Rohingya Muslims shot, slaughtered and raped by the State

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Daanish Bin Nabi

A report by James Hookway published in Wall Street Journal yesterday brings to foreground the Rohingya crisis and ethnic cleansing in Myanmar that as am matter of fact has been confirmed by UN’s refugee agency. Regional UN Official John McKissick said that the campaign, which has been rigorous since October this year, was that of ethnic cleansing of Rohingya Muslim Minority. Reported by Time and BBC, the UN official said about the Burmese troops as “killing men, shooting them, slaughtering children, raping women, burning and looting houses, forcing these people to cross the river” into neighboring Bangladesh. The state-sponsored terr
orism has also led to remonstrations against the 1991 Nobel Peace winner and the State Counsellor, Aung Sang Suu Kyi. Suu Kyi, who visited the outgoing US President Barrack Obama in Washington in September, managed to secure lifting of US sanctions on Myanmar. Come October and the human rights violations in Myanmar have recast doubts on the leadership of Suu Kyi to rein in the Burmese military and work for peace. It is for the second time since 2012 that an ominous ethnic cleansing campaign has been launched by the state. In a bid to escape the state-sponsored terrorism, Rohingya Muslims have been seeking asylum in neighboring countries with hundreds of them perishing at seas and not even making it to the shores.   
Rohingya Muslims had been living in Myanmar peacefully since 1948, until a military dictator took over the reins of the country. Systematic persecution by the state machinery and consistent curbs on religious and social activities of Rohingya Muslims led to their mass exodus to other parts of the world. Rohingya Muslims sought shelter in many parts of India. A significant chunk of the Rohingya population in India is residing in state of Jammu and Kashmir.
An estimated 36,000 Rohingyas are living in India. Of these, approximately 1219 Rohingya (Burmese) families comprising 5,107 members are staying in Narwal, a suburb in Jammu. Nearly all the Rohingya refugees in Jammu and Kashmir are concentrated in Narwal area.

Tale of a Rohingya migrant
Mohammad Younis migrated to India via Bangladesh soon after the massacre that took place in Myanmar. He first headed to Delhi in search of livelihood. After some months, he settled in Narwal.
Younis hails from Manaung township of Rakhine. He says Rohingya Muslims have been a target of the Burmese government and Buddhists. “They killed a large number of Rohingyas, because we are Muslims. They want only Buddhists to live in Burma. We were not even allowed to move from one city to the other. Our properties were snatched from us. The government said we illegally acquired it. All our property was given to Buddhists for free,” said Younis.
The persecution of the Muslims, he said, didn’t stop here. “There were harsh curbs on our marriages. In June 2012, the violence against our community reached alarming proportions. That is when I left with my family and finally settled in Jammu,” said Younis.

Jobs
The Rohingya Muslims mostly have to do menial jobs to earn their livelihood. Approximately 40 to 50 per cent Rohingyas living in Jammu have been engaged for sweeping and cleaning by the Railways. A large number of Rohingya women earn money by shelling walnuts.
Jammu is a major buyer of the walnuts produced in Kashmir. Jammu has thriving religious tourism, and has a huge demand for walnuts. Since most customers demand the walnut kernel, shopkeepers stock these in large numbers. Shelling the walnut perfectly and keeping the kernel intact takes hard labour. This is where the Rohingya women manage to find work. The labour engaged in shelling walnuts is given Rs 10-12 per kg as wages. Most Rohingya women are engaged in this sector.

Residential huts
Most Rohingyas reside in huts made of wood and mud. They have made these huts on land owned by Gujjars and other landlords in Jammu province. The monthly rent for a hut ranges from Rs 500 to 1200. It is difficult for many Rohingya families to afford this rent.
Rohingya Muslims are thankful that they live a safe, peaceful life in India. But their living conditions are poor. They lack proper access to toilets, safe drinking water and medical facilities.
Women of the community have to stand in long queues to take water back home from far flung areas. Their preferred diet is fish. Around 99 percent Rohingya women are Burqa clad.

Helping Rohingyas
Sakhawat Centre and Jamaat-e-Islami, Jammu Kashmir, are the two main Muslims organizations which are taking a lead role in re-establishing Rohingya Muslims.
Most of the Rohingya Muslims this correspondent spoke to appreciated the Sakhawat Centre for providing their community with the much-needed assistance.
Coordinator of the Sakhawat Centre, Jammu, Dr Abdul Rashid said that their organization has provided Rohingya Muslims with many basic amenities. “From school bags, books and uniforms for children to arranging huts for them, we try to make their lives better in many ways. Rehabilitating them is an ongoing process, and we are doing what we can for this noble cause,” he said.

Schooling of Rohingya students
Four schools have been set up by the Jammu branch of Sakhawat Centre at Malik Market, Narwal Bureau Plot, Papu Plot Narwal, and Lower Kargil Colony for the education of Rohingya children.
These schools are in dire need of teachers. As of now, the four schools are run by five teachers only.
Dr Rashid says the schools are up to Kindergarten (KG) level only. Each teacher is given a salary of Rs 6000 by Sakhawat Centre. The Centre has kept the standard and syllabus of these four schools at par with the famous Iqbal Memorial Trust, Srinagar.
All four schools are English medium schools. About 400 hundred Rohingya children are studying in these schools. All of them are co-educational.
Dr Rashid said their major emphasis is on education, so that these children can build a good life for themselves. “We also provide monetary relief of Rs 300 to Rs 500 to Rohingya widows. This amount is released through Aqwaf committee of Mecca Mosque, Jammu,” he said.

A Rohingya school teacher
Mohammad Amin is one of the three Rohingya teachers at these schools.
Each class, he says, has about 50 students. “Our living conditions are poor. Our huts are made on private lands. The owner comes and orders us out. In some cases they even destroy our huts. We live a very harsh life, without basic facilities. We don’t have electricity or access to clean water, gas and wood for cooking. We are unable to get even a simple ration card,” he said.

Mohammed Amin said the Rohingyas have neither the nationality nor citizenship of Burma. “We do not have a citizenship of any country. In a sense we are nomads. India should urge the Burmese government to give us our rights. If that is not possible, Government of India should rehabilitate us. If refugees of Chin State of Myanmar and other countries can be given refugee rights in India, why not us?” he questions.

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