The plight of the Rohingya is going from bad to worse. It is a humanitarian crisis that reveals only the tip of the iceberg and the international community — especially Myanmar, Indonesia, Malaysia and Thailand — should be accountable for the Rohingya’s condition.
Close on the observation that hundreds of Rohingya are drifting on boats in the Andaman Sea and the Straits of Malacca comes the gruesome finding that bodies have been found in mass graves in Malaysia — victims no doubt to the corrupt and ruthless designs of traffickers. More such discoveries will come to light. It is a crime of staggering proportions. This is the time for the United Nations to take stock and hold certain states to account and convince them about the need of the hour: To rehabilitate this helpless community that is simply in search of a better life. The Rohingya, irrespective of where they are currently based, are stateless. This is the crux of their problem, made worse by persecution at the hands of Buddhists in Myanmar and traffickers who are taking advantage of their desperate desire to live. But what of the apathy of nations that are turning them away and absolving themselves of accountability? Thailand, downgraded by the US State Department’s annual Trafficking in Persons Report for not meeting basic standards to combat trafficking, Malaysia and Indonesia have a larger moral accountability and should not just provide the Rohingya with transitory refuge, but more importantly, a nation like Myanmar must assume responsibility since the problem has stemmed from there given the state’s brutal treatment of the Rohingya.
