Hate Campaign Against Rohingya Refugees Spreads in Southeast Asia

TEMPO.CO, Jakarta – Founder of Alternative ASEAN Network on Burma (ALTSEAN-Burma), Debbie Stothard, revealed the hate campaign that sparked hostility and rejection towards Rohingya refugees spread to several Southeast Asian countries, not only in Indonesia.

“Instead of sympathy towards Rohingya, we are seeing states treating Rohingya as criminals,” said Debbie during a virtual discussion on Tempo‘s YouTube channel on Monday, November 4, 2024.

Debbie recalled that the conflict in Rohingya “has become one of genocide,” yet some governments in the region do not consider Rohingya people as victims. 

The criminalization of Rohingya ethnicity is alarming, denying the refugees the opportunities to benefit from the community and contribute to society. Debbie provided an example of the coordinated hate campaign in Indonesia, but she noted that Rohingya are not the majority of the refugee population in the country. In Malaysia, she added, Rohingya children are criminalized and “are not allowed to join in the public education system.” 

“Our countries have failed to fulfill their obligations under the Child Rights Conventions and other international human rights obligations,” she said.

According to Debbie, the hate campaign benefits the actors of genocide. She also highlighted that many of Rohingya’s land in Myanmar has been taken over to facilitate Chinese investments.

Furthermore, Debbie revealed that local politicians also take advantage of the hate campaign to gain more votes by instilling fear in their people. “So they are seen as protecting the country from Rohingya,” she said.

Debbie also urges ASEAN countries to provide access to refugees, as Rohingya is part of the ASEAN community. 

In this regard, Abdu Rahman, a Rohingya refugee living in Sigli, Pidie, Aceh, responded to the recent hate campaign against fellow Rohingya refugees that spread on social media. Abdu said that when the wave of Rohingya refugees arrived in Aceh in December 2023, the group faced demonstrations by students. He also admitted to hearing similar rejections in several other places.

“However, I hope that all of that is handled very well by the Indonesian government,” said Abdu Rahman in the same opportunity.

Abdu hopes that Indonesia, together with UNHCR and IOM, will improve the quality of life and access to facilities for Rohingya refugees, since Rohingya’s arrival in Indonesia is merely to seek refuge from the conflict in Rakhine State, Myanmar.

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