Introduction: How Are the Rohingya Reshaping Their Futures? Exploring Agencies to Reach Yet Blurred Vision
摘要
The Rohingya, widely known as the world’s most persecuted minorities, faced a dreadful genocidal attack in 2017 in Rakhine State, Myanmar. This brutal campaign, known as the Clearance Operation, led to the death of over 10,000 Rohingya within two months starting from August 25, 2017. The attack included the reported rape of 1900 women and the destruction of 398 villages fully or partially, according to the report published by the United Nations Independent Fact-Finding Mission 2018. Considering the intensity of brutality, the UN Human Rights Commissioner labelled the operation as a ‘textbook example of ethnic cleansing’, while some others deemed it genocide. Consequently, 750,000 Rohingya fled to Bangladesh, joining around 350,000 Rohingya refugees who had previously arrived in the country during earlier waves of displacement in 1978, 1991–1992, 2012, and 2016. The massive influx exacerbated the already crucial conditions in the refugee camps, creating a humanitarian crisis that has not received sufficient attention in post-2017 academic literature. While numerous studies have paid attention to the atrocities in Rakhine State, the post-influx conditions and ongoing struggles of Rohingya refugees in Bangladesh warrant further serious academic attention. This book addresses the post-influx realities of these refugees, exploring their survival strategies, coping mechanisms, and aspirations for a better future. This introductory chapter lays down a thematic foundation of the book that delves into their daily challenges in the camps, their emerging forms of agency, and their various dynamics efforts targeting their future aspiration. By illuminating their experiences, this book sheds light on the Rohingya’s resilience in the face of adversity, their struggles with scarcity and discrimination, and their unwavering hope for a better future.