I've been visiting Rohingya refugee camps close to the Bangladesh/Myanmar border, and the scale of the forced migration is truly horrifying.

Land unoccupied in late August is now a cramped shanty city of bamboo, tarpaulin and mud that seems to go on forever.

Interviews in the camps paint a desperately sad picture. The details of these interviews are invariably confronting and often distressing, and explain why so many Rohingya fled Myanmar so quickly.

A farmer becomes understandably emotional when he tells me:

"I lost my two sons, and two daughters. At midnight the military come in my house and burnt the house, but first they raped my two daughters and they shot my two daughters in front of me.

"I have no words to express how it was for me to suffer to look at my daughters being raped and killed in front of me. My two sons were also killed by the government. I was not able to get the dead bodies of my daughters, it is a great sorrow for me."

Background to the refugee crisis
The military's ongoing "clearance operation" began in late August with the supposed aim of ridding Myanmar of a recently emerged militant group.

But this campaign's real intent is now widely regarded as being to force the ethnic Rohingya, a Muslim minority, from their homes, away from their land, and out of Myanmar.

Myanmar's military, the Tatmadaw, has used tactics that are brutal, indiscriminate, and yet sadly familiar to the Rohingya and other groups in Myanmar such as the ethnic Kachin and Karen.

Witnesses described to me how, when the Tatmadaw arrived at their village, the soldiers fired weapons and killed people inside wooden homes, arrested young men, raped women, told residents to leave, and then burned homes to prevent the residents' return. Continue reading

Sources

• The Conversation article by Ronan Lee, PhD Candidate, Alfred Deakin Institute for Citizenship and Globalisation, Deakin University
• Image: Hindustan Times

It is estimated that in less than three weeks, up to 400,000 Rohingya refugees have fled Myanmar.

They are fleeing mass human rights violations and atrocities, including: the burning of villages and crops, using petrol and rocket launchers; executions by shooting, stabbing, beating or burning; beatings; and sexual violence.

But the Rohingya refugee crisis is not new. For decades, the Rohingya have been persecuted in Myanmar, with almost one million fleeing Myanmar since the 1970s.

Previous waves of displacement and return have been marked by violence and growing suspicion towards Rohingya by the Rakhine Buddhists and the national (military and civilian) governments.

The crimes being committed in the past weeks against the Rohingya are also not unusual.

They have only escalated in intensity and number, with the perpetrators no doubt spurred by the impunity with which they have been able to commit such atrocities for so long.

UN officials such as the Secretary General and the High Commissioner for Human Rights have called the current situation "ethnic cleansing."

The UN has avoided the term "genocide" - however, it is genocide that is taking place. Myanmar's military government has systematically sought and acted to remove the Rohingya minority from Myanmar and overall, from existence.

Rohingya are a minority group living in Rakhine state of Myanmar, located on the western coast and along the border with Bangladesh and close to India.

Rohingya are referred to as "Bengali" - a derogatory term - and, despite evidence of their residence in Myanmar for centuries, are denied citizenship and the participatory rights that come with that privilege such as participating in the public service.

Rohingya's freedom of movement is restricted (they are even herded into detention camps and ghettos), their employment rights and options severely limited, and they are denied access to food, healthcare and education.

In addition, long-term mass violence has been carried out, including instances of organised massacres accompanied by sexual violence. Continue reading

Sources

• ABC Religion & Ethics, article by Gerhard Hoffstaedter and Melanie O'Brien.
• Image: Kenn Orphan

At least 5,000 Rohingya have fled the religiously and ethnically divided state where the military has operated counter-insurgency operations since Oct. 9 that has left more than 100 people dead and more than 400 arrested.

Chris Lewa, director of the Arakan Project, an advocacy group on Rohingya rights, said that at least 5,000 people fled to Bangladesh during Nov. 14-20 period.

"About 1,500 are stranded on a disputed island between Myanmar and Bangladesh in the middle of the Naf River without any food or water," Lewa told ucanews.com.

The United Nations said that they couldn't verify the numbers of Rohingya refugees, as they have no access to those areas.

"We have been appealing for access in order to assess and help meet the need for shelter, food and medical attention," Vivian Tan, spokesperson of the U.N. refugee agency UNHCR, told ucanews.com.

