Burma, isolated the Rohingya in militarized zones. 49 SLORC justified the sequestration as
necessary to protect against a supposed threat of Muslim extremist insurgents. 50 As a result, the
Rohingya have since suffered with a poor quality of life and growth of hostility directed toward
their people. 51
In May 2012, reports that Muslim men had raped and murdered an Arakanese Buddhist
woman spurred intense bloodshed. 52 Since the report, the Burmese government has further
isolated the Rohingya by placing them in camps where their main source of food and other
resources is foreign donors. 53 In addition, Burmese officials maintain checkpoints with armed
guards that prohibit those in the camps from returning to their work. 54 Because of prolonged lack
of food and the inability to maintain their livelihoods while in the camps, many Rohingya are
continuously malnourished. 55 Organizations, such as Doctors Without Borders, have faced hostile
threats from Burmese forces demanding the cessation of medical care to the Rohingya camps. 56
The heavy reliance of the Rohingya on foreign aid has been, and continues to be, an unstable
source of support, given the attacks made upon foreign aid operations resulting in the suspension
of their services. 57 Although Burmese officials have argued that the purpose of the camps is to
keep the Rohingya safe, the harm the Rohingya face as a result of living in these camps makes the
government’s position difficult to accept. 58
III. CURRENT SITUATION
To date, the UNHCR estimates that more than 86,000 people, the majority of whom are
Rohingya, have fled by sea since June 2012.59 This has left many Rohingya shipwrecked and
washed ashore in Thailand. 60 However, Thailand was not the desired destination for many
Rohingya; many were actually en route to more welcoming nations such as Malaysia or Indonesia,
nations with larger Muslim populations. 61 With no intention of settling in Thailand, inadequate
means of travel have left many Rohingya stranded on the beaches of southern Thailand, often left
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49 ROHING YA REFUGEES IN BANGLADESH AND THAILAND, supra note 30, at 8.
50 Id.
51 Id.
52 Burma: Government Forces Targeting Rohingya Muslims, HUMAN RIGHTS WATCH (Aug. 1, 2012),
http://www.hrw.org/news/2012/07/31/burma-government-forces-targeting-rohingya-muslims-0.
53 Jason Motlagh, Pushed from Burma, Stateless Rohingya Flee by Boat, TIME (Feb. 17, 2013),
http://world.time.com/2013/02/17/pushed-from-burma-stateless-rohingya-flee-by-boat/.
54 Id.
55 Id.
56 Id.
57 Id.
58 Id.
59 Charlie Campbell, U.N.: 86,000 Rohingya Have Fled Burmese Pogroms by Boat, TIME (June 12, 2014), http://time.com/2863042/u-
n-86000-rohingya-have-fled-burmese-pogroms-by-boat/; Eliane Coates, Rohingya Boat People: A New Challenge for SE Asia,
NATION (Feb. 21. 2013, 1:00 AM), http://www.nationmultimedia.com/opinion/Rohingya-boat-people-a-new-challenge-for-SE-Asia-
30200771.html.
60 Thailand Don’t Deport Rohingya ‘Boat People’, supra note 20.
61 E-mail from Alan Morison, Journalist, Phuket Wan Thailand News, to Rupa Ramadurai, Attorney at Law, Hodges, Loizzi,
Eisenhammer, Rodick & Kohn (Mar. 21, 2013) (on file with author) (“Thailand’s response to arriving Rohingya asylum seekers
contrast sharply with the policy in Malaysia, where the authorities have routinely allowed the UN refugee agency access to arriving
Rohingya. Those recognized by the agency as refugees are released from immigration detention”); Thailand Don’t Deport Rohingya
‘Boat People’, supra note 20; Thailand: Fleeing Rohingya Shot in Sea by Navy, HUMAN RIGHTS WATCH (Mar. 13, 2013),
http://www.hrw.org/news/2013/03/13/thailand-fleeing-rohingya-shot-sea-navy.
