For the first time since independence, government forces and most Ethnic Armed Groups have stopped fighting. This is an historic achievement in peace-making. However, the ceasefire process has yet to be transformed into a substantial and sustainable phase of peace-building.
If the production of refugees was an industry, Myanmar would be among the world’s market leaders. And of all its products the Rohingya would be one of the most lucrative. A niche but growing market of global proportions, the culmination of decades of tireless endeavour to hone a specialist craft.
It seems probable – and entirely reasonable - that it will take several years to build trust in a ‘new’ Myanmar that is safe to return to. But in a context of perpetual fear and insecurity, how will refugees in Malaysia survive until then?
Ethnic Chin refugee women and children from Burma are the hidden victims of pervasive sexual and gender-based violence (SGBV) in New Delhi, India. Lacking confidence in the current peace process in Burma and unwilling to return home, the prospect of staying in New Delhi is both bleak and terrifyin
For refugees in camps on the Thailand Burma border to be able to return to Burma, two main issues need to be addressed, the political situation, and the technical arrangements. Neither are even close to being addressed.
Individual posts in this week’s feature have provided a snapshot into a single issue. Collectively, they explore a crucial question: if Myanmar is undergoing a national ‘transition’ to democracy, what does this mean for a multi-generational, multi-ethnic, regional refugee situation?