For many Rohingya, reaching the border does not mean safe arrival.

Bangladesh has hardened its stance on keeping its border closed and has tried to push refugees back as the country struggles to cope with the exodus.

"The Bangladeshi government must not add to the suffering of Rohingya. They should be recognized and protected as refugees fleeing persecution, not punished for who they are," Champa Patel, South Asia director of Amnesty International said in a statement on Nov. 24.

A 40-year-old Rohingya woman told the London-based rights group that she had fled to Bangladesh after the Myanmar army killed her husband and one of her sons. She said she was not able to find shelter in a camp for herself and her two young children.

"We are sleeping outside in the mud," she said. " My son is 2- years-old and is crying all the time, he is very cold in the mornings. Still, compared to Myanmar, Bangladesh seems like heaven to me." Continue reading

Sources

• John Menadue in Pearls and Irritations
• Image: Stop Genocide Now

Ashin Issariya appears unassuming, but the quiet demeanour quickly changes when he has something to say. In the pre-dawn light of Burma's nascent reform process the Buddhist monk and former Saffron Revolution leader isn't afraid to say what others won't, even if it seems to put him at odds with his own.

Based in the country's commercial capital, Rangoon, Issariya helped lead thousands of monks to challenge the former military regime in 2007, a choice that cost him nearly five years as a political prisoner. Now he heads up a grassroots organisation made up of different religious leaders opposed to the new 969 movement.

‘The real message of the 969 is not to attack other religions, but some monks are using it like a shield,' he said. Many would like to denounce it but hesitate because it is ‘the real teaching of the Buddha'.

The numbers represent the ‘three crown jewels': the nine attributes of Buddha; the six attributes of his teachings; and the nine attributes of the monastic order known as the sangha. Continue reading.

Brennan O'Connor is a Canadian photojournalist who has been documenting the lives of Burma's ethnic nationalities since 2008.

Source: New Internationalist

Image: Ashin Wirathu who has spent time in jail for inciting violence against Muslims, Brennan O'Connor

While the Pope assured the Nobel Peace Prize winner of the Church's support for her cause, he specified that the Church does not show discrimination but is at the service of all with its charitable works.

Vatican spokesman Father Federico Lombardi called the 20-minute meeting a "rather significant encounter" between two leaders "fundamentally on the same wavelength" regarding nonviolence, democracy and "peaceful coexistence in today's world".

Father Lombardi described Suu Kyi as "one of the most significant personalities in Asia in the area of peace, democracy and peaceful coexistence" and a "symbol of non-violent commitment to democracy and peace".

He said Pope Francis "naturally assured [her] of his prayers for Myanmar and for the Catholic community and the Church in her country, and of his appreciation for the lady's commitment to development and democracy in her country, assuring her of the collaboration of the Catholic Church in these great causes".

Myanmar, formerly Burma, has an overwhelmingly Buddhist population of 55 million, with Catholics making up only 1 per cent.

Under the military junta governing Myanmar, Suu Kyi spent most of the last two decades in some form of detention because of her efforts to bring democracy to the country.

"The Holy Father told me that emotions such as hatred and fear diminish life and the value of the person," she after her meeting with Pope Francis.

She said the Pope also told her "we need to value love and understanding to improve the lives of people".

Suu Kyi, who has become an international symbol of peaceful resistance in the face of oppression, was re-elected to parliament in 2012.

Sources:

Catholic News Service

Vatican Radio

ANSA

Image: National Catholic Reporter

The reasons include the rise of violent religious extremism and the actions and inactions of governments, according to Dr Katrina Lantos Swett of the US Commission for International Religious Freedom.

"Extremists target religious minorities and dissenters from majority religious communities for violence, including physical assaults and even murder," she said.

"Authoritarian governments also repress religious freedom through intricate webs of discriminatory rules, arbitrary requirements and draconian edicts."

In its latest report, the commission lists 15 countries of particular concern: Burma, China, Eritrea, Iran, North Korea, Saudi Arabia, Sudan, Uzbekistan, Egypt, Iraq, Nigeria, Pakistan, Tajikistan, Turkmenistan and Vietnam.

All of these nations, it says, severely restrict independent religious activity and harass individuals and groups for religious activity or beliefs.

