No matter who we are, we have a stake in this situation, and it is our responsibility to take action. If you are a Muslim, you have the responsibility to help your persecuted brothers and sisters. If you are a woman, you must denounce the severe sexual violence against Rohingya women and girls. If you are South Asian, you need to assist the Bangladeshi refugee camps struggling to provide food, shelter, and clothing to the escaped Rohingya.
As a Muslim, a woman, and the daughter of two South Asians, I feel especially pained by the situation. As all these parts of my identity coincide with those who are suffering, I feel that it is my duty to become involved in finding a solution to this horrific problem. However, regardless of my faith, my gender, and my ethnicity, my humanity is what compels me most to take action.
As a human, we all have the responsibility to fight these crimes against humanity.
HOW TO GET INVOLVED AND HELP THE ROHINGYA
1. Contact your elected officials. There are bills in both the House and Senate that will place sanctions on the Burmese military and travel restrictions on military leaders if they are passed. Though there is no guarantee, targeted sanctions have produced concessions from the Burmese military in the past.
a. Find your representatives here: https://www.usa.gov/elected-officials/
b. Call and tell them to support H.R.4223 and S.2060.
2. Donate to refugee aid organizations. As civilians, there is not much we can do directly to stop violence. However, we can help mitigate its consequences and aid its survivors. The IRC is “on the ground in Myanmar and Bangladesh providing as many families as possible with water, food security, protection, and health care. There are thousands more who have been uprooted from their homes and are in need of lifesaving aid.”
a. Donate to UNHCR at http://www.unhcr.org/en-us/rohingya-emergency.
b. Donate to the International Rescue Committee at www.rescue.org.
3. Spread the word. International awareness is crucial to pressure governments to address an issue. Share an article on social media to help educate others about the issue. Several are listed below (or share a post from the Human Rights Watch Facebook page).
a.https://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2017/nov/13/america-act-ethnic-cleansing-myanmar
b.https://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2017/nov/10/rohingya-genocide-ethnic-cleansing-never-again
c.http://www.cnn.com/2017/11/12/asia/myanmar-rohingya-tula-toli-massacre-testimony/index.html
d.https://www.nytimes.com/2017/12/15/opinion/sunday/genocide-myanmar-rohingya-bangladesh.html?_r=1
e. http://www.bbc.com/news/world-asia-41566561
4. Stay informed. ‘Like’ the Human Rights Watch or International Rescue Committee on Facebook. Follow coverage of the crisis by HRW (https://www.hrw.org/asia/burma), Amnesty International (https://www.amnestyusa.org/rohingya/), or other news organizations.