NEW YORK - Last month, when Cyclone Mocha hit Myanmar, about 600,000 ethnic Rohingya were left trapped and exposed in its path, according to Human Rights Watch.
Hundreds were killed and hundreds of thousands of buildings damaged. This devastation and loss of life was both foreseeable and avoidable.
In the weeks after Cyclone Mocha hit, Myanmar’s military junta blocked lifesaving humanitarian aid in Rakhine State putting thousands of lives at immediate risk.
Rohingya tell us they are facing massive levels of unaddressed needs, including waterborne illnesses, hunger and malnutrition, and sheltering in tents made of debris.
For decades, Myanmar authorities have deprived the Rohingya of their rights and freedoms, and eroded their capacity to survive.
These systematic abuses amount to the crimes against humanity of apartheid, persecution, and deprivation of liberty.
The junta’s deliberate obstruction of aid is emblematic of the military’s longstanding “four cuts” strategy, designed to maintain control of an area by isolating and terrorizing the population.
These restrictions also underscore that conditions for the safe, sustainable, and dignified return of Rohingya refugees from Bangladesh do not currently exist.
Calling for repatriation now would mean sending refugees back to the control of a ruthless and repressive junta, setting the stage for the next devastating exodus.
