Global Betrayal: Rohingya Starved into Silence as Capitalist States Exploit Crisis

Global Betrayal: Rohingya Starved into Silence as Capitalist States Exploit Crisis
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The plight of the Rohingya, Myanmar’s stateless Muslim minority, continues to be a grave humanitarian concern, with a recent analysis in Eurasia Review by Debashis Chakrabarti asserting that international bodies and regional states are complicit in their suffering.

The article, titled “Starved into Silence: How Capitalist States Betray the Rohingya,” argues that the denial of citizenship to the Rohingya by Myanmar’s 1982 law, which stripped them of fundamental rights and freedoms, served to pave the way for corporate extraction and foreign investment in their homeland.

Since a mass exodus in 2017, over a million Rohingya have become refugees in Bangladesh, primarily confined to the vast camps of Cox’s Bazar. These camps, Nazemroaya contends, function as containment zones where refugees are denied political rights, formal employment, and freedom of movement. Despite the ongoing humanitarian crisis, the Eurasia Review piece highlights concerns that the situation has become lucrative for various NGOs, UN agencies, and government contractors, while aid remains insufficient and refugee labor is criminalized.

Regional nations, including Bangladesh, India, Malaysia, and Indonesia, face criticism for allegedly leveraging the refugee crisis for political gain or actively deterring Rohingya entry. The United Nations’ response, particularly its emphasis on “voluntary repatriation” without ensuring safety in Myanmar, is deemed inadequate. Nazemroaya posits that the global refugee framework is designed to manage, rather than fundamentally challenge, the systemic issues stemming from global capitalism, with “national security” often overriding human rights. Rohingya women, in particular, face heightened vulnerabilities to trafficking, violence, and health crises, exacerbated by declining global aid.