Bangladesh
Picture: A Rohingya man is begging the Bangladesh border guard to let his family in to the country
PLEASE SIGN THE PETITION TO OPEN BANGLADESH BORDER TO MYANMAR REFUGEES!
http://www.avaaz.org/en/petition/Open_borders_to_Myanmar_Refugees
The Rohingya minority in Myanmar, estimated by the U.N. to number about 800,000, lack official acceptance from both Bangladesh and Myanmar, leaving them in effect stateless as the violence exploded June 8, 2012. An estimated 30,000 people have been displaced by the violence, about 2,528 houses were burned and of those 1,336 belonged to Rohingyas and 1,192 belonged to Rakhines. According to the United Nations, the Rohingya are one of the world’s most persecuted minorities.
Imagine your parents running about bare feet, trying to flee from strange people burning their homes, imagine your brothers and sisters trying to protect each other’s dignity and at the same time trying to protect their families as well. While some manage to barely survive, others witness the murders of their own flesh and blood in front of their very own eyes. Imagine your friends coming and narrating stories to you about how they have been asked to leave their homes because apparently, they don’t belong. These are families like yours and mine – they worry about their kids, school, career and look forward to celebrating their yearly festivals, just like we do. Watching their parents die or children murdered are probably the last thing on their mind.
Please sign the petition so the Bangladeshi Government can review the reported decision to close its borders preventing the victims who are clearly in desparate need to escape violence and deaths, and allow them temporary refuge under special arrangement with the UNHCR. We make this appeal inspired by our own history and from an understanding that human rights are indivisible, and protection of victims of violation of human rights in one country is a shared responsibility of another, particularly in the immediate neighbourhood.
Read more on the 2012 Myanmar riot here: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/2012_Rakhine_State_riots
People of Bangladesh: The Mros (Mrus or Moorangs)
The Mrus are considered the original inhabitants of the Chittagong Hills. The Mru are primarily located in the region where the borders of India, Bangladesh, and Myanmar intersect. Some live in one of the nearly two hundred villages located in the tropical forests of the Chittagong Hills in southeast Bangladesh.
The native language of the Mru is also called Mru. Virtually all of the Mru of India and Bangladesh practice ethnic religions that have some elements of Buddhism. They worship the gods of fire, water, and the forest. Their belief in the legend of Torai (“the great spirit”) rules their lives.
People of Bangladesh: The Marmas (or Maghs)
The Marmas are of Burmese (Myanmar) ancestry and the second largest ethnic minority group in Bangladesh. The Marmas regarded Burma (Myanmar) as the center of their cultural life. Members of the Marma tribe dislike the more widely used term Maghs, which had come to mean pirates.
Most Marmas live in the three hill districts of Rangamati, Bandarban and Khagrachhari. Some Marmas, however, live in the coastal districts of cox’s bazar and Patuakhali. Although several religions, including Islam, are represented among the Marmas, nearly all of the Marmas are Buddhists.Marmas belong to the Mongoloid race. They are relatively short and have prominent cheekbones. They have yellow complexion, black hairs, small eyes, and snub noses.
