World Urged to Save Rohingya Muslims
“I stand with the Rohingyas, and I encourage people everywhere to do so,” Pakistan’s Dawn newspaper reported quoted Malala as saying in a statement released by the Malala Fund.
“I call on the leaders of Burma and the world to take immediate action to halt the inhuman persecution of Burma’s Muslim minority Rohingya people,” she said.
In the past few weeks, about 3,100 Rohingya refugees fled Burma and Bangladeshi to land in Malaysia, Indonesia and Thailand where they fell in the custody of respective governments.
According to an estimate by International Organization for Migration (IOM), about 8,000 boatpeople are still adrift in Bay of Bengal and Andaman Sea, where they are running dangerously low on food and water.
Although Rohingyas have lived in Burma’s Rakhine state for many centuries, the Buddhist-dominated society identifies them as ‘illegal immigrants’ from Bangladesh. Following demand from the Buddhists, in 1982, Burma’s then military government stripped the Rohingyas of their citizenship.
After the Rohingya turned stateless, persecution of the community began soaring in Burma. In recent years, especially since 2012, Rohingyas have been facing an increased level of pressure in many terms.
Lamenting causes of Rohingyas suffering, Malala stressed the right of Rohingyas to citizenship in their country of birth, saying they deserved equal rights and opportunities.
“The Rohingyas deserve citizenship in the country where they were born and have lived for generations. They deserve equal rights and opportunities,” statement added.
The 17-year-old said Rohingya Muslims “deserve to be treated like we all deserve to be treated - with dignity and respect. Today and every day.”
