A growing sense of desperation is fueling a mass exodus of Rohingya Muslims from western Myanmar, with at least 8,000 members of the long-persecuted minority fleeing by boat in the past two weeks, according to residents and an expert on the situation.
Chris Lewa, director of the nonprofit Rohingya advocacy group Arakan Project, said an average of 900 people per day have been getting on cargo ships moored off Rakhine State since Oct. 15.
Myanmar, a predominantly Buddhist nation of 50 million, has an estimated 1.3 million Rohingya. Though many of their families arrived from neighboring Bangladesh generations ago, almost all have been denied Myanmar citizenship. In the past two years, attacks by Buddhist mobs have left hundreds dead and 140,000 in camps, undermining Myanmar’s transition to democracy from decades of oppressive military rule.
Lewa said on Friday that some Rohingya families have been told the huge cargo ships have already started arriving in Thailand, where Rohingya face deportation or the threat of human trafficking.
The vast majority of Myanmar’s Rohingya live in the northern tip of Rakhine state, where an aggressive campaign by authorities in recent months to register family members and officially categorize them as “Bengalis” — implying they are illegal migrants from neighboring Bangladesh — has aggravated their situation.
According to Rohingya villagers contacted by reporters, some were confined to their villages for weeks at a time for refusing to take part in the “verification” process; others beaten or arrested.
More recently, dozens of men have been detained for alleged ties to the militant Rohingya Solidarity Organization, said Khin Maung Win, a resident from Maungdaw Township, adding that at least one reportedly died from injuries sustained during interrogation. Lewa had similar reports.
Rakhine State spokesman Win Myaing denied any knowledge of arrests or abuse.
“There’s nothing happening up there,” he said. “There are no arrests of suspects of RSO. I haven’t heard anything like that.”
Every year, Eid al-Adha, celebrated by Muslims worldwide, marks the beginning of a major exodus of Rohingya in Rakhine State, in part due to calmer seas but also because it is a final chance to spend time with family and friends. However, there seems to be a growing sense of desperation this year, with the number leaving nearly double that from the same period last year.
Lewa said a number of Rohingya were also moving overland to Bangladesh and on to India and Nepal. The UN, which has named the Rohingya as one of the most persecuted religious minorities in the world, earlier this year confirmed figures provided by Lewa concerning a massive exodus that began after communal violence broke out in 2012, targeting members of the religious minority. It said at least 86,000 Rohingya had fled Myanmar in the past two years.
It was not immediately clear where the newest arrivals were landing. After paying hefty bribes — and at times enduring beatings, near starvation and other abuses in jungle camps — most have in the past traveled onward to Malaysia, Indonesia and other countries, where they also face tremendous difficulties.
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