A desperate ethnic group facing state-sponsored violence; a religious people victimised for their beliefs; tens of thousands leaving everything behind; homes and businesses burnt to the ground; the only respite is to flee across a neighbouring border; international aid and humanitarian groups overwhelmed by the crisis; and a world community that is seemingly unable to act. These are the irrefutable elements in place now unfolding in Myanmar, inflicted on the Rohingya people.
These same elements are familiar. In Palestine, we have seen a citizenry unable to defend itself from prolonged state-sponsored attacks and outrages to its heritage, history and beliefs — with millions cast to the corners of the Earth, a diaspora intent of regaining its land, justice and peace. Did we do all we could to help Palestinians in their hours of need?
In Syria, we have seen these same elements, with millions now living in another desperate diaspora, living as they can, yearning for a time when it may be safe once more to return to their homes and businesses, villages and towns, to not fear reprisals for uttering words or sentiments against a murderous and arbitrary regime whose end they sought and fought. Did we best serve those Syrians, or did we watch and pity and let someone else deal with the problem?
And in Iraq, when the state was unable or unwilling to protect its peoples, when violence became a tide that never ebbed, where living became a choice of fleeing or cowering, millions fled to camps or refuge across borders. Did we do enough when we had a chance?
The Rohingya are Muslims, denied a legal status in Myanmar for their faith; they are an ethnic group persecuted for their beliefs; and they are a people now desperately in need of help, protection and a voice in the international community.
The tens of thousands who have most recently fled violence in Rakhine state have left everything behind, left a region paralysed by murder and mayhem, and have no choice but to seek a haven in Bangladesh. They join the ranks of many tens of thousands more of their people who took to the seas in boats, seeking safety on the waves but finding little else.
Are we to have regrets over the Rohingya now? Or will we for once be able to say we acted together to ensure yet another humanitarian and refugee crisis never reached its pinnacle of pity?
