Violence In Myanmar Research Articles

Review of “Rights Refused: Grassroots Activism and State Violence in Myanmar”

Review of “Rights Refused: Grassroots Activism and State Violence in Myanmar”

Elliott Prasse-Freeman, Rights Refused. Grassroots Activism and State Violence in Myanmar

Elliott Prasse-Freeman, Rights Refused. Grassroots Activism and State Violence in Myanmar

Finding home: Participatory geospatial mapping with Rohingya refugees

Despite decades of using community-based participatory mapping techniques, few studies have documented the oral histories of refugees and other displaced populations suffering from geographical injustices. This study fills the gap by documenting the process of participatory geospatial mapping with Rohingya refugees, a stateless ethnic minority group who fled to Bangladesh in response to ethnic violence in Myanmar, to collect their spatial narratives and migration stories. In this study, participatory mapping exercises were conducted using Google Earth Pro to collect qualitative data from 52 Rohingya adolescents and adults living in refugee camps in Cox’s Bazar about their migration experiences. Findings were organized into six key themes including 1) Discrimination and unfair treatment in Myanmar; 2) Forced removal from land and houses being burned by the military; 3) Leaving family and livestock behind; 4) Dangers of migration; 5) Feelings of safety and security in Bangladesh; and 6) Positive elements and happy memories from home. Results from this project indicate that participatory mapping exercises can lend agency to those who have suffered geographical injustices as it helps to process trauma; validate and reframe lived experiences; empower marginalized voices to spur action towards change; and can provide insights to policy makers.

“We decide according to the protocol”: Humanitarian Healthcare Workers’ Moral Experiences of Palliative Care-Related Decision-Making in Cox’s Bazar, Bangladesh

Introduction:919,000 Rohingya refugees live in overcrowded camps in Cox’s Bazar, Bangladesh after fleeing violence in Myanmar. The Médecins Sans Frontières (MSF) Goyalmara Hospital offers the highest level of pediatric and neonatal care serving the Rohingya refugees and palliative care is gradually being integrated due to high mortality and medical complexity of patients. The purpose of this study was to understand the moral experiences of staff involved in providing palliative care to inform program implementation at Goyalmara Hospital and in other humanitarian contexts.Method:This focused ethnography was conducted between March-August 2021 at Goyalmara Hospital. Data collection involved participant-observation, individual interviews (22), focus group discussions (5), and analysis of protocols and other documents. Interviews and focus groups were audio-recorded, translated, and transcribed. A coding scheme was developed, and data coded using NVivo 11.Results:A key finding of this study was the important yet contested role of clinical guidelines and policies in palliative care related decision-making which was shaped by the authority and impermanent presence of international staff in the project. Staff saw clinical guidelines as a valuable resource that supported a consistent approach to care over time, and some locally hired staff used clinical guidelines as a tool to support their point of view during care planning discussions with international staff. Others felt that palliative care guidelines and other policies were inappropriately or rigidly applied, particularly surrounding decisions to refer (or not refer) patients to a higher level of care, or to discontinue certain medical treatments at end of life.Conclusion:MSF staff experienced tension between the need for clarity and consistency, and the need to tailor guidelines to the context, patient, and family. Open discussion of staff concerns may alleviate moral distress and alert teams to areas where advocacy, staff psycho-social support, training, or clinical mentoring are needed.

