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Unwelcome, Bloody June!

By Qutub Shah
RB Opinion
May 18, 2014

"A call for organization and unity in the Rohingya community"

3rd June… The 3rd anniversary of declaration of a decades-old hidden genocide, a new year of desperation and hopelessness, a new year of the worst human wrongs, a new year of blood festival for Buddhists, a new year of failure for both Rohingyas and the international community as well! On the coming Rohingya genocide day, my deepest condolences to all family members and friends of those departed souls, dispersed families, lost lives in the wake of Buddhist aggression!

Nothing pleases the Buddhists except my dignity. Nothing quenches their thirst except my blood. Nothing satisfies their appetite except my properties. Unprecedented savagery, there is no impact for religion, no meaning for humanity. Yes, when the tyrant changes his mind, evidence and innocence fail to work.

Rohingyas are exiled to nowhere, saved by nobody. They are neither wanted by the native land nor welcome by the migration lands. Being between Scylla and Charybdis, I am confused either to welcome or unwelcome this bloody June.

How unjust the world is! In addition to being stateless, while thousands are killed mercilessly, thousands became homeless, villages burnt into ashes and properties looted or destroyed; the world media still shows the death toll as dozens only. Why does the world listen to the oppressive, not to the oppressed? My weakness is my crime. Might is right as they said. Isn’t it a double deprivation?

When we are walking from an alley to another around the world begging justice, the Leady says, “I don’t know Rohingya.” Bangladesh says, “Push them back.” Thailand says, “Deport them back.” ASEAN has to abide by the principle of non-interference in home affairs of others. OIC is still condemning, EU is just urging and US is warning. That’s all. As if Myanmar is saying, “Let the dogs bark. But the caravan goes on!”

A moment of self-accountability

Let’s settle an account with ourselves: Now, the ongoing Buddhist atrocities are knocking on the door of the 3rd year. Within these two years, what have we achieved? Is there any improvement on the ground or does the signaling arrow points downward? Is the overall result of our efforts positive? What role did I play and how did I work toward this issue?

Here a question arises, “Whom do we rely upon? Whom do we complain to?” The answer seems to be as ‘This is my problem. I must to solve my own problem by myself. Others won’t and can’t solve my problem. But they can just help.’ This is the clear statement of the Creator, “… verily, Allah will not change the condition of a people as long as they don’t change their condition themselves…” (Quran 13:11). A major error among us is that we still expect something positive from our leaders who are quite dependents on others.

Actually, our struggle for justice has been since the Buddhist aggression began at the pre-independence era. Unfortunately, by the passage of time, the struggle started to move away from the main land. This was the hero Kasim Raja, who started the national movement in the core of Arakan, and ruled some part of it as Raja. Then, the movement started to move toward the West, passing by Indian subcontinent, then Middle East, and then Europe, until it reached to the western most part of the world, Pennsylvania finally, the going of a revolution away from its origin is clear evidence of its decline. That means the weakness is within ourselves, according to the verse above. By analyzing history and situations, three major problems are found in Rohingya people that seem to be the main barriers to solving their issues and need to be changed first.

1. Leadership Plurality (Multi-leadership) disorder: Our community is full of imperfect leaders. Everyone is self-considered as a leader and wants to lead, not to follow. Consequently, there are so many organizations on the ground without organizational methodology. In this the way their vision, mission and objective become different and the community becomes divided into groups. These are the leaders who divide the public. A bad outcome from this chaotic situation is:

2. Disobedience phenomenon: When everyone claims to be a leader, there are no more followers on the ground. When the public finds so many leaders on the ground, they are confused as to who they are supposed to follow. Finally, they lose confidence in themselves and in the so-called leaders. Then the disobedience comes to exist.

3. Selfishness mentality: It is an undeniable fact of the ground that when an unqualified person comes to position, it is impossible for him to prefer a public interest over his own. Accordingly, it is another bad phenomenon of our community that most of us, whether he is a leader or follower, think of his personal loss and profit before he steps ahead toward a national activity and are found of position, money and popularity. He can’t sacrifice his personal interest for the people. Finally they appear as opportunist or selfish in the society.

A Challenge to Senior and Junior Leaders

I would like to address this message especially to my seniors like U Shwe Maung, U Aung Zaw Win, U Tha Aye, U Kyaw Min, Dr. Wakar Uddin, Mr. Nurul Islam, Dr. Mohammed Yunus, Mr. Tun Khin, Mv. Salim, Sheikh Salah Islam, Dr. Abdul Hamid, Mr. Maung Kyaw Nu, Mr. Zaw Min Htut, Sheikh Abu Shama and others.

First of all, my homage to you for your kind efforts for us. Secondly, leadership can never be two or more for a people. The problem will remain unsolved until our community can terminate this leadership plurality disorder and be united under one comprehensive leadership. As for me, I don’t try to be united, but to be 1 only. Remember that there is no second Aung San in Burmese history, no second Sheikh Mujib in Bengali history, no second Gandhi in Indian history.

We have already wasted past seven decades in the same situation. This is my CHALLENGE to my leaders; that, while I don’t wish so, if this chaotic situation goes on, we can’t solve the problem in next seventy years, because it is quite against the cosmic order and the prophetic tradition. The Prophet (s) said, “If you are three, then make ONE your leader.” We must be jealous of seeing our enemies’ goats and bears in the same herd. The Burmese government excluded us from Burmese ethnic group list in the past. I fear we will soon be excluded from the earth's ethnic groups as well. If the current situation continues, there will be no more Rohingya on the surface of earth except on the pages of history.

All in all, without submission to public interest, concession to majority on public issues, humbleness to each other and considering that national task is not just a voluntary work in our leisure time but it is sacrifice of all valuables, if we claim that we work for the people, as if we deceive them. The prophet (s) said, “A believer is not bitten from the same hole twice.” Or “Once bitten, twice shy.”

1Rohingya… 1Rohingya... 1Rohingya!

  1. Thanks 4 contribution 2ward Rohingyas specially 4 ur new hard work

  2. brother ur statement is very good and thank you for excellent idea but one thing is more important remember that we can't highlight like that bcz its our secret and other ethnic knowing, if we want one leader, we must chosen and taken vote to each rohingya people for leader after we must decide who is deserve by leader and who is must be working hard for our ethnic group. After we are election about rohingya leader then we can prove that our rohingya needed one leader not too much...thank you

  3. I believe we must uncover this kind of secrets, otherwise our alien supporters and helpers will be deceived.

  4. Thank you and Its really correct but we do not know how to persuasion to each other most of inside us. so i mean that we must be obvious to each other after we becoming deeply understanding then everyone is very essential for poise...thanks.

  5. So we are necessary all our leader and we can't deny directly because we must need them once time but we are chosen the best one who are work hard, honestly and with real lovely without deceive for their ethnics.

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