The Silencing and Ostracization of Rohingyas: A Study of Habiburahman’s Memoir First, They Erased Our Name: A Rohingya Speaks

Abstract

A minority group refers to a racially, culturally, or ethnically distinct group that is secondary or subordinate to a dominant group. Nearly every state consists of various communities whose traditions, religion, language, and historical experiences differ from one another and through socio-political powerplay. People treat others based on what they perceive as essential characteristics of those individuals or groups, which are often based purely, on their position in the stratification hierarchy. Though in several states the ethnoculturally diverse communities co-exist in harmony, resulting in ‘Pluralism’, however, in others the minority groups are subjected to discrimination and violence. Establishing the cultural hegemony of the dominant group has been an effective tool in subjugating the minority communities. However, Repressive State Apparatuses are also employed by the state, in extreme conditions, which result in expulsion and genocide. One such instance of ethnic cleansing is the ostracisation of the Rohingya community. Rohingyas are a Muslim minority group in Myanmar, erstwhile Burma, which is predominantly, a Buddhist country. They have been the target of institutionalised discrimination. They were denied citizenship by the government and were rendered stateless. The discriminatory policies of the government of Myanmar have compelled a huge number of Rohingya Muslims to flee their homeland. Many took refuge in the neighbouring countries. The paper aims to examine the racial and ethnic discrimination of the Rohingya community and their systematic oppression and ostracisation which lead to the exodus of the Rohingyas, as documented in Habiburahman’s memoir First, They Erased Our Name: A Rohingya Speaks.