These are the quotes taken from the interview with Rohingya refugees as cited on the Report of the Independent International Fact-Finding Mission on Myanmar.
The report was released on August 27, just two days after the anniversary of the devastating Rohingya Crackdown that forced over than 700,000 of the ethnic to flee and cross to Bangladesh for help. The Report will be the base for further discussions at 73rd UN General Assembly, which is held in New York from September 18 to October 5.
1. I want to share my story with the whole world because the world does not know what is happening in our place.
It's important to know their story. The Fact-Finding Mission spoke to many ethnic Rakhine, who highlighted serious human rights violations perpetrated by the Myanmar security forces against them. These violations are similar to those experienced by other ethnic groups in Myanmar.
The violation by the Tatmadaw, or Myanmar's military, towards ethnic Rakhine including forced or compulsory labour, mostly for “portering”, and also forced evictions through land confiscation, arbitrary arrest and detention, as well as violations of the rights to life, to physical and mental integrity, and to property. The Rakhine women have been subjected to sexual violence, such as rape. The FFM noted there are reports of repressive action against the assertion of Rakhine identity, for example, use of excessive force against demonstration held after the cancellation of an annual ethnic Rakhine event, causing the dead of 7 people.
2. In Rakhine State, Muslims are like in a cage, they cannot travel outside. There are no human rights for the Muslims of Rakhine. I don't know why God sent us there.
The process of “othering” the Rohingya and their discriminatory treatment started long before 2012. Their extreme vulnerability is a consequence of State policies and practices implemented over decades, steadily marginalizing the Rohingya. The result is a continuing situation of severe, systemic and institutionalized oppression from birth to death.
3. We cried when we left. 25 years of hard work was lost. My time is almost finished, but what will happen to my children and grandchildren?
In 2012, two waves of violence swept Rakhine State in June and October 2012, affecting 12 townships. The murder and alleged rape of a Rakhine woman and the killing of 10 Muslim pilgrims are commonly presented as key triggers.
While there's no denying the hostility between Rohingya and Rakhine groups that had happened, it has to be noted that there are other factors which have instigated the violence and amplified the tensions.
The FFM noted a campaign of hate and dehumanization of the Rohingya had been underway for months and escalated after 8 June 2012, led by the Rakhine Nationalities Development Party (RNDP), various Rakhine organizations, radical Buddhist monk organizations, several officials and influential figures.
The Rohingya were labelled “illegal immigrants”, “terrorists”, and portrayed as an existential threat that might “swallow other races” with their “incontrollable birth rates.”
In November 2012 the RNDP even cited Hitler, arguing that “inhuman acts” were sometimes necessary to “maintain a race”.
4. That day felt like the last day of this world, as if the whole world was collapsing. I thought judgment day had arrived.
On August 25, 2017, what western media dubbed as The Crackdown happened. It started with Arakan Rohingya Salvation Army (ARSA) attacking the military base in Rakhine State as a response to increased pressure on Rohingya communities and with the goal of global attention.
The retaliation by the security forces’ was, as written in the Report, "immediate, brutal and grossly disproportionate". The clearance operations, as dubbed by the authorities, targeted and terrorized the entire Rohingya population.
5. The Tatmadaw soldiers don't treat us like humans, they treat us like animals. They look at us like we shouldn't even exist.
The clearance operations were mainly led by the Tatmadaw, with other security forces, mainly Myanmar Police Force and Border Guard Police. Almost all instances of sexual violence are attributable to the Tatmadaw.
In another context, the Tatmadaw operations in northern Myanmar are characterized by systematic attacks directed at civilians and civilian objects and indiscriminate attacks. Attacks often occur in civilian-populated residential areas, in the absence of an apparent military objective, and in flagrant disregard for life, property and well-being of civilians. Tatmadaw soldiers have shot directly at and shelled civilians fleeing or seeking shelter.
