Dhaka Tribune
Ahtaram Shin
Maung Solaiman Shah
Publish : 27 Nov 2025,
The Rohingya crisis is not a regional burden but a test of global conscience
The face of the Andaman Sea once again turned into a graveyard for the Rohingya. Earlier this month, a boat carrying Rohingya refugees, desperate families fleeing ongoing persecution and violence in Myanmar’s Rakhine State, sank near the Thai-Malaysian border, with hundreds still missing.
This has a direct connection to ASEAN because Myanmar is a member state and the Rohingya are its people. The crisis affects the whole border of ASEAN countries; while their charter is committed to promote democracy, rule of law, good governance and respect, and protection of human rights.
To that we ask: Why could they do nothing for the Rohingya yet? Our suffering has been going on for decades. Our whole community is in threat of disappearing. Why has ASEAN failed to take any possible steps to protect and give safety?
Although many have died at sea, and so many are still missing, it is us marginalized people who continue to be left with no choice while the leaders of ASEAN sleep in their comfortable palaces. Our cries for life fade into the waves, while the world watches in silence.
As a basic human need, a person should have a home, land, legal identity, safety and protection and a minimum standard of freedom. But the Rohingya do not have any of those. Aren’t they humans? Is vulnerability their crime and fate?
Take this account of a Rohingya mother of four:
“I am a woman and I should have someone to protect me. Now my husband died at sea. How can I protect all of these four children? If we had a state and government, we could possibly seek assistance from them. Everyone will look for a way to exploit in the name of help.”
Catastrophe as consequence
This catastrophe is not an accident but the direct consequence of unbearable oppression, fear, and systematic persecution that has left the Rohingya with no choice but to risk their lives at sea.
As Tun Khin, Chairperson of the Arakan Rohingya National Council (ARNC), said: “The scale of this tragedy is unbearable. The Rohingya are risking their lives at sea because of the continued atrocities of the Arakan Army and Myanmar military. These were people seeking safety after years of persecution and displacement. The world cannot continue to ignore their suffering. It is time for the UN Security Council and ASEAN to urgently address this crisis and hold the Myanmar military and the Arakan Army accountable.”
Since the military coup in Myanmar in 2021, the situation in Rakhine State has deteriorated sharply. The Rohingya, already stateless and stripped of citizenship since 1982, now face escalating violence from both the Myanmar military (Tatmadaw) and the Arakan Army. Villages have been torched, families displaced, and humanitarian aid cut off.
Human Rights Watch reports that the Arakan Army, after gaining territorial control in parts of northern Rakhine, “has imposed severe restrictions and committed grave abuses” against Rohingya civilians leaving them with no choice but to take the dangerous sea route towards possible safety. Entire generations are growing up without land, without identity, and without hope.
As Ro Nay San Lwin, Co-Chair of the ARNC, explains: “It is truly heartbreaking to see my fellow Rohingya losing their lives at sea while trying to escape the suffering in Arakan State. We do not know exactly how many Rohingya have drowned at sea since late 2006. If there were peace in Arakan, no one would take this risk. Currently, the Rohingya in Arakan face not only deep injustice but also a severe humanitarian crisis. The international community and ASEAN must unite to help end the oppression by the Arakan