The world of Tzu Chi June 2021 (Vol.135)

2021 • 06 08 eature Refugees – A global humanitarian crisis The UNHCR Mid-Year Trends report released in December 2020 shows that global forced displacement surpassed the 80 million mark as at mid-2020, exceeding one per cent of the global population. O naisah Mohamad Harun, 14, is a fourth-grade student at the Unity School in Ampang, a refugee school jointly established by Tzu Chi and UNHCR. She has been in the school for three years, and has picked up English and Malay, and has also studied Mathematics and Science, amongst other subjects. Despite the uncertainty of being in a foreign land, Onaisah kept her dream of becoming a doctor. But little did she realize she would have to put it on hold. One day, her father told her that she would have to stop schooling because he could not afford the school transport fee anymore. Her siblings had to do so too. Onaisah was aware that her father had incurred huge debts from his cancer treatment. They could not even afford a doctor’s visit for her sick sister. Saddened by their abject poverty, Onaisah struggled between her personal dream and that of her family. Yet, sacrifice would be the most rational answer although she still harboured the hope of remaining in school. Clashes and contradictions led to mass exodus of refugees In the 15 th century AD, Arakan was a thriving kingdom. Due to its geostrategic location, it prospered as a commerce trading region for people of all ethnic groups in the Indian Ocean. At the time, Rohingya Muslim and Rakhine Buddhist communities lived by the coast of Naf River, which now marks the border between Bangladesh and Myanmar. Although Muslims and Buddhists were dominant, ethnic minorities like Chin and Kaman also moved to Arakan. For a few centuries, the people lived in harmony. Unfortunately, towards the end of 18 th century, Arakan was conquered by the Konbaung Dynasty. During the three Anglo- Burmese wars spanning from 1824 to 1885, the British colonial government migrated Indian Muslim labours to Rakhine due to political reasons, and these groups now form the basic population structure in Rakhine. Through the decades, the relationship between the Rohingya and Rakhine communities has become increasingly tense. Politics, if left unchecked, would inevitably lead to conflicts. The anti-Muslim massacre in 1942 ravaged Muslim villages, looted their assets and persecuted about 100,000 Rohingyas. In the face of relentless violence and bloodshed, the relationship between the two groups took a plunge. Myanmar (formerly known as Burma) gained independence in 1948, but civil wars in the country never ceased. The Rohingyas were not recognized as citizens. Historically, the Rakhines once suffered violent onslaught by the Rohingyas too, and they saw the latter as intruders who robbed resources from the Rakhine state. To date, the safety of Rohingya people remains threatened. In the late 70s and early 90s, when Burma came under military rule, throngs of Translated by Lee Hui Yieng