This is my second podcast interview with Walid Darab on Greed for Ilm.
I give an update on the situation with the Rohingya, talk about the science of genocide, and give some tips on what anyone can do to get involved in the campaign to stop it.
My first interview was here.
Saturday, 25 January 2014
Thursday, 23 January 2014
Long Night - poem for the Rohingya
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| Rohingya women and children exactly like this one in the camp at Manzi were brutally slaughtered by Burmese security forces and armed thugs following a raid on their village at Du Char Yar Tan on Jan 14th 2014 |
I tweeted this poem last night from bed, as I lay there waiting for news from my Rohingya friends who I knew had been awake all night, wondering if their homes were to be raided following an order to arrest all Rohingya men and boys over the age of ten.
We feared that the men would be taken away to be killed, and that the women left would be raped and their children hacked to pieces, as they had done so previously the week before at the village of Duchiradan (also known as Du Char Yar Tan as well as Kiladong). Indeed all the warning signs were there for an imminent massacre following a period of propaganda, visits by the infamous 969 group to the area, a call for militias who were understood to now be in training, and an official meeting where Rohingya village leaders had been warned of their fragile existence.
Long Night
Rohingya no more
Rwanda once more
Never again
Over and over again
Sit and contemplate
Can we change fate?
The advice we received
During this hour of need:
Avoid the word genocide
When you plead
That would oblige them to act
They don't like that
A long night
Of extreme fright
All you can do is pray
They said
My children in bed
May all soon be dead
Take my tears
My fears
Save us
We have nothing left
Heart aches
Heaven shakes
Morning breaks
World wakes
by Jamila Hanan
The last line I wrote with hesitation. Should I have put a question mark at the end? This morning, my Rohingya friends are still alive, and people are coming together it appears. Officials behind the scenes are holding urgent meetings and in the media today we have official confirmation from Fortify Rights of the massacre we know took place. Pressure is on to stop the genocide. I am hopeful.
Please feel to publish the above poem with link to http://savetherohingya.blogspot.co.uk/.
For verified information about the massacre, just released today, please see this statement by Fortify Rights.
For media interviews regarding the Rohingya, please contact jamilahanan1@gmail.com who has a list of people available for interview.
Thursday, 16 January 2014
Brutality Beyond Belief - Rohingya hunted like vermin
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| Remains of fire at Rohingya IDP camp in Pauktaw, 16 Jan 2014 Authorities report as an accidental fire. Husband and wife arrested. Every time police commit atrocities, a fire is started elsewhere as a distraction. |
After years of propaganda and dehumanisation, the acts of brutality towards the Rohingya are almost beyond belief.
A story is beginning to piece together of terrible atrocities that have happened this week in the village of Duchiradan (also known as KilaDong) in the township of Maungdaw, beginning on Sunday 12th December, that includes amongst other things reports of Rohingya taken as slaves, tied up, killed, chopped into pieces and dumped in the gutter, then starting the night of 13th and running through 14th January, women who were raped and had their breasts cut off before they were killed, a grandmother age 103 years old and her grandchildren slaughtered before the eyes of the police, as well as sweeping arrests of men, women and children of all ages. Now we are hearing many more people were indeed killed in that village and there are reports of dead bodies being taken away by the secuirty forces in trucks to be buried.
The full details of the story are here:
http://www.rohingyablogger.com/2014/01/duchiradan-village-deserted-after.html
SHOCKING UPDATE HERE (out on 17th Jan needs investigating):
http://www.twitlonger.com/show/n_1rvtcte
Authorities burying dead bodies:
http://www.kaladanpress.org/news/341-news2014/january2014/4426-authority-restricts-to-enter-kila-dong-to-hide-rohingya-dead-bodies
Other villages threatened:
http://www.rohingyablogger.com/2014/01/rohingya-villages-administrators-heads.html
I have checked on sources. They are credible. Can't say more here as we need to protect them.
News is now emerging of sitings of lorries taking corpses away, no doubt to bury quickly in a mass grave well hidden somewhere (as has taken place before). We are investigating the exact location.
http://www.rvisiontv.com/updates-on-military-assault-on-rohingya-village-more-than-50-rohingyas-believed-to-have-massacred-around-100-missing-many-women-raped/
The Rohingya are still being hunted even now by security forces. Women, children and the elderly have taken shelter in nearby villages but the authorities have ordered that shelter not be provided.
http://www.kaladanpress.org/news/341-news2014/january2014/4423-security-forces-still-hunting-villagers-in-maungdaw
The exact number of dead is difficult to quantify. We know there are many Rohingya now in prison, of all ages, both men, women and children, where they will be undergoing further unimaginable brutality even now as they are tortured into making false confessions.
