Rohingya Refugee Crisis

What’s going on?

‘Human ping pong’ is one of the most popular terms being batted around over the current Rohingya refugee crisis, but what exactly is going on and who are these people?

Fleeing apartheid like circumstances in the Rakhine state of Myanmar, the Rohingya people are a Muslim ethnic minority originating from both Myanmar and Bangladesh.

Right now thousands of Rohingya refugees are sitting in overcrowded and rickety boats in the Andaman Sea off the shore of Malaysia, Indonesia and Thailand, where they hope to be resettled under humanitarian grounds.

They’re quickly running out of food and water, and hundreds have already drowned after a number of these unstable boats capsized.

After being rejected for a safe arrival into Thailand, Malaysia and Indonesia the United Nations is urging regional governments to protect the thousands of people stranded at sea.

However, with so many needing resettlement no single country is willing to take them in, and any operation to resettle the Rohingyas will mean a huge effort from multiple countries.

A meeting of representatives of 17 countries was held in Bangkok on Friday in an attempt to reach a solution for the stateless people but the meeting has been considered a failure.

The worlds most persecuted people

The UN has reported a staggering estimation of 25,000 people who have fled Rakhine by boat between January and March this year.

For most the decision is made not through desire, but through necessity.

“People know well about the dangers at sea, but they also know that the situation on land is worse than on the boats,” a Rohingya elder explained to The Economist why thousands of Rohingya people are fleeing on boats that most wouldn’t dream of stepping foot on.

A Myanmar citizen ship law passes in 1982 denied citizenship to the 1.1 million Rohingya people living locally, despite some having lived there for generations.

For the Rohingya people this stripped them of their nationality and subsequently restricted their freedom of movement and access to basic services such as education and healthcare.

There have also been reports of authorities removing household registration cards, the only form of identification they have, and along with them the chance of obtaining citizenship anywhere.

These conditions may be tolerable for the Rohingya people if the discrimination didn’t extend to the risk of violent attacks and persecution by the anti-Muslim Rakhines, the local Buddhist ethnic people and even central government agents.

In fact, one of the few things the Rakhines and the local ethnic Buddhist group agree on is a joint hatred for the Rohingya people who they call “Bengalis”.

The situation came to a climax in 2012 after two incidents of ethnic cleansing by Rakhine nationalists forced 140,000 Rohingya people into refugee camps which they have not been allowed to leave since.

Since 2012, Rohingyan camps and villages have been forced into isolation, cutting them off totally from any major towns and tall wire fences are now being built to add to the segregation.

The isolation is causing problems in terms of access to food, work, education and healthcare, making daily living difficult.

What global politicians have said

A meeting of 17 countries in Bangkok on Friday failed to produce any real solutions to the thousands of migrants still sitting off the shore of Thailand in increasingly unstable situations.

The Meeting on the Rohingya Crisis – also called the Special Meeting on Irregular Migration in the Indian Ocean to satisfy Myanmar officials who said they would not attend if the word Rohingya was used – attempted to workshop solutions to the ongoing migration crisis.

Malaysia and Indonesia have put their hands up to allow some of the Rohingya migrants to come ashore, but only for one year.

They have both said they will build temporary shelters to house the migrants.

Foreign Minister Julie Bishop pointed fingers at Myanmar, calling for greater international pressure for Myanmar to stop the flow of refugees at the source.

Prime Minister Tony Abbott has already stated that believes it is a problem that should be dealt with by regional countries.

“The countries that will have to take the bulk of the responsibility are obviously the countries which are closest to the problem,’’ Mr Abbott said.

“Now, in the end, the culprit is Myanmar because it is Myanmar where there is an issue.”

When asked if Australia would be among countries receiving a share in the migrants in need of resettlement he replied: “nope, nope, nope.”

Tensions in South China Sea build

Tensions continue to build in the South China Sea after Chinese navy reportedly told a US spy plane to leave eight times.

According to CNN reporters on board the US spy plane, the P8-A Poseidon, American pilots once responded to the request to leave by saying they were in international airspace to which came the reply “This is the Chinese navy … you go!”.

CNN reporters say the plane flew at 4,500 meters at its lowest altitude.

Speaking on Chinese government television station CNTV, Spokesman for China’s foreign ministry Hong Lei said he was unaware of the incident and that he hoped the US would respect China’s authority in the South China Sea.

“China has the right to engage in monitoring in the relevant air space and waters to protect the country’s sovereignty and prevent accidents at sea,” he said.

He also emphasized China’s right to monitor their air space and condemned the US for their surveillance.

“The recent surveillance activity by a U.S. plane posed potential threats to China’s islands and reefs, making it highly possible to lead to misjudgment, which could cause maritime or air accidents.”

“The move is very irresponsible and dangerous, putting regional peace and stability in jeopardy. China expresses its strong dissatisfaction,” he said.

Australia was drawn into the tension after China warned against the possibility of Australia hosting a US B1-bomber.

Both Australia and The US have since denied claims that the Northern Territory would host an American B1-Bomber after the US Assistant Defence Secretary David Shear “Mispoke” that one would be included as a part of America’s strategy to combat Chinese aggression in the South China Sea.

