Many of you have at least heard of the Rohingya, or at least have heard about the refugee crisis in SE Asia. The story broke wide open when several mass graves of migrants were discovered in Thailand as well as Malaysia. Here is a brief update of what’s current as well as a little background to the situation.
ArchambaultRohingya migrants stand and sit on a boat drifting in Thai waters off the southern island of Koh Lipe in the Andaman sea on May 14, 2015 Business Insider
So what is happening now? People are still adrift, although the media’s attention has also gone adrift of this situation. The Guardian has recently reported that “up to 10% of all Rohingya have fled by boat”. Currently, it is estimated that thousands of migrants are still at sea. While SE Asian countries initially refused to allow any of these people on their shores, some limited reprieve has been granted by some of them. It seems that each country is saying, “not our problem”.
Migrants sit on a boat as they wait to be rescued by Acehnese fishermen on the sea off East Aceh, Indonesia. Photograph: S. Yulinnas/AP
How and why did this all start? This is not a new problem, but it has been growing since a 2012 eruption of violence in Burma against the minority group. Regarding the human trafficking crisis that fueled the migrant crisis, this is a helpful summary of the refugee and trafficking problem in Thailand and SE Asia. This NPR report , as well as this Council of Foreign Relations report highlights the plight of the Rohingya in particular. Burma (Myanmar) is especially egregious in their treatment of this minority but Bangladesh is no friend, as revealed in this recent report of a plan to move the Rohingya to an island that is flooded most of the time, possibly to remove them from tourist beaches. Many other reports about the Rohingya and this situation can be found by doing a Google search. One helpful resource regarding slavery in general is The Guardian.
Relentless has reached out to local organizations to offer help in caring for the Rohingya refugees as well as others caught up in this migrant crisis and slave trade. However, it seems the organizations are too busy to accommodate a new partner at this time. We will keep trying.
One of the main points I want to make here – and this is of course not a news flash – is that slavery is COMPLICATED! There is history, politics, religion, economics, racism, and all kinds of subsets of selfishness and hatred at work here. Do we need to rescue these people off the boats? Yes! Then what? Languish in refugee camps? Integration? Repatriation? These people may have been saved from being trafficked only to be at risk for several other forms of slavery. What about the factors that are driving them out in the first place? NOTHING has been done to correct those root problems driving the Rohingya out.
There is NO EASY ANSWER to this problem, or any of the other issues of slavery whether it be cocoa plantations in Cote d’Ivoire, sex trafficking rings in Romania, or child slaves picking cotton in Uzbekistan. We must continue to seek opportunities to increase our awareness and then act appropriately as individuals who buy chocolate and cotton, and as citizen change agents to call out our governments who put trade over people (such as the TPP). We can also be people who go and/or support interventions that work on development of communities, families, agriculture, business, health, and a myriad of other vulnerabilities that push people to seek very risky opportunities.
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