We’ve Had Enough’: Rohingya Urge End to Violence in Myanmar

Amid ongoing persecution, the Rohingya community calls for an end to the violence in Myanmar, urging international action and highlighting their continued struggle for safety and human rights.

To commemorate the seventh anniversary of their displacement from Myanmar due to military oppression, tens of thousands of Rohingya refugees currently residing in Bangladesh held rallies within camps.

On Sunday, refugees of all ages – from kids to the elderly- gathered in Cox’s Bazar camps. They held up placards and chanted slogans calling for an end to violence and a safe return home to Myanmar.

Additionally, numerous individuals donned ribbons featuring the phrase “Remembering Rohingya Genocide”.

Their signs read, “Home is hope” and “As Rohingyas we are Myanmar citizens.”

Refugee Hafizur Rahman urged Reuters news agency to halt the violence and assaults against the Rohingya community, stressing that it is time for enough to be enough.

For a considerable time, the Rohingya have been subjected to prejudice and ethnic brutality in Myanmar.

At the International Court of Justice in The Hague, a genocide case focuses on the crackdown launched by Myanmar’s military that led to at least 750,000 Rohingya fleeing to neighboring Bangladesh in 2017.

Over the past few weeks, there have been reports of thousands more Rohingya refugees leaving Rakhine state in western Myanmar and crossing into Bangladesh. The escalation of fighting between the military government and Arakan Army, which is a prominent ethnic militia that primarily recruits from the Buddhist majority population has forced them to flee their homeland.

In the four days preceding August 7, Doctors without Borders (MSF), an international medical organization nicknamed by its French initials MSF, provided treatment to 39 individuals who had sustained injuries related to conflict in Cox’s Bazar. These included wounds caused by mortar shells and gunshots. According to a statement released by MSF, more than two-fifths of those injured were women and children.

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The escalating reports of civilians, particularly children becoming victims in the conflict have prompted UNICEF to express grave concern about the deteriorating state of affairs in Rakhine.

According to a report, approximately 500,000 Rohingya children who fled Myanmar are now residing in the largest refugee camp on earth after seven years.

Mohammed Taher, a refugee, expressed his desire for the United Nations to take steps towards facilitating their peaceful cohabitation with other ethnic communities in Myanmar and ensuring that they can return home with full rights intact.

This month, Mohammad Touhid Hossain, who serves as Bangladesh’s de facto foreign minister in its interim government, informed Reuters that neighboring countries of Myanmar like India need to step up their efforts.

Additionally, Hossain urged for increased global pressure upon the Arakan Army to cease their aggression towards the Rohingya population in Rakhine state.

According to a statement from Orla Murphy, who is the MSF’s country representative in Bangladesh, it is crucial to safeguard innocent civilians affected by the ongoing conflict in Myanmar without delay.

Murphy stated that individuals should not be subjected to random assaults and ought to have the freedom to evacuate to secure regions. In addition, people requiring critical medical attention must receive unhindered and continuous entryway into healthcare facilities.