Boundaries in Shaping the Rohingya Identity and the Shifting Context of Borderland Politics

Abstract

In recent years, new waves of ethnic violence in the Arakan (Rakhine) state of Burma (Myanmar) have resulted in increased internal displacement and the continued exodus of the Rohingya people to neighbouring countries. At the heart of this problem is the fact that Burma (which the Rohingyas claim as their ancestral land) and Bangladesh (where many Rohingyas are unwelcome and/or undocumented refugees) continue to deny the Rohingyas their political identity, each insisting that the displaced Rohingyas are the responsibility of the other. This study examines the history of the region to explore how political identities are shaped (generally) and how Rohingya refugees in Bangladesh, living along the borders, identify themselves in the midst of political sovereignty claims and a social space that exists across artificially drawn borders (specifically). This article argues that the true political identity of the displaced Rohingya refugees can be located in their social memory and their life‐politics in the borderlands. In this social memory, the Rohingyas' beliefs in ethnicity, identity, and belongingness play an important role in shaping their current identity. Their production of cultural artefacts while in exile suggests a non‐conventional resistance, and the close proximity of the refugees to their homeland creates a completely different psychology of attachment and alienation, which needs further attention in refugee studies. Such an understanding of life‐politics along the border may challenge our current understanding of borderland conflicts within the framework of state‐imposed boundaries. The boundaries of identity may go beyond traditional notions of national borders and the identity of the state.

Getting relief to marginalised minorities: the response to cyclone Komen in 2015 in Myanmar

“…The approximately one million Rakhine-based Rohingya are among the most marginalised minorities in Southeast Asia. They have faced intense human rights violations at the hands of the population and the Myanmar military (Farzana 2015;Kipgen 2013). When cyclone Komen struck, 140,000 Rohingya were still housed in camps for internally displaced persons (IDPs) (European Civil Protection and Humanitarian Aid Operations 2015).…”

Gender-based violence in a complex humanitarian context: Unpacking the human sufferings among stateless Rohingya women

“…The situation of statelessness forced Rohingya into further disarray, and a period of migration and struggle as they are now living in precarious conditions in various refugee camps in Bangladesh (Ahmed, 2010; Jha, 2020; Mohsin, 2020). Particularly, since August 2017, thousands of Rohingyas have been tortured and killed in Myanmar, primarily by the Myanmar Army—the Tatmadaw —which has resulted in massive displacement and forced migration of approximately one million Rohingya to neighboring Bangladesh (Farzana, 2015; Nelson et al, 2020; US Department of State, 2018; Yasmin and Akther, 2020). It is widely believed that this Muslim minority in Myanmar is the victim of genocide and “the most persecuted minority in the world” (Human Rights Council, 2017).…”

Causes and Consequences of Rohingya Refugee Crisis: A Case of Doubly Alienated People

“…It is ironic because this crime against humanity takes place at a time when, due to the democratization of Myanmar, most citizens are beginning to experience freedoms unseen ever before. Farzana (2015) in a different study argues that at the core of the Rohingya problem is the fact that Myanmar (which the Rohingyas claim as their ancestral homeland) and Bangladesh (where many Rohingyas are unwelcome and/or undocumented refugees) continue to deny the Rohingyas their political rights and identity, each place stressing that the Rohingya refugees are the responsibility of the other. Farzana (2015) explores the history of the region to investigate how the identities of the people living in the Bangladesh-Myanmar borderlands are developed, in general.…”

“…There are many explanations behind the motive for this genocide on the Myanmar government's part. These explanations range from security issues to economic interests (Ibrahim 2016;Farzana 2015). Security explanations include but are not limited to the scapegoating of the Rohingyas as a diversionary tactic in an internal power struggle.…”