The Rohingya have been called — by a United Nations spokesperson, no less — "the world's most friendless people." That status was brutally confirmed last month as Myanmar's security forces clashed with Rohingya insurgents. Hundreds were killed in the violence, and tens of thousands of civilians were forced from their homes and pushed across the border with Bangladesh in actions that look like ethnic cleansing. The depredations forced on the group have increased as the survivors settle into refugee camps that are already at capacity. The Rohingya tragedy demands an international response.
About 1.1 million Rohingya live in western Myanmar, in northern Rakhine province. Although the overwhelming majority of them have lived there for centuries, the Myanmar government considers them foreigners, denies them citizenship — they were stripped of their rights in 1982 — and restricts their ability to travel. It typically refers to them as "Bengalis," suggesting that their real home is in neighboring Bangladesh. The Rohingya's true offense is being Muslim in a 90 percent Buddhist country. They are an easy target for Buddhist nationalists, as well as Rahkine residents who resent the Rohingya presence and believe that they have taken land, property and economic opportunities that are rightfully theirs.
Marginalization and sporadic outbreaks of communal violence against them have prompted predictable responses and an ever more intense cycle of violence. Worse, it has sparked the emergence of insurgent groups that have taken up the cause with zeal. In recent weeks, there has been another vicious downturn, as security forces and the rebels clash.