By Frederik Schipper
The Rohingya people, also referred to as boat people, are an ethnic group of Muslims that call Western Myanmar (former Burma) their home. The lion share of the Rohingya’s live in the towns of Maungdaw, Buthidaung, Akyab, Kyaunktaw and Rathidaung, located along the Naf River which marks the border between Myanmar and Bangladesh.
The Rohingya’s originate from the Middle East and Africa and, according to the former military government of the country, migrated to Burma in the 18th century.
Being a minority mainly living in the western part of Myanmar, the Rohingya people, a Muslim ethnic group, have suffered from violations of human rights in Burma since 1978, according to Amnesty International. As a result, over 200,000 of the boat people fled to Bangladesh.
Over a decade later, in 1991, another 250,000 Rohingya’s, again according to Amnesty International, escaped to Bangladesh. This was caused by the fact that the Burmese government didn’t recognize the boat people as its citizens. Consequently, living in Myanmar was close to impossible for the Rohingya’s because of their different language and culture. In search of a better life, many of them decided to leave Myanmar.
Recently, thousands of Rohingya people fled to Thailand where they live in camps. Most of the camps are located near the border between Thailand and Myanmar. The United Nations claim that an estimated number of 111,000 boat people live in these camps. According to, once again, the United Nations, the main reason for the Rohingya to leave Myanmar is food insecurity caused by extreme poverty.
Most recent news on the Rohingya’s that made headlines was last month when was revealed that almost 200 of the boot people where towed out to the sea and left there to die by the Thai army.