Distributed records in the Rohingya refugee diaspora: Arweave and the R-Archive

PurposeThis article delineates the pilot implementation of the Rohingya Archive (R-Archive). The R-Archive seeks to both confront and exploit the roles of documentation and recordkeeping in forced displacement of Rohingya people through targeted physical and bureaucratic violence in Myanmar. This grassroots activist intervention is located at the intersection of technology, rights, records, jurisdictions and economics. Using Arweave's blockweave, the R-Archive secures copies of records, such as identity documentation, land deeds and personal papers, carried into diaspora by Rohingya refugees against unauthorised alteration, deletion and loss, providing a trust infrastructure for accumulating available evidence in support of rights claims and cultural preservation.Design/methodology/approachIterative development of functional requirements, data collection processes and identification of a technological solution for the community-based, post-custodial, blockchain-inspired R-Archive; design and testing of the R-Archive pilot; and analysis of trust and economic concerns arising.FindingsA complex set of interconnecting considerations is raised by this use of emerging technologies in service to a vulnerable and diasporic community. Hostile governments and volatile cryptocurrencies are both threats to the distributed post-custodial R-Archive. However, the strength of the community bonds that form the archive and articulated in its records speak to the possibility of perdurance for a global Rohingya archive, and working through the challenges surfaced by its development offers the possibility to serve as a model that might be adaptable for other grassroots archival activist projects initiated by oppressed, marginalised and diasporic communities.Research limitations/implicationsPersonal and community safety and accessibility concerns, especially in refugee camps and under Covid-19 restrictions, presented particular challenges to carrying out the research and development that are addressed in the research design and future research plans.Practical implicationsThe goal of this pilot was to collect and store examples of a range of documents that demonstrate different aspects of Rohingya culture and links to the homeland as well as those that record formal evidentiary relationships between members of the Rohingya community now in diaspora and the Burmese state (e.g. acknowledgements of citizenship). The pilot was intended to demonstrate the viability of using a blockchain-inspired decentralised archival system combined with a community-driven approach to data collection and then to evaluate the results for potential to scale.Social implicationsThe R-Archive is a community-centred and driven effort to identify and preserve, under as secure and trusted conditions as possible, digital copies of documents that are of juridical, cultural and personal value to the Rohingya people and also of significance as primary documentary evidence that might be used by international legal institutions in investigating genocide taking place in Burma and by academic researchers studying the history of Burma.Originality/valueThe R-Archive is novel in terms of its technological application (Arweave), the economic concerns of a vulnerable stateless population it is trying to address, and its functional complexity, in that its goal is simultaneously to serve both legal evidentiary and community archive functions. The R-Archive is also an important addition to other notable efforts in the diasporic Rohingya community that have attempted to employ the tools of technology for cultural preservation.

A lost generation: perpetual education insecurity among the Rohingya

ABSTRACT Education security exists when every child has equal access to quality education. Rohingya refugee children suffer widespread rates of education insecurity both in their home country, Myanmar and in their host country, Bangladesh. While the right to education is recognized in several human rights instruments, access to education is not ubiquitous, making the ability to achieve this right challenging for many Rohingya. Government restrictions on accredited education, COVID-19 related school closures, failures in launching a pilot of the Myanmar curriculum, and recent government plans to relocate refugees to Bhasan Char Island have created a ‘lost generation’ of Rohingya youth. This study traces the development of education insecurity among the Rohingya, a stateless ethnic minority group who fled to Bangladesh in 2017 in response to ethnic violence in Myanmar. Drawing upon available literature and primary fieldwork, this study examines the social, cultural, and political determinants of learning opportunities for Rohingya children.

Preventing Communal Violence in Myanmar: Power and Legitimacy in Local Conflict Prevention

Violence between Buddhists and Muslims in Myanmar again reached international attention in 2017 when the newly elected democratic government failed to protect Rohingya Muslims from persecution. While inter-group violence is endemic, however, there are clear and strong examples of peaceful co-existence. This article draws on interview and ethnographic evidence from a case of prevented violence in Mingalar Taung Nyunt, Yangon, in 2017, to argue that engaging with the local, complex, and dynamic process of communal violence prevention can enrich contemporary theories of communal violence. The article draws specifically on insights from the theories of political manipulation and civic engagement to argue that the most effective analysis of communal violence will focus on the power dynamics that shape local responses to escalating threat. In Mingalar Taung Nyunt, violence was prevented through the concerted effort of individuals in unique positions that provided them with the legitimacy and political power that allowed them to successfully de-escalate tensions. The article contributes to the understanding of communal violence by emphasising how the role and importance of inter-group associations, government bodies, and others is shaped by the laws and norms of the community in which violence is escalating. The article’s conclusions furthermore outline how the recent military coup in the country will destabilise local peace-keeping efforts in central Myanmar and how such institutions may be rebuilt.

Once We Were Refugees: Refugees, Security, Solidarity and a View from the Global South—A Case Study of the Rohingya Reception in Bangladesh

Abstract The 2017 violence in Myanmar led to an exodus of Rohingya to Bangladesh. Today, it hosts a million refugees and is home to the world’s largest camp. Bangladesh’s response to the new arrivals was described as ‘exemplary’, defined by widespread assistance and messages of solidarity expressed by the current government towards the Rohingya. Yet, Bangladesh is not a state party to the Refugee Convention, is reluctant to serve as a long-term host, and is serving as one within a global context that has popularized fortifications as a means of migrant deterrence. Given its own strained resources and security concerns, what explains Bangladesh’s approach? And what produced the shift towards the security narrative within three years of the Rohingya crisis? This project traces the discursive frameworks through which Bangladesh legitimized its policies towards the Rohingya and the sources from which its norms of solidarity and that of refugee restriction were generated.