6. Everyone was just running for their lives. I was not even able to carry my children.
At least 392 villages (40% of all settlements in northern Rakhine) were affected by the Crackdown, either partially or destroyed.
Villagers were killed by soldiers, and sometimes Rakhine men, using large bladed weapons. Others were killed in arson attacks, burned to death in their own houses, locked into buildings set on fire.
The violence occurred indiscriminately. Even children were subjected to, and witnessed, serious human rights violations including killing, maiming and sexual violence. Children were killed in front of their parents, and young girls were targeted for sexual violence.
7. I was lucky, I was only raped by three men.
The FFM pointed out that in the clearance operations "rape and other forms of sexual violence were perpetrated on a massive scale." Large-scale, sometimes up to 40 women and girls, were gang-raped by Tatmadaw soldiers. This happened in at least ten villages of northern Rakhine State. There are credible reports of men and boys also being subjected to rape, genital mutilation, and sexualized torture.
8. My Rakhine neighbour warned me: "You cannot stay here and we cannot control the bad behaviour of our own people. The government is planning to drive away your people."
The FFM remarked that 2017 ARSA attacks and ensuing “clearance operations” did not occur in a vacuum. They were foreseeable and planned, as it happened systematically, such as the campaign of hate and dehumanization of the Rohingya.
Also read: Myanmar Villagers Cannot Live with Rohingya Muslim
9. I will not go back until they recognize our rights like others in Myanmar. I would rather prefer to die here.
Even after the Crackdown, freedom of movement was further constrained. The Rohingya is restricted to remain in their houses, with limited access to life sources, such as markets and livelihoods. Humanitarian access was also severely restricted or blocked.
Rohingya repatriation, although in principle the government has committed to it, doesn't ensure the respect for Rohingya human rights. Returning in a safe, dignified, and sustainable manner is, at the least, questionable.
Also read: Myanmar is Not Conducive For Rohingya Return
10. There were no rebels in my village. But the army just came and attacked the people.
The Tatmadaw, as told in the Report, has engaged in arbitrary arrest and deprivation of liberty, in many cases amounting to enforced disappearance. Men and women, and in some cases children, were taken from their villages and detained for forced labour or because of suspected links to ethnic armed organizations (EAOs), such as Kachin Independence Army (KIA), the Myanmar National Democratic Alliance Army (MNDAA), and the Ta’ang National Liberation Army (TNLA), and the Shan State Army-South (SSA-S).
Victims have been held incommunicado in unofficial places of detention for periods between a day and two years. Most were not informed of the reason for the arrest, nor brought before a judge. In one incident in Monekoe, Shan State, over 100 individuals were arrested and detained in November 2016.
11. Since my son was forcibly recruited in 2016, I have not heard from him. I always check Facebook to see if I will recognize him in a post, either dead or alive.
EAOs themselves has committed international humanitarian law violations and human rights abuses. Many occurred in the context of hostilities between the TNLA and SSA-S, including abduction and detention, ill-treatment and destruction or appropriation of civilian land and property.
12. I am not a very educated person but I hope the United Nations has the ability to get us justice by making sure that the Government of Myanmar can be questioned about what they did to us.
In the light of what had happened and has been happening in Myanmar regarding the existence of Rohingya people, Aljazeera reported that US ambassador to the UN Nikki Haley has called for strong and immediate action against the Myanmar leadership, while Chinese ambassador Wu Haitao has urged a softer approach based on "constructive assistance".
Bangladesh's Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina, as told by The Daily Star, is set to address the general debate on September 27 at the UN GA. She will highlight her response to the Rohingya crisis and seek global support for a sustainable solution to it, as the country struggles to host around 1.1 million Rohingya refugees.
Also read: British FM Jeremy Hunt calls for possible referral of Myanmar to ICC
Hopefully, a significant decision could be reached in the 73rd UN General Assembly meetings that can provide justice and relief for Rohingya refugees.