Following the attack village leaders of surrounding villages were arrested for a short period and threatened:
http://www.rohingyablogger.com/2014/01/rohingya-villages-administrators-heads.html
On the 17th February we heard news that the village of Baggona was to be raided that night.
http://www.rvisiontv.com/updates-on-military-assault-on-rohingya-village-more-than-50-rohingyas-believed-to-have-massacred-around-100-missing-many-women-raped/
Farmland had been destroyed there two days before:
http://www.rohingyablogger.com/2014/01/rakhine-extremists-destroy-vegetable.html
In the evening security foces and thugs carrying swords surrounded the area, but after much publicity it appears that the raid was called off and the Rohingya were spared, for now.
Further reports from earlier, as the story was emerging, are below:
http://www.restlessbeings.org/
http://www.kaladanpress.org/
http://www.kaladanpress.org/
http://www.rvisiontv.com/
https://soundcloud.com/rohang-
http://www.rohingyablogger.
http://www.rohingyablogger.com/2014/01/press-release-aru-appeals-government-of.html
The build up of hatred in the Maungdaw area, including the 969 group visiting to spread their propaganda at the end of December, can be seen here:
http://www.rvisiontv.com/?s=
On the 15th January the well known government propaganda newspaper Eleven Myanmar put out a call for militias in the area:
http://elevenmyanmar.com/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=4724:maungdaw-residents-call-for-militias-in-every-village&catid=44&Itemid=384
I write that the brutality is almost beyond belief, but we know very similar acts happened before in June 2012, in October 2012 and in March 2013 (the March event happened to Muslims in Meiktila, not the Rohingya, but was very similar in nature). In addition, there have been other smaller but still horrific acts over the past year of villages being burnt, property destroyed, women raped and men hacked to death.
On the 16th Januarya at the Rohingya IDP camp at Pauktaw, a huge fire broke out. Apparently this was accidental and as always the police were quick to arrest a Rohingya man in whose shelter it began. There are now hundreds without shelter and burn injuries too. Although this fire has been clearly reported as accidental, the feeling is that this has happened too many times now for it to be coincidence. On previous occasions when news has been breaking of clear atrocities committed by the Burmese security forces, similar accidental fires have broken out which have acted as a huge distraction.
http://www.rohingyablogger.com/2014/01/sintetmaw-rohingya-refugees-camp-caused.html
The photos of the fire were stunning. We feared that they would take all the media attention and every effort from the ngos in the area to clean up, ensuring little attention was paid to the ongoing crimes taking place elsewhere. I have added one photo to this post to capture your attention, but the fire is not the real story, the ongoing crime against humanity taking place at Duchiradan (Kiladong) is the real story, and we have ensured that is where they eyes of the world are watching..
The Burmese government are denying all allegations. This was to be expected, the eighth stage of genocide is denial.
http://www.learning4u2.com/HAL/Independent%20study%20pages/Anne_Frank/Genocide%20Watch.pdf
Government Statements
http://www.ohchr.org/EN/NewsEvents/Pages/DisplayNews.aspx?NewsID=14178&LangID=Ehttp://photos.state.gov/libraries/burma/895/pdf/maungdaw-joint-mission-statement_1172014.pdf
Media Updates
16 Janhttp://www.ctvnews.ca/world/buddhist-mob-kills-more-than-a-dozen-rohingya-muslims-in-myanmar-rights-group-1.1641945
17 Jan 2014
http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-asia-25778464
http://www.aljazeera.com/news/asia-pacific/2014/01/rohingya-deaths-denied-myanmar-government-2014117144738400365.html
http://world.time.com/2014/01/17/reports-of-rohingya-massacre-as-asean-ministers-meet-in-burma/
http://www.todayszaman.com//news-336893-us-urges-myanmar-to-probe-attacks-on-muslims-after-60-killed.html
http://www.scmp.com/news/asia/article/1407707/buddhist-mob-may-have-killed-dozen-muslims-myanmar-rights-group
The world knows this is happening.
