Why Cyclone Mocha should end talk of sending Rohingya like me home
‘We are not considered citizens, and we are given none of the rights or freedoms of other ethnic minorities.’
- San Thai Shin
If there was ever hope that Myanmar's ruling junta might create the conditions for the safe repatriation of Rohingya refugees like me, it should be dispelled by the military’s disturbing response to – and lack of preparation for – Cyclone Mocha in Rakhine state.
[...]
Conditions in the Bangladesh refugee camps where I’ve lived with around one million other Rohingya since fleeing the junta’s deadly crackdown in 2017 aren’t much better, but at least significant efforts were made in the days leading up to the cyclone to prepare, so as to mitigate any damage or loss of life. Fortunately for us, the storm’s path shifted and our camps avoided the worst of its wrath.
[...]
The deadly effects of discrimination
Though many Rohingya can trace their roots in Myanmar back generations, we aren’t considered citizens, and we are given none of the rights or freedoms of other ethnic minorities. Rohingya residents of Rakhine who wish to travel away from home must request government passes. As a result, the Rohingya I spoke to said they didn’t even consider that they might be permitted to evacuate.
[...]
In late May, a couple of weeks after Mocha struck, Bangladeshi officials welcomed their Chinese counterparts – China is the key international backer of Myanmar’s military government – to discuss ways to move forward with the repatriation of the Rohingya. This meeting followed a tour of model villages erected in Rakhine state, during which the junta extolled the virtues of their pilot programme to return refugees to their home nation.
[...]