Let’s give the Rohingya some respite from the horrors

IT is with great sadness and anxiety that we are witnessing a genocide unfolding in Myanmar. It involves the extermination and ethnic cleansing of the Rohingya, a Muslim population in the region of Arakan.

The Rohingya are the most persecuted minority peoples and have been oppressed for decades.

They have effectively been rendered stateless, with absolutely no rights in the country of their birth which have been their home for generations.

Since October 2016, there has been a major upsurge in the violence against the Rohingya. Many were killed, tortured and displaced.

The Islamic Medical Association of Malaysia (IMAM) have been directly involved in the care of Rohingya refugees in Malaysia through our relief arm, IMARET (IMAM Response and Relief Team).

IMAM have operated 19 medical clinics. We strongly empathise with their plight as we have met them and heard their stories first hand.

The Rohingya have sought refuge in Malaysia for a long time. After being tortured, raped, and seeing their homes burnt to the ground, they risk their lives crossing the Andaman Sea in flimsy boats to finally reach Malaysia.

However, Malaysia is not a signatory of the UN Refugee Convention 1951, thus the Rohingya refugees are not allowed to work legally in Malaysia, their children do not have access to education, and they do not have access to affordable healthcare.

They literally “survive in limbo” in Malaysia without being deported back to their home country.

What can each and every one of us do to help the Rohingya and relieve their sufferings? IMAM urge that:

> The Malaysian government call upon the Myanmar Government to stop the persecution of the Rohingya.

> The Malaysian government support the Rohingyan refugees in Malaysia by enabling them to work legally and providing them with basic health care and educational facilities.

The Rohingyan refugees are a resilient people and they can survive with minimal resources.

> All Malaysians to extend their helping hand to the Rohingyan refugees in Malaysia. This can be done either directly to them, or through the various NGOs that have been supporting them regularly over the years. IMARET welcomes your assistance to provide regular outreach health care to them.

Let us all give them some respite from the horrors they have been through in this beautiful land of ours. Let us all be part of the solution.