Examples include sectarian violence against minority Christians and Muslims in Burma, repression of non-state religious groups in China, and Iran's imprisonment of Christians on account of their faith.

In both Pakistan and Nigeria, the report says, religious extremism and impunity have factored into unprecedented levels of violence that threaten the long-term viability of both nations.

A second tier of countries is named, where there are also serious and troubling violations of religious liberty. These countries are Afghanistan, Azerbaijan, Cuba, India, Indonesia, Kazakhstan, Laos and Russia.

The report also highlights the status of religious liberty in other countries that do not fall into either of the two tiers. These nations and regions include: Bahrain, Bangladesh, Belarus, Ethiopia, Turkey, Venezuela and the entirety of Western Europe.

Some signs of hope were seen. The report noted that Turkey is "moving in a positive direction with regard to religious freedom".

Sources:

Catholic News Agency

United States Commission on International Religious Freedom

Image: Religious Freedom Coalition

As many as 2,000 children are experiencing stunted growth and nearly 1,000 are acutely malnourished, said Andrew Scadding, director of the Thai Children's Trust, during an interview with Hanna Hindstrom from the Democratic Voice of Burma.

The UK-based NGO has provided food aid through local schools since 2010, but their money is running out. Global aid budgets are down and donors are redirecting much of their remaining funds into Burma's emerging market. Continue reading

New Zealand-born Fr Larsen served in the Philippines for many years before leading a Marist mission in to Burma (Myanmar). After being denied an entry visa to Burma, Fr Larsen ministered to refugees and migrant workers on the Thai-Burma border.

For the past 25 years, Fr John Larsen has been working in Southeast Asia, the last six of which he spent on the Thai-Burma Border assisting migrant workers and their families.

"The greatest need is to work for justice, particularly for the young people," said Fr Larsen.

Now in its third year, the Future Justice Prize is a joint initiative of Future Leaders and ACU's Institute of Legal Studies. The prize is awarded to Australian individuals and organisations for leadership and initiative in the advancement of future justice.

Source

• ACU

Although elections last year replaced the military regime with a civilian one, the country still regularly ranks among the worst for human rights and corruption.

Despite this, a group of New Zealanders has set up a successful microfinance charity providing small loans to the country's poorest.

Khup Khan Than works as a tailor in the north of Burma. For years he made ends meet by doing minor repairs on people's clothes.

But, thanks to a small bank loan, he is now able to buy leather polish to restore and resell old jackets, and on some days earns four times what he used to.

The loan came from a community bank set up by the Aotearoa Development Co-Operative (ADC) - a New Zealand-based microfinance charity.

Continue reading 'Kiwis help with small loans for Burma's poorest'.

Image: Himal

According to CSW's sources, on 16 October soldiers from Light Infantry Battalion 438 seized control of a Roman Catholic Church in Namsan Yang village, Waimaw township, where 23 worshippers, mostly women and elderly people, had gathered for the 8am Sunday service. The worshippers took refuge from the gunfire behind the Maria prayer sanctuary. When the troops saw them, they shot several rounds of bullets into the sanctuary. The Catholic assistant to the priest, 49 year-old father-of-four Jangma Awng Li, decided to speak to the troops as he is fluent in Burmese. He was beaten in his head with a rifle butt, and injured his forehead when he hit a concrete wall. He and four other men were handcuffed and detained by the soldiers.

The troops, who were later joined by soldiers from Light Infantry Battalion 121, continued to march through the village shooting, and reached the Baptist church compound in the evening. During the march the detainees, including four from other villages who had been with the troops for two weeks, were used as forced labour. The detainees had to stay with the troops overnight and were temporarily stationed in the Baptist church compound. The whole northern part of village was burned and both church properties were destroyed.

Two days ago, Light Infantry Battalion 121 shot 72 year-old Maru Je Hkam Naw in the arms and legs whilst he was erecting a fence around his house in Namsan Yang village. Houses in Namsan Yang were burned by the Burmese Army and Mr Jangma Awng Li and other detainees, too afraid to return home, fled the village. At least 21 villagers were detained and used for forced labour, and a 19 year-old Rakhine boy was shot dead. His body was burned and thrown into the mine in Namsan Yang where he worked.

Full Article: Christian Solidarity Worldwide