Forced Migration In The 21st Century

1.0 INTRODUCTION
Forced Migration is becoming one of the biggest and most complex problems in the 21st century. The International Organization for Migration defines forced migration as any person who migrates to "escape persecution, conflict, repression, natural and human-made disasters, ecological degradation, or other situations that endanger their lives, freedom or livelihood”. The total number of people forcibly displaced worldwide has reached 45.2 million in 2012, according to a report published by the UNHCR.Rohingya, a Muslim Bengali-speaking, ethnic group that live in Rakhine State, on Myanmar’s western coast. They are fleeing oppressive conditions in Myanmar or being migrated forcedly, where they are unconditionally denied citizenship

Survival is our only tool and we will cling to it - even if we have to cross borders". The murder, rape, torture, violence, burnings, lootings, and forced evictions of Rohingya are continuing. The Burma security forces have a long history of discrimination and systematic human rights abuses against Rohingya. Described by some as an ‘open prison’ (Lewa 2009: 11). The most frequently documented large-scale abuses include: extra-judicial killings;rape and sexual violence; torture; political arrests and detentions; forced relocation;destruction of livelihoods and confiscations of land and resources; home and business arson;forced labour; child labour; human trafficking; use of child soldiers; and the denial offreedom of movement, assembly, association, expression, and religion (Islamic Human RightsCommission 2005 and Petrasek 2000). Authorities have also used Rohingya forced labourand confiscated land to construct ‘model villages’ for Buddhist Rakhine and Burmansintended to separate them from the Rohingya communities that, once abandoned, relegatethem to a literal zone of exception, surviving outside of all social, economic, and politicalinstitutions enjoyed by the dominant groups that confer belonging. Such abuses have created a dire humanitarian crisis, further complicated by the government controlling and restricting access to impacted areas (Human Rights Watch

Al-Jazeera documentary’s conclusions, a Burmese academic stated that Rakhine State is “our ancestral land, we cannot share that land, you know, for any aliens or immigrants.” He also said that “no Muslim, no Bengali living in that town because the town people, town folk, do not allow any Bengali people to come here.” A Sittwe-based monk not only repeated this statement but reasoned it is why ethnic Rakhine Buddhists killed ten Muslims there in early June, setting off the initial communal violence: “They felt insulted and were furious when ten Muslims dared to pass through the town.”Al-Jazeera displayed a July 2012 statement by the RNDP’s Dr. Aye Maung that “Bengali people should be relocated to suitable places . . . in order not to reside or mix with Rakhines.” Certain lawmakers in Indonesia, Egypt, Saudi Arabia, and Japan referred to the situation in Rakhine State as ethnic cleansing. While the government has played a significant role in the oppression of the