Many questions but no answers
How soon can over 1.1 million Rohingya refugees be sent back to their homes in Rakhine State of western Myanmar? Ask the Bangladesh government and the people of Bangladesh. Whoever is willing to return can come back, says the Myanmar military government. But it goes on to add in the same breath that only the ‘eligible’ inhabitants of Rakhine State would be allowed to return. We will work for peace and reconciliation, promises Aung San Suu Kyi, the State Counsellor of the Myanmar government. Will we get back our land and our houses? Will we be at last guaranteed citizenship this time and will our lives, our children, and our women be really safe? This is the worry the entire Rohingya refugee community living in makeshift camps in Cox’s Bazaar. It is impossible to accept in our midst these ‘illegal Bengali Muslim immigrants’, insists the native ethnic Rakhine Buddhist community. We had no other option but to nip in the bud the growing Islamic threat to Buddhism, and of the ARSA (Arakan Rohingya Salvation Army) militia’s conspiracy to undermine our national security and Myanmar’s sovereignty, justify the Myanmarese military, the nationalist Buddhist monks, and the politicians.

Jeyaraj Veluswamy, SJ

The author is currently assigned to work with JRS team members for Rohingya refugees at JRS ministry Bangladesh