The Stateless Rohingya Blog

TO PRESIDENT BARACK OBAMA  from the BUDDHIST TEACHERS NETWORK URGING YOU TO ADDRESS ANTI-MUSLIM VIOLENCE AT THE UPCOMING ASEAN MEETING IN BURMA/MYANMAR Dear President Obama,  We as 381 Buddhist Teachers in America represent a large community that is deeply concerned about the growing anti Muslim violence in Myanmar and across Asia, and the plight of the 1.3 million Rohingyas, many forced to live against their will in inhumane internment camps and permanent ghettoized communities. We know you have been supportive of all Burmese people and have encouraged peace and reconciliation across the nation. Your upcoming visit to Burma is an important opportunity to strengthen your capacity as a peacemaker. We urge you to once again express concern for Burma’s Muslims and Rohingyas in your public speeches and as well as in your diplomatic engagements there. We believe you can do so in a positive way, honoring the Burmese legacy of tolerance and Metta, values shared across all th

A Rohingya woman and her child at a makeshift camp outside Sittwe in Myanmar’s western Rakhine State. Photo: IRIN The crisis in Rakhine will take years to resolve By  IRIN  November 04, 2014  SITTW E:  As the number of ethnic Rohingya Muslims fleeing Myanmar hits record levels, the prospects for a lasting settlement of the crisis in Myanmar's Rakhine State look bleak. Chris Lewa, the director of  The Arakan Project , a research and advocacy group which monitors Rakhine State, told IRIN the number of Rohingyas that have fled western Myanmar since 2012 has now topped 100,000. "We have been monitoring these exits for years, and this is the most we had ever seen," she said, adding that in late October up to 900 left in a single day. Lewa attributes the surge to multiple factors. "The last sailing season [period of calm water for boat departures] was just before the census, and many of them felt confident because the government had promised they could s

LONDON (Thomson Reuters Foundation) - At least 10 million people are not recognised as nationals by any country. The United Nations launched a campaign on Tuesday to end statelessness within a decade. Here are examples from around the world. MYANMAR: The Rohingya from western Myanmar have suffered a history of abuse. Unlike the majority population which is Buddhist, they are Muslims of South Asian descent. In 1982 Myanmar passed a law which denied them access to citizenship. Many fled to Bangladesh in 1991 and 1992 following a government crackdown. Tens of thousands more left Myanmar following ethnic violence in 2012. There are an estimated 800,000 to 1.33 million Rohingya in Myanmar and 200,000 to 500,000 in Bangladesh. Some end up sold into slavery on fishing boats and plantations. KUWAIT: Many people among the nomadic Bedouin tribes failed to acquire citizenship when the country became independent in 1961. Their descendents are known as bedoun, which means "without&quo