Rohingya, defined as the "most persecuted community" by the United Nations (UN) after Hurricane Mocha on 14 May in the Rakhine state of Myanmar, could not reach humanitarian aid and safe places because their citizenship rights were deprived in 1982. is stated.
Nay San Lwin, a Rohingya Muslim rights activist and co-founder of the Free Rohingya Coalition, evaluated the inability of Rohingya Muslims to reach humanitarian aid and the greater impact of the disaster after the Mocha Hurricane that occurred on May 14 in Myanmar and Bangladesh.
Lwin stated that Rohingya Muslims enjoyed all their citizenship rights until the new citizenship law came into force in 1982, and used the following expressions:
"Since then, Rohingya Muslims without citizenship and who have been systematically targeted by the authorities have lived mainly in an open-air prison. Rohingya Muslims are not allowed freedom of movement. If they had at least freedom of movement, they could find a safe place to escape this mighty hurricane. Many lives could have been saved this way. Even after the hurricane, they still cannot reach the areas where they can find their basic needs. Now they are waiting for humanitarian aid, unsure of when it will arrive. The military administration, on the other hand, does not intend to return their citizenship to Rohingya Muslims or to ensure their basic human rights."
"MYANMAR MILITARY ADMINISTRATION DOES NOT ALLOW INTERNATIONAL ORGANIZATIONS"
Noting that Myanmar suffered more from the Mocha Hurricane, which also affected Bangladesh, Lwin said that the disaster affected 30 thousand refugees in Myanmar, hundreds of Rohingya Muslims lost their lives, and many of them are still missing.
Lwin pointed out that all Rohingya Muslims in Sittwe, the capital of Arakan state, were affected by the hurricane,
Refugee camps are 90 percent gone. The challenges are huge. Rohingya Muslims need urgent humanitarian aid, but the Myanmar military government does not allow international organizations to enter the disaster-affected areas.
Stating that Rohingya Muslims in Sittwe have not been allowed to leave the camps since 2012, Lwin said that access to education and health services is limited in these regions, which resemble concentration camps.
Lwin stated that just a few hours before the hurricane, the Myanmar military administration ordered the Rohingya Muslims to evacuate the camps, but did not provide any means of transportation or a safer place, adding that this turned into a tragedy that resulted in the death of many "innocent" people.