The debate on asylum seekers from Myanmar in Australia is ill-informed and skewed. The Australian government and international community must realise that refugee status is first of all not about ethnicity or identity, but about a well-founded fear of persecution.
Reports that a man who has been moved by Australia to Cambodia may have been misidentified as Rohingya misses the point. Even if the man is not Rohingya, it is still possible that he has a well-founded fear of persecution as a Muslim fleeing from Myanmar.
Since 2012, the anti-Muslim violence has affected a range of Muslim communities in towns right across Myanmar. The violence has not just affected Muslims who may identify as Rohingya.
Muslim businesses have been targeted. Mosques burnt down, damaged and closed. Homes of Muslim families destroyed. Many Muslims have been injured and some killed. Muslims face discrimination in educational and employment opportunities. This is not new, but has a long history in Myanmar. At times, monks have been clearly implicated in this anti-Muslim violence.
While the international community has seemingly confused all “Muslims” with “Rohingya” in Myanmar, this is not the reality. Most Muslims in Myanmar do not self-identify as Rohingya. The Muslim population is highly diverse, and many identify as “Burmese Muslim”.
I
t is true that Muslims in Rakhine State, some of whom identify as Rohingya, are certainly among the worst off and these communities have faced large-scale displacement and marginalisation. The humanitarian crisis is severe.
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