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| Southeast Asia |
| What drives the Rohingya to sea? |
| 2009-02-07 |
| The dramatic testimony from survivors of a draconian Thai military policy of towing Rohingya boat people out to sea and leaving them there has drawn international attention to the plight of one of the world's most oppressed people. So what is it that is driving so many Rohingya, a Muslim minority from the western-most part of Burma, to flee in rickety boats in the hope of finding refuge elsewhere? The term Rohingya refers to a distinct, Muslim ethnic group living in northern Rakhine state, along the border with Bangladesh. Northern Rakhine state is one of the poorest and most isolated in Burma. They are thought to be descended from Arab and other Muslim traders who travelled and settled there more than 1,000 years ago. They speak a dialect of Bengali similar to that spoken in the Cox's Bazaar region of Bangladesh. |
| Posted by:Steve White |
| #1 For a start, the Rohingya are denied citizenship under Burma's 1982 citizenship law, which leaves them out of the 135 ethnic groups officially recognised by the state. The official view of the Burmese military is that they are illegal immigrants from Bangladesh or their descendants. Envy. |
| Posted by: g(r)omgoru 2009-02-07 07:58 |