows a policy of making the country unwelcoming for Rohingya refugees. The majority of
14796-426: The refugees are unregistered, with only 32 thousand refugees registering themselves with UNHCR and the Bangladeshi government. An estimated 200,000+ refugees are living unregistered in Bangladesh. Amnesty International (AI) reports have stated that the Myanmar security forces are committing rape, extrajudicial killing , and burning homes belonging to the Rohingya in a December 2016 report. Refugees have been displacing
14933-438: The refugees is the potential threat of the rainy season. This has the potential to cause flooding, leading to contaminated water and infectious disease, thus resulting in higher rates of malnutrition. They are in need of huge amounts of nutrient rich foods to reduce the risk of malnutrition rates increasing. The Rohingya refugee crisis has made Rohingya women more vulnerable. Currently, Rohingya women make up approximately 67% of
15070-495: The region indicate that the founders of the first Arakanese states were Indian. Arakan was ruled by the Chandra dynasty . The British historian Daniel George Edward Hall stated that "The Burmese do not seem to have settled in Arakan until possibly as late as the tenth century CE. Hence earlier dynasties are thought to have been Indian, ruling over a population similar to that of Bengal. All the capitals known to history have been in
15207-506: The region that is now a part of Bangladesh. Further, the term "Rohingya" does not appear in any regional text of this period and much later. That term was adopted by "a few Bengali Muslim intellectuals who were direct descendants of immigrants from Chittagong district [Bengal]" in the 20th-century, states historian Aye Chan. The Rakhines were one of the tribes of the Burmese Pyu city-states . The Rakhines began migrating to Arakan through
15344-526: The relocation plan. Bhasan Char submerges during high tide and was formed in the 2000s by sediments from the Meghna River . It is eight kilometers from Hatiya Island . The Bangladesh Navy has been tasked with making the island habitable for the refugees. In 2019, the government announced an expansion of the Ashrayan Project (Ashrayan-3) to build 100,000 homes. In January 2020 the project
15481-498: The resource-poor humanitarian efforts are suggested to increase negative psychological impacts by perpetuating anxiety, stress and depression and decreasing capacity for resilience. According to a report published by the United Nations Higher Commissioner for Refugees ( UNHCR ), there have been few studies published on mental health concerns of the Rohingya refugee populations. Nonetheless, there are
15618-530: The return of Cambodian refugees from Thailand. In 1982, the citizenship law enacted by the Burmese military junta did not list the Rohingya as one of the 135 " national races " of Burma. This made much of the Rohingya population in Burma stateless in their historical homeland of Arakan . General Ne Win drafted the Citizenship Act in 1982, which denied citizenship rights to any community/group that
15755-491: The royal administration. Some of them worked as Bengali , Persian and Arabic scribes in the Arakanese courts, which, despite remaining Buddhist, adopted Islamic fashions from the neighbouring Bengal Sultanate. The population increased in the 17th century, as slaves were brought in by Arakanese raiders and Portuguese settlers following raids into Bengal. Slaves included members of the Mughal nobility. A notable royal slave
15892-574: The shrine is a rectangular structure measuring 33 ft by 47 ft ." King Min Saw Mon ceded some territory to the Sultan of Bengal and recognised his sovereignty over the areas. In recognition of his kingdom's vassal status, the Buddhist kings of Arakan received Islamic titles and used the Bengali gold dinar within the kingdom. Min Saw Mon minted his own coins with the Burmese alphabet on one side and
16029-563: The spread of diphtheria. Malnutrition is a serious public health concern for Rohingya refugee children. According to the World Health Organization (WHO) malnutrition refers to deficiencies and excesses or imbalances in a person's intake of energy and/or nutrients and is a strong predictor of mortality in children that are 5 years and younger. In the refugee camps in Bangladesh, over 25% of Rohingya children are malnourished and over 12% are suffering from severe stunting ,
