Rohingya Community Ireland Takes Part in The Diversity Day

Rohingya Community Ireland Takes Part in The Diversity Day

Six Years Ago, I Was a Refugee Too - M Rafique

18 June 2015

I am Mohammed Rafique. I was born in Burma (Myanmar), but I grew up in a refugee camp in Bangladesh for more than 17 years. Today, I am proud to have become an Irish citizen in 2013, and I live in Carlow with 78 other Rohingya refugees who were resettled here with the support of UNHCR and the Irish Government. I am deeply grateful for the safety and dignity Ireland has given us.

But I cannot forget the suffering that brought us here, nor the millions of Rohingya still trapped in persecution.

In 1991–1992, many Rohingya fled Arakan State in Burma due to a well-founded fear of persecution by the military junta. Around 260,000 refugees sought shelter in 19 camps in Bangladesh’s Cox’s Bazar district, recognized by both the Bangladeshi government and UNHCR. Since then, approximately 230,000 of these refugees were forcefully repatriated to Burma under so-called “Voluntary Repatriation.” Today, only two registered and two unregistered camps remain. Most of those who were returned fled again due to insecurity and persecution, seeking shelter in unregistered camps or scattered across Bangladesh.

Life in the camps was no different from life in Burma. Food, education, healthcare, and freedom of movement were severely restricted. Refugees lived under constant threat of violence, including rape, abduction, and fabricated legal cases. Many children died shortly after birth due to lack of care, and women suffered from complications and internal bleeding after childbirth. Malnutrition was widespread, and the basic human rights that every person deserves were almost nonexistent.

Rape and forced marriage were persistent threats. Local gangs abducted many refugee girls, some of whom were later forced to marry men from nearby villages. False accusations and fabricated cases against innocent refugees were common. The heads of families were often targeted by local people or authorities, pressured into repatriation, or extorted for money for something as simple as using a mobile phone or computer.

I carry memories of what I saw as a child in Burma and the suffering my family endured there — memories that were repeated in the refugee camps for 17 long years. Yet the situation today in Burma is far worse. Rohingya communities continue to endure systematic and organized crimes, aimed at erasing our people from Arakan State. These crimes are perpetrated not only by the military but also by local authorities, police, and security forces, often supported by elements of society who claim to defend democracy and human rights.

The world has seen these crimes but often looks away. Even those celebrated as defenders of democracy, including Aung San Suu Kyi, have acted as hypocrites in the face of these human rights abuses. We are not outsiders. We are Rohingya — people who have lived in Arakan State for generations. My parents, grandparents, and great-grandparents were all born there.

I call on the international community, governments, NGOs, and people of conscience everywhere to raise their voices. Stop this slow-burning genocide. Protect the Rohingya. Treat us not as a race or a religious minority, but as human beings deserving of dignity, safety, and justice.

Because we are still here. And we are still asking for humanity.

— Mohammed Rafique, Carlow, Ireland

Rohingya Community Ireland meets UN Secretary-General, Ban Ki-Moon

“The world is with you, I am with you.”, said Ban Ki-Moon.

As Republic of Ireland celebrates its 60th anniversary of the United Nations membership, UN secretary-general met the members of resettled communities from five different countries - Burma (also known as Myanmar), Afghanistan, the Democratic Republic of the Congo, Syria and South Sudan.

Three human traffickers killed in Teknaf gunfight

Teknaf, Bangladesh: Three alleged human traffickers were killed in a gunfight with police in a shrimp enclosure under Teknaf police station on May 8, at about 3:30am, Ataur Rahman Khandakar, officer-in-charge of Teknaf Police Station said.

Three human traffickers killed in Teknaf gunfight

UNHCR calls for joint response in wake of “Rohingya mass grave” in Thailand

The UN refugee agency is deeply concerned at this week's discovery of dozens of bodies in smugglers' camps in southern Thailand. The agency calls on countries in the region to strengthen cooperation on counter-smuggling and counter-trafficking measures while ensuring the protection of victims.

In recent days Thai authorities have announced that they found the remains of some 30 people believed to originate in Myanmar and Bangladesh. Investigations are ongoing, with initial police accounts citing illness and abuse as likely causes of death.

UNHCR calls for joint response in wake of “Rohingya mass grave” in Thailand

Canada’s religion envoy denounces persecution of Myanmar Muslims

OTTAWA - Canada's religious freedom ambassador denounced Wednesday the persecution of Muslims in Myanmar and urged Canadian businesses eager to find opportunities in that resource-rich country to respect human rights.

Ambassador Andrew Bennett said he also delivered his concerns about the well-document persecution of the Rohingya Muslim population directly to #Myanmar government officials, including the country's foreign affairs minister.

"Now really is the moment for a more inclusive process that brings all religious and ethnic communities together so that they can contribute to the country's development," Bennett, who was on a lengthy trip to the south Asian country, told The Canadian Press in an interview from Yangon.

Canada’s religion envoy denounces persecution of Myanmar Muslims

A massage for Rohingya leaders

Assalamualaikum

Dear Rohingya leaders,

In the time grievance, you (so-called proclaimed Rohingya leaders) from around the world should at least voice together for victims who have been sold to human traffickers for the failure of your leadership that is becoming more and more obvious as the suffering of our people, Rohingya amasses inside and outside of Arakan.