“I’ve sought some information about the testimony provided in Washington by an official. I understand that the official misspoke and that the U.S. does not have any plans to base those aircraft in Australia,” said Prime Minister Tony Abbott.

Speaking to the Australian Financial Review Lei expressed concerns over Secretary Shear’s comments.

“It is China’s stand that co-operation between countries should promote the peace, stability and prosperity of Asia Pacific area and it should be carried out in a constructive way,” he said.

The disputed areas form part of a major trade route and with a close proximity to Australia some security experts have concerns about an inevitable involvement from Australia.

The cost of fair report

The prisoner, skeletal and hallowed like he has endured months of torture, kneels on the ground and hands bound behind his back. His orange robes hang off him giving the appearance they once fit the man he used to be. Beside him stand an Islamic state militant, clad in black, a balaclava covering his face. In his hand a haunting machete. We’ve seen it all too many times before, we know how this story ends. But still we watch.

Of course we watch, or listen, the message the videos are exactly as terrifying as they are meant to be. There is no reason we wouldn’t be scared and that’s exactly what they want.

In the past journalists have been used as Joe Blow’s window to the war. Previous military campaigns saw journalists play a vital role in showing the average white collar worker what was going on in distant lands where fighting took place. They often strived to bring home news of triumph and victory. But as the nature of both war and journalism have changed in recent years and perhaps it is time we reconsider the role of journalists in conflict.

While most of the wars the world has seen until now were about on the ground fighting, dropping bombs and governments exchanging threats, the conflict with the Islamic State is something entirely different. IS are an extremely tech-savvy organisation that employ strong social media tactics in almost everything they do from recruitment and propaganda to executions. It is not uncommon for IS militants to make social media declarations before, during, or after attacks. It is clear they are using it as a way to promote fear and exercise power. US security expert, Brian Jenkins once said that “terrorism is theatre” and this is exactly what he meant.

Scholars Alex Peter Schmid and Janny de Graaf explained terrorism in terms of communication. The success or failure of an act of terrorism is determined by the size of its audience, not the number of casualties. Using this logic we should think that if the media were to seize reporting on acts of terror by IS they might just seize to have the impact and influence they do.

But why then do we continue to feed into this terror cycle? Put simply, it sells. Of course there are more philosophical reasons about the public’s right to know and the duty of the journalist. But perhaps it was time we had the discussion of whether it is worth the toll it is taking.

Environmental Refugees: the discussion we need to have

Two of the most hotly debated topics in Australian news media are that of refugee intake and the impacts of climate change. So why is it that we never hear of them together? The United Nations High Commission for Refugees says that 36 million people globally were displaced by natural disasters in 2009 – the last year that a report of this nature was produced. While we have always had, and always will, have natural disasters, climate change is increasing their severity. Scientists are predicting that the number of environmentally displaced persons could rise to anywhere from 50-200 million by the year 2050. More than just natural disasters, climate change will displace people from their regions due to drought, flood, and sea level rises in coastal regions.

This is an issue that needs to be discussed more, and in greater detail, in Australian media and culture in order for a solution to be found and agreed upon before immediate action is required. Khalid Koser is the Executive Director of the Global Community Engagement and resilience Fund. He says that now is the time to plan for the arrival of environmental refugees arriving in Australia.

“This is an opportunity to plan ahead of time to ensure Australia has as much control as possible on the number of migrates that may be admitted, their profile, the conditions of their arrival, the length of their stay, and the rights to which they will be entitled,” he said.

Currently environmental refugees are not protected under any international law and their migration can cause social and economic problems, particularly when people from regional or coastal areas are forced to migrate to urban areas where their skills, i.e. as a farmer, aren’t required or there is a clash with local ethnic groups.

No relief for Philippines as Typhoon Maysak weakens

Despite predictions the category five typhoon will weaken to a tropical storm before making landfall on Sunday morning, Philippine authorities are preparing for the worst.

Interior Undersecretary Austere Panadero said police and local government units are preparing to move thousands of people before the worst of the storm hits, even if it means forced evacuations.
The weather bureau is warning that the former “super typhoon” could cause landslides, flash flooding, high tides, costal erosion and coastal flooding in the worst hit areas.

Maysak is expected to hit approximately 300km north of the Philippine capital Manila, and should have minimal impact but there is still potential for flash flooding and power outages due to fallen trees in the city.

Typhoon Maysak is currently situated about 455km east of Manila and is anticipated to make landfall over the central or northern part of the main Philippine Island, Luzon, around 9am local time on Sunday.

Strong winds and rains are expected to hit the eastern facing coasts on Saturday evening.
The system currently has sustained winds of 150km per hour with gusts of up to 185km per hour down from its peak of almost 260km per hour on Tuesday.

It is predicted that Maysak will continue to weaken before making landfall due to a combination of dry air and wind shear.

The Philippiness will be the second region to take the brunt of Maysak after the system hit the small Micronesian island of Ulithi on Tuesday.

The main Micronesian state of Chuuk declared a state of emergency after the island was devastated by the Typhoon while it was at its peak on Tuesday.

Ulithi has a population of less than 1000 and at least five people were killed by the disaster.
Guampdn.com reports that at least 95% of houses in the region were destroyed, leaving thousand displaced.