The media has actually reported on what is happening to the Rohingya, although it has not been given prime time viewing slots nor made main headlines. There are 76 videos here that give you an understanding of how this genocide has evolved:http://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PL7f_rHUnK_tiXjsLfKzq9FTGnXuyu4s5e&feature=mh_lolz
Human Rights Watch have produced a number of reports documenting crimes against humanity.
http://www.hrw.org/reports/2013/04/22/all-you-can-do-pray-0
http://www.hrw.org/news/2012/07/31/burma-government-forces-targeting-rohingya-muslims-0
http://www.hrw.org/reports/2012/07/31/government-could-have-stopped
http://www.hrw.org/news/2012/11/18/bridge-too-far-obama-crossed-too-early-myanmar
http://www.hrw.org/news/2012/11/17/burma-satellite-images-show-widespread-attacks-rohingya
http://www.hrw.org/reports/2009/05/26/perilous-plight-0
Physcians for Human Rights produced a detailed report on the violence at Meiktila in March 2013.
http://physiciansforhumanrights.org/library/reports/meiktila-report-may-2013.html
The world knows what is happening, yet absolutely no action has been taken to stop this genocide since June 2012 when these attacks began, despite the Rohingya frequently calling for UN peacekeepers on the ground and international commissions of inquiry to be undertaken. This genocide has to end. The UN must act, but will only do so when we all raise our voices.
Please call for an urgent UN inquiry here:
http://www.un.org/en/preventgenocide/adviser/contactform.asp?address=1Please also write to your local politician and media to alert them to this matter. Every voice is needed and makes a difference. Thank-you.
For more information and contacts to interview please tweet the following people:
https://twitter.com/nslwin
https://twitter.com/RohingyaVision
https://twitter.com/Sthumoe
You can find me here:
https://twitter.com/JamilaHanan
Please also follow for updates direct from Burma:
https://twitter.com/aungaungsittwe
Monday, 6 January 2014
Rohingya Boys Being Tortured
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| Rohingya boy tied up by police in the Arakan state of Burma in October 2013. |
Two Rohingya boys were arrested on 31st December under the false accusation of murdering a police officer. It is known that some Rohingya did get involved in a fight during that period but they deny hitting the policeman who allegedly died from the attack (it was previously reported by the Rohingya that the policeman who is reported as being killed was actually a good man who was liked by the Rohingya, so there is some suspicion over this reported death as to how it actually happened), however those people involved in that incident have since fled and these boys are in no way related to them or the incident.
The two boys are Muhammad Karim age 14 (originally reported as age 13 but later confirmed as age 14) son of Elyas and Amir Husan son of Shukur age 16 (originally reported as age 12 but later confirmed as age 16) . They are understood be be from Thichaung Village. They were visiting family in Bodhuba village, very close to the cemetery where an incident with the police occured, which they had nothing to do with.
They are being held at Sittwe (number 1) police station. It is reported that they are being tortured and are left alone in a cold room without clothes. They need urgent help.
Details received over Twitter from @aungaungsittwe are as follows:
@JamilaHanan @Playfunkymusic 1.Urgent help needed! 2 #Rohingya, Muhammad Karim, s/o Elyas 13yrs+ Amir Husan, s/o Shukur, 12yrs w atrested
— Aung Aung (@Aungaungsittwe) January 6, 2014
@JamilaHanan @Playfunkymusic 2.Those 2 boys w arrested as suspected murderer of police on 31.12.14, police torturing them, pull out nails
— Aung Aung (@Aungaungsittwe) January 6, 2014
@JamilaHanan @Playfunkymusic 3. They r kept in cold place w-out dress, pl help or they w die soon, in No1,PoliceStation,Sittwe Ph-04321504
— Aung Aung (@Aungaungsittwe) January 6, 2014
@JamilaHanan @Playfunkymusic Those w innocent, they dudn't involve, #Rohingya w fought w police ran away, police knew that
— Aung Aung (@Aungaungsittwe) January 6, 2014
@JamilaHanan @Playfunkymusic Some1 told police ,those boys r relatives of #Rohingya w fought, actually not, they don't know him
— Aung Aung (@Aungaungsittwe) January 6, 2014
@JamilaHanan @Playfunkymusic I know w is the person w fought w police but he said he didn't hit the police w died,he hit another P w hammar
— Aung Aung (@Aungaungsittwe) January 6, 2014
We are requesting urgent help to save these two boys. If you are an authority please do what you can and also call Sittwe police station to request the urgent release of these boys. If you are a member of the public please contact your own politicians, media and organisations to ask them to raise an urgent alert to release these boys and call for an inquiry, and also to call the Burmese government to cease their state persecution of the Rohingya.You may also wish to contact the UN to call for an urgent commission of inquiry into the genocide of the Rohingya by filling in the form here http://www.un.org/en/preventgenocide/adviser/contactform.asp?address=1
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