Gendered aspects of distress migration: Taking note of Rohingya voices

A qualitative study conducted among Rohingya refugees in Bangladesh provides empirical confirmation of two types of adverse consequence that frequently occur following distress migration: harsh and exclusionary host state policies, and exacerbation of power inequities (and related abuse) within the refugee community. This article describes research that explored the circumstances of female Rohingya refugees living in the Cox’s Bazar refugee camps in Bangladesh after fleeing genocidal violence in Myanmar. The refugees describe harsh gendered aspects of their forced displacement, including limited access to needed protection and services as well as intra-community hardships exacerbated by the impact of displacement and segregation. Both sets of outcomes constitute preventable human rights violations that require redress.

Displacement, Violence, and Mental Health: Evidence from Rohingya Adolescents in Cox's Bazar, Bangladesh.

The Rohingya have endured generations of trauma through displacement and targeted violence in Myanmar. Hundreds of thousands have been forced out of the country, with a large proportion settling in refugee camps in Cox’s Bazar, Bangladesh. This study examines the impacts of exposure to trauma on mental health outcomes among Rohingya adolescents living in Bangladesh. Post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) and depression are examined as outcomes. The main explanatory variable is a measure of exposure to trauma at two levels of proximity (experiencing and witnessing). Resilience is investigated as a potential effect modifier. Experiencing and witnessing traumatic events are positively and significantly associated with PTSD and depression. However, this effect is only seen for PTSD as a continuous measure, reflecting high rates of low-level PTSD in this population. Resilience is found to reduce the effects of trauma on depression, indicating an effect modification of this relationship.

The sustainability-peace nexus in crisis contexts: how the Rohingya escaped the ethnic violence in Myanmar, but are trapped into environmental challenges in Bangladesh.

Because of ethnic and cultural violence in Myanmar, approximately a million Rohingya fled to neighboring Bangladesh starting from August 2017, in what the UN has called a “textbook example of ethnic cleansing”. Those arriving in Bangladesh were able to escape decade-long ethnic violence in Myanmar, but the Rohingya’s immediate destination, Cox’s Bazar district is one of the most climate-vulnerable and disaster-prone areas in Bangladesh. Currently, they have been subjected to extreme rainfalls, landslides, and flashfloods. With the COVID-19 pandemic, they continue to face fear and further marginalization in resource-constrained Bangladesh, as well as increased vulnerability due to tropical cyclones, flashfloods, and landslides. The Rohingya in southeast Bangladesh are now at the epicenter of a humanitarian and sustainability crisis. However, their situation is not entirely unique. Millions of displaced, stateless or refugees around the world are facing multi-dimensional crises in various complex geopolitical, and climatic situations. Using the theoretical lens of political ecology and critical development studies, this paper analyzes the sustainability–peace nexus for millions of Rohingya in Myanmar and in Bangladesh. This paper is based on information from various sources, including three ethnographic field visits in recent years, which helped to get local insights into the current sustainability challenges in this humanitarian context. The core arguments of this paper suggest that sustainability–peace nexus will especially be compromised in climate-vulnerable resource-constrained conditions. To overcome this challenge, decolonizing Rohingya solutions would be critical, by engaging the Rohingya in the process of development and meaningful change, which can affect their lives, livelihoods, and wellbeing. Even though this paper has a specific geographical focus, the insights are relevant in parts of the world facing similar social, economic, political, and environmental challenges.

The Excuse of (Il)legality in Discriminating and Persecuting Religious Minorities: Anti-Mosque Legal Violence in Myanmar

AbstractThis article highlights the convenient excuse of (il)legality used by (1) religious majoritarian mobs to justify attacks against places of worship and religious buildings of minorities; and (2) police and local authorities to absolve themselves of the failure to uphold public order and the rule of law, protect religious minorities, and to punish religious minorities. This article traces the emergence of legal violence in the form of anti-mosque vigilante extremism in Myanmar from 2012 onwards and analyzes cases of attacks against: (1) “illegal” mosques; (2) madrasas being used as or reconstructed into mosques; (3) buildings allegedly being constructed as mosques; (4) private homes and public spaces being used as mosques; and cases of (5) closed mosques not being allowed to reopen. The author primarily used Myanmar-language resources as well as interviews to conduct the research.

