Little by little, belated efforts are being made to address the humanitarian crisis of thousands of people from Bangladesh and Myanmar stranded on the high seas by human traffickers.
We hope the global media attention which has been attracted will help highlight the plight of the Rohingya people.
Most of the migrants at sea, presently, are from Myanmar’s Rohingya minority. It is the deprivation of their rights as citizens and persecution which has pushed them into the hands of smugglers.
Bangladesh has a major interest in this matter as it has long hosted some 300,000 people who have fled communal violence and discrimination in Myanmar.
While many Bangladeshi citizens have also been trapped on these boats as illegal migrants, and the Bangladesh government can directly help repatriate them and work with other governments to fight people traffickers, we need the international community’s help in addressing Myanmar’s policy towards its Rohingya citizens.
The whole world must unite to put more pressure on the Myanmar government to end its discriminatory policies and allow for the safe return of Rohingya refugees to their homeland.
Democratic politicians within Myanmar, such as Aung San Suu Kyi, must show more leadership in demanding that the Myanmar government reverses its apartheid-like policies.
The Rohighya have lived as one of Myanmar’s many ethnic communities for centuries. It is unconscionable that the Myanmar government should be persisting with discriminatory policies that drive many Rohinghya to flee their homeland.
All countries in our region must support efforts to end the injustice sufferred by the Rohinghya.
Source: Dhaka Tribune
