I bet that many of you never heard the word "Rohingya" before few months ago.

Rohingya refugees near the Naf River, which separates Myanmar and Bangladesh.
Villages in Myanmar burned in the background.

Now that even Pope went to meet some of them (without pronouncing their name...), it should be necessary to have some basic information about them and about the reasons why the crisis that affects Rohingya is becoming a political and social shame for all the World.

1. Who are Rohingya?

The Rohingya people are a Muslim minority group residing in the Rakhine state, formerly known as Arakan (west State of Myamar).

2. Which is their status?

The Rohingya people are considered “stateless entities”, as the Myanmar government has been refusing to recognize them as one of the ethnic groups of the country. This means they don't have rights and they cannot legally move anywhere without permission.

3. Why did they have to move?

In 2016 hundreds of unidentified insurgents attacked three Burmese border posts along Myanmar's border with Bangladesh. The answer of the Army has been tough and constantly increasing with an escalation of violence, rapes, destruction. This situation pushed Rohingya to move to Bangladesh.

4. Where is the Rohingya Camp in Bangladesh?

Over 600 thousands people arrived in Bangladesh. Yes... 600 tousands, like the population of the entire city of Bratislava or Palermo. The biggest camp is in Cox's Bazar. 

5. What is the position of Aung San Suu Kyi (Nobel Peace Prize 1991) ?

Impressively, she didn't take any specific action to stop the military action in Rakhine state. It is not clear why: personal reasons, political pressure, military power? What is clear is that she is the only person who could do something to end this crisis.

Note to the readers - as this is a small blog, this post doesn't represent a deep research about the wide topic of Rohingya crisis. You can find more information in this article of NY Times.