Development Versus Justice: International Criminal Law and Investment in Myanmar

Though many international and domestic actors have documented violations of human rights in Myanmar and pressured for ‘justice’, others have preferred a narrative of the violence that invites a development-oriented approach. This chapter draws on the ‘peace versus justice’ debate to consider the narrower tension between development and international criminal justice. Both concepts have been associated with fulfilling human rights and the provision of aid, including to support institutional reforms. While there are exceptions, the development and international criminal law paradigms have typically been portrayed as normatively aligned. This chapter analyses public statements concerning the violence in Myanmar and assesses their contribution to debates about the relationship between development and international criminal law. It identifies a ‘development and/versus international criminal justice’ conversation in relation to prosecuting international crimes alleged to have been perpetrated in Myanmar. Finally, it raises questions about the possible dangers and opportunities of emphasising development in opposition to international criminal justice for the future.

Malaysia and the Rohingya: Media, Migration, and Politics

A framing analysis of Malaysian newspaper, The Star was conducted to identify narrative themes used to frame a period of escalating violence in Myanmar (2012 through 2016) that prompted the Rohingya to flee to Bangladesh. Our analysis found that the newspaper represented refugees as violent, criminal and illegal outsiders, while the host nation and its officials were cast as benevolent actors offering humanitarian aid. Rohingya people’s arrival in Malaysia was framed as a source of external and internal political debates about migration and the challenges that arise due to refugees’ mobility, porous borders, and human trafficking.

Child marriage practices among the Rohingya in Bangladesh

BackgroundPrevious research suggests that child marriage may be accelerated during times of crisis and insecurity as resources are scarce and child marriage may be a survival strategy for girls and their families. In 2017, the Rohingya experienced a mass displacement to Bangladesh in response to escalating violence in Myanmar. This displacement has resulted in an estimated population of nearly 1 million Rohingya living in Cox’s Bazar.MethodsWe conducted in-depth interviews (n = 48) and focus group discussions (n = 12) with Rohingya male and female adolescents and young adults (14–24 years), and program managers and service providers (n = 24) working in Cox’s Bazar to understand their experience of living or working in the camps, preferences for timing of marriage, and marriage practices in Myanmar and in the camps. We also interviewed Bangladeshis in the host community to complement our understanding of marriage in the camps and its influence in the broader community. Our primary objective was to describe how displacement influenced marriage timing and practices.ResultsWe found that child marriage is a strong cultural phenomenon among the Rohingya, primarily rooted in socio-cultural and religious beliefs around readiness for marriage. Although child marriage was practiced by the Rohingya in Myanmar, specific state law and oppression by military forces prevented many from marrying before age 18. Now this preference is more easily practiced in the camps in Bangladesh where the displaced Rohingya experience less marriage regulation. Host community participants perceive the presence of the Rohingya as encouraging both polygamy and child marriage in their communities, leading to tension among the host community.ConclusionsOur findings support evidence that conflict and displacement increase child marriage in populations already vulnerable to child marriage by exacerbating gender inequities. However, our findings also suggest group norms around religious and cultural preferences for age at marriage play a significant role in post-displacement behaviors surrounding marriage.

An assessment of perceptions of justice in Rohingya refugees to identify mental health and psychosocial services needs and inform programme development in Bangladesh: a qualitative survey

BackgroundLocal non-governmental organisations (NGOs) provide mental health and psychosocial services (MHPSS) to over 1 million Rohingya refugees in Bangladesh. To provide insights to inform the development of MHPSS services in populations targeted in ethnic cleansing campaigns, we undertook a project that aimed to identify how refugees' understanding of the justice process is linked to their psychosocial wellbeing. MethodsWe conducted two focus groups and 13 in-depth qualitative interviews with Rohingya refugees residing in camps in Bangladesh. Refugees were recruited from the MHPSS work area of a local NGO—Friends in Village Development, Bangladesh—where a new intensive care programme for people who have experienced sexual and physical violence in Myanmar is being developed. We used baseline intake data to select participants who were known to be from a Myanmar village that suffered violence and who had a potential need for intensive psychological therapy because of direct exposure to violence. A brief interview guide included questions about refugees' understanding of the general concept of justice, of the justice process as applied to their situation, and of the emotional impact caused by justice being realised or denied. Interviews were recorded, transcribed, and translated. Two coders analysed transcripts for key themes based on a codebook using grounded theory. FindingsBetween Nov 1, 2018, and Aug 30, 2019, we interviewed ten male participants and 12 female participants aged between 10 years and 60 years. All had either experienced or witnessed violence when their villages were attacked. Respondents' concepts of justice included: a descriptive account of conflict resolution processes, noted to be culturally variable and often corrupt; and an aspirational account of full restoration of rights within their homeland. Some mentioned retributive punishment, but it was not emphasised. Participants acknowledged distress when thinking about a lack of justice, as well as a possibility of inner peace through achieving justice, but noted that even full restoration of their rights could not completely resolve the effects of the violence. Refugees reported inconsistent access to updates about repatriation, and media outlets, such as international news websites and social media sites, were not routinely accessible. InterpretationMHPSS programmes can potentially enhance refugee wellbeing by providing education, access to news updates, and advocacy surrounding the justice process. A further understanding of how concepts of justice may inform MHPSS programming is important to improve refugee care worldwide. FundingThe Institute for Public Health, Washington University in St Louis, MO, USA and Washington University in St Louis Division of Infectious Diseases, School of Medicine, MO, USA.

De-mystifying Buddhist religious extremism in Myanmar: confrontation and contestation around religion, development and state-building

ABSTRACTMyanmar’s path to democracy, freedom and development has been marred by emerging Buddhist religious extremism targeted against the Rohingya Muslims. This article examines the rise of Buddhist religious extremism in Myanmar. Its core focus is on the political economy of state-building and development, and the structural and social conditions that have produced violence. We argue that contested state-society relations, negotiated by the discourse of state-building and development rather than religion and religious ideologies alone, can better explain the current dynamics of extremist violence in Myanmar. We show that hegemonic state-building processes (that have been ongoing since Myanmar became independent in 1948) and exploitative development serve as a site for inequalities and discriminatory policies. These policies and their manipulation for political and developmental gains have had multiple social effects: they have radicalised a section of Buddhists, resulting in the rise of violent religious extremism, and marginalisation and double victimisation of the Rohingya Muslims, targeted by the State security forces as well as Buddhist extremist groups.

When Women Become the War Zone: the Use of Sexual Violence in Myanmar’s Military Operations

This article draws together existing data and research on the organisation and structure of the Myanmar military (‘Tatmadaw’) and its use of sexual violence in military operations. It argues that from this data, a pattern emerges of rape-permissive military doctrines being employed by the same type of Tatmadaw units across multiple military operations, over many decades and sites. Unpacking each aspect of this posited pattern reveals an endemic rape culture within the Myanmar military that seems to be repeatedly utilised for strategic purposes in counter-insurgency operations. Investigating the potential origins of this rape-permissive culture, the article argues that Tatmadaw recruiting, training and deployment processes cultivate sexual violence as a permissible form of violence that is then tolerated by the Tatmadaw high command, most likely due to its efficacy in achieving its military strategies.

Heritage destruction in Myanmar’s Rakhine state: legal and illegal iconoclasm

ABSTRACTIn this article we map heritage destruction in Myanmar’s Rakhine state. We outline the historic and contemporary political context in Myanmar explaining the background of the Rohingya Muslim ethnic group and addressing the contribution of religion and political change to anti-Rohingya discrimination and violence in Myanmar. We trace patterns of heritage destruction as legal and/ or illegal iconoclasm and specify the key elements of heritage destruction in Rakhine state. Our analysis focusses on the use of heritage destruction in Rakhine state as a tool of genocide, and we suggest that heritage destruction in Myanmar’s Rakhine state ought to be understood as part the authorities’ policies of genocide against the Rohingya. We conclude the article with a call for UNESCO to act to extend its ‘Unite4Heritage’ campaign to include the destruction of heritage by state actors.

Involving Men Volunteers to Effectively Respond to the Problem of Gender-Based Violence in Myanmar: United Nations Population Fund

Gender-based violence has been regarded as one of the major social public health concerns affecting women from all walks of life across the world. Moreover, the incidence of the problem increases enormously in regions which are facing humanitarian emergencies. In order to respond to the problem of violence against women living in a displacement camp in Myanmar, the United Nations Population Fund started a new initiative to develop a network of male volunteers to prevent violence and adequately respond to assist the victims. To conclude, the problem of gender based violence cannot be eliminated unless men are actively involved in the drive. The current strategy of developing a network of men and involving them to counter this menace is quite an effective approach and the program managers from different parts of the world should aim to take a leaf out of it and replicate the same in their settings for a better and a favorable outcome.