The Stateless Rohingya Blog

Part of a 121-strong group of Rohingya boatpeople, including six women and two children, arrive at a shelter in Punteuet in Aceh province on February 27, 2013, after being found adrift by fishermen around 25 km from the coast of Sumatra. (AFP PHOTO) 200 nabbed ahead of 'migrating season' THE authorities are stepping up measures to prevent the illegal inflow of Rohingya from neighbouring Myanmar.  Illegal entries by members of this ethnic group usually soar between November and April every year - after the monsoon period has ended.  The Rohingya - who are Muslim - have been fleeing for years from Myanmar's western Rakhine State, where they face severe repression in most facets of daily life by a government that regards them as "Bengalis" from Bangladesh.  "Security agencies have estimated that more than 10,000 Rohingya people will arrive in Thailand via Ranong and nearby provinces between next month and April next year," Deputy Rano

An elderly Muslim Rohingya man outside his tent at the Dabang Internally Displaced Persons (IDP) camp, located on the outskirts of the city of Sittwe on October 10, 2012. (file photo) By Nurul Islam The Rakhine State (historically known as Arakan), is one of seven ethnic minority states which were formed under the constitution of 1974. The Rohingya Muslim population is mostly concentrated in the three northern townships: Maungdaw, Buthidaung and Rathedaung. The Rohingyas speak a Bengali dialect similar to what is spoken in the Chittagong region of Bangladesh, mixed primarily with words from the Urdu, Hindi and Arabic languages, but also from the Bama and English languages. The first Muslims who settled in this region were believed to be Arab mariners and traders that arrived on the Rakhine coast in the 8th and 9th centuries. Other Muslims who came to the area in later centuries include Persians, Moghuls, Turks, Pathans and Bengalis. During the British colonial period from 18