Close your eyes, and picture this scene for a second: Hordes of refugees are fleeing for their lives, while the government chases them down, determined to put every last one of them to the grave. People are being burned alive, their screams still echoing from their throats. Innocent children are beheaded without knowing why they are being killed. Villages are being razed to the ground in a matter of hours, and its inhabitants are wiped out and discarded like flies on a hot summer day. The scene seems like something out of a horror movie, right?
Wrong. The scene seems like one from the Holocaust right? Because surely, the human race has learned enough from its past to learn to accept and tolerate others, right?
Wrong. These horrific events are occurring as you read this article. The Rohingya people of the Rakhine state of Myanmar are having a genocide against them by the government, and the world is currently turning a blind eye to the mass killing.
Who are the Rohingya people?
Before we read about what is happening to the Rohingya people, it is important to know who they are first. The Rohingya are an ethnic minority that lives mostly in the state of Rakhine in eastern Myanmar. They are a Muslim group, living in the majority Buddhist country of Myanmar. They originate from eastern India and Bangladesh and came to Myanmar as laborers during British rule in the 1800s.
Although they have been living there for a very long time, the migrants are not well received by the native population of the area. When Myanmar became independent, they called the migration of the laborers illegal and refused to recognize them as citizens. Over the years, the persecution of the Rohingya has gotten worse and worse. Before, it was simply being removed and left out of society. Now, however, the government is ransacking their homes and killing the innocent civilians.
What is happening to the Rohingya?
According to many refugees fleeing the violence, the government is attacking the villages and burning down houses with the people still in them. Then, the soldiers round up the survivors, rape the women and kill the other villagers. Over the past few days, many bodies have been found burned in rivers, and a good many of the victims have been recovered without heads. Many of the people who have been killed were innocent children, women and civilians with no ill intentions. So why are they doing this? The government started to crack down on the Rohingya after the Rohingya's attacks led to the death of nine policemen. The government also accused Rohingya "terrorists" of burning houses and attacking citizens — the very same things the Rohingya accuse the government of doing.
What is the world doing about it?
Many nations and organizations have condemned the violence occurring in Myanmar, yet the world is staying relatively reticent for an ethnic cleansing of this magnitude. Muslim countries have called for the end of the genocide and have encouraged neighboring countries to take in refugees. The UN acknowledges that there is a high chance that the military committed multiple crimes against the Rohingya. UN leaders have called the attacks by the government "deplorable," and have called for Prime Minister Aung San Suu Kyi to reject the attacks, and stop them. She has done neither. But most powerful Western countries have remained silent, and it seems like without them, it will be hard to make peace.
It's simply appalling to see people killed and discriminated against just because of their religion, especially in the 21st century. However, what's more surprising is the amount of media coverage that the genocide is getting. This is the age of media, and news channels like CNN to social media like Twitter play a massive role in world events. But when was the last time you saw the Rohingya people discussed on the news? The lack of media coverage that this issue is currently getting is not acceptable.
Instead of talking about Trump and North Korea all day, why don't you talk about this instead? The problem can be solved when countries around the world take a stand against the Myanmar government and their atrocities. The international community must tolerate others' beliefs and traditions. It is the only way to set the international standard for equality and respect. In doing so, not only will Myanmar become a better place for those who are affected but so will the entire world.