16166-556: The term to refer to the Muslims in Arakan in his later publications. Sir Henry Yule saw many Muslims serving as eunuchs in Konbaung while on a diplomatic mission to the Burmese capital, Ava. British policy encouraged Bengali inhabitants from adjacent regions to migrate into the then lightly populated and fertile valleys of Arakan as farm labourers. The East India Company extended the Bengal Presidency to Arakan. There
16303-428: The term ‘Rohingya’ is important in the sense that today Myanmar denies to accept this category altogether and calls them ’Bengali’. During the same time a separate administrative zone May Yu was established comprising most of the present North Rakhine State, which had Rohingya as its majority ethnic group. One of the objectives of this Muslim majority zone was to ‘strive for peace with Pakistan’. Brigadier Aung Gyi, one of
16440-454: The territory by Pakistan as well as of an independent state. Before the independence of Burma in January 1948, Muslim leaders from Arakan addressed themselves to Muhammad Ali Jinnah , the founder of Pakistan, and asked his assistance in incorporating the Mayu region to Pakistan considering their religious affinity and geographical proximity with East Pakistan. The North Arakan Muslim League
16577-587: The time of Min Saw Mon (1430–34) of the Kingdom of Mrauk U . After 24 years of exile in Bengal, he regained control of the Arakanese throne in 1430 with military assistance from the Bengal Sultanate . The Bengalis who came with him formed their own settlements in the region. The Santikan Mosque built in the 1430s, features a court which "measures 65 ft from north to south and 82 ft from east to west;
16714-489: The trauma endured before arrival, but also protracted traumatic or stressful experience being persecuted in Rakhine State. The combination of the protracted refugee crisis with a history of stress, persecution and trauma is a cause for concern with the Rohingya and further investigation into the effects and treatments has been recommended. Furthermore, there have been obstacles with reporting mental health measurement results, including not having validated such measurements with
16851-409: The vaccination rate and preventing new cases of diphtheria. Another concern of public health officials is the potential increase of sexually transmitted infections. Drug trafficking and sexual violence are high among the Rohingya refugees residing in the Cox's Bazar district in Bangladesh and there are 83 known cases of HIV among refugees, with many more unknown cases likely. While not yet seen in
16988-412: The victims as "Bengali Muslims (called Rohingyas)". Nevertheless, the term Rohingya wasn't widely used until the 1990s. Today the use of the name "Rohingya" is polarised. The government of Myanmar refuses to use the name. In the 2014 census, the Myanmar government forced the Rohingya to identify themselves as "Bengali". Many Rohingya see the denial of their name similar to denying their basic rights, and
17125-457: The world's most persecuted minority. Myanmar has denied persecuting the Rohingyas. Since the 1970s Rohingya refugees have been coming to Bangladesh from Myanmar. In the 1990s, more than 250,000 resided in refugees camps in Bangladesh. In the early 2000s, all but 20,000 of them were repatriated to Myanmar, some against their will. This respite ended in 2015 and by 2017, an estimated 300,000 to 500,000 Rohingya refugees were in Bangladesh. Most of
17262-572: Was Alaol , a renowned poet in the Arakanese court. The slave population were employed in a variety of workforces, including in the king's army, commerce and agriculture. In 1660, Prince Shah Shuja , the governor of Mughal Bengal and a claimant of the Peacock Throne , fled to Arakan with his family after being defeated by his brother Emperor Aurangzeb during the Battle of Khajwa . Shuja and his entourage arrived in Arakan on 26 August 1660. He
17399-463: Was a nationwide phenomenon, not just restricted to Arakan. For these reasons historians believed that most Rohingyas arrived with the British colonialists in the 19th and 20th centuries with some tracing their ancestry much further. According to Thant Myint-U , historian and adviser to President Thein Sein , "At the beginning of the 20th century, Indians were arriving in Burma at the rate of no less than
17536-402: Was also given to 72,000 children. Permanent vaccination centers are in place to assist in the vaccination effort of children under the age of 2 years. In October 2017, a mass vaccination effort spearheaded by the Ministry of Health and Family Welfare and partners provided 900,000 doses of oral cholera vaccine in two phases. More than 700,000 people over 1 year of age received a single dose during
17673-475: Was charged under Section 18 of the controversial 1982 Burmese citizenship law and sentenced to 47 years in prison. In 2015, a ruling Union Solidarity and Development Party MP Shwe Maung was disbarred from the 2015 Burmese general election , on grounds that his parents were not Burmese citizens under the 1982 citizenship law. As of 2017, Burma does not have a single Rohingya MP and the Rohingya population have no voting rights . A separate administrative zone for
17810-511: Was founded in Akyab (modern Sittwe) two months later. The proposal never materialised since it was reportedly turned down by Jinnah, saying that he was not in a position to interfere in Burmese matters. The numbers and the extent of post-independence immigration from Bangladesh are subject to controversy and debate. In a 1955 study published by Stanford University , the authors Virginia Thompson and Richard Adloff write, "The post-war (World War II) illegal immigration of Chittagonians into that area
17947-545: Was granted asylum by King Sanda Thudhamma . In December 1660, the Arakanese king confiscated Shuja's gold and jewellery, leading to an insurrection by the royal Mughal refugees. According to varying accounts, Shuja's family was killed by the Arakanese, while Shuja himself may have fled to a kingdom in Manipur . However, members of Shuja's entourage remained in Arakan and were recruited by the royal army, including as archers and court guards. They were king makers in Arakan until
18084-420: Was moving forward despite opposition from Rohingya leaders and human rights groups. Bangladesh's minister for refugee affairs has said the island is "ready for habitation," though he gave no timetable for the relocation. The government has not permitted foreign journalists or Rohingya leaders to travel to Bhasan Char. Despite persistent concerns and criticism expressed by international human rights organizations,
18221-426: Was no international boundary between Bengal and Arakan and no restrictions on migration between the regions. In the early 19th century, thousands of Bengalis from the Chittagong region settled in Arakan seeking work. It is hard to know whether these new Bengal migrants were the same population that was deported by force to Bengal's Chittagong during the Burmese conquest in the 18th century and later returned to Arakan as
18358-432: Was not controversial to refer to them as "Bengalis" until the 1990s. Leider also states that "there is no international consensus" on the use of the term Rohingya, as they are often called "Rohingya Muslims", "Muslim Arakanese" and "Burmese Muslims". Others, such as anthropologist Christina Fink, use Rohingya not as an ethnic identifier but as a political one. Leider believes the Rohingya is a political movement that started in
18495-581: Was not listed in a survey conducted by British in 1823. All other ethnic groups were considered aliens to the land or invaders. Eight major ethnicities Arakan, Chin, Kachin, Karen, Kayah, Mon, Shan, and Burmese were broken into 135 small ethnic groups. Groups like Rohingya who do not belong to any of these 135 ethnicities were denied citizenship rights. Rohingya language Rohingya ( / r oʊ ˈ ɪ n dʒ ə , - h ɪ n -, - ɪ ŋ j ə / ; Hanifi Rohingya : 𐴌𐴗𐴥𐴝𐴙𐴚𐴒𐴙𐴝 , Ruáingga , رُحَ࣪ڠۡگَ࣪ࢬ , pronounced [rʊˈɜiɲɟə] )
18632-565: Was on a vast scale, and in the Maungdaw and Buthidaung areas they replaced the Arakanese." The authors further argue that the term Rohingya, in the form of Rwangya, first appeared to distinguish settled population from newcomers: "The newcomers were called Mujahids (crusaders), in contrast to the Rwangya or settled Chittagonian population." According to the International Crisis Group (ICG), these immigrants were actually
18769-545: Was won by the National League for Democracy led by Aung San Suu Kyi , who was placed under house arrest and not permitted to become prime minister. The Burmese military junta banned the National Democratic Party for Human Rights in 1992. Its leaders were arrested, jailed and tortured. Rohingya politicians have been jailed to disbar them from contesting elections. In 2005, Shamsul Anwarul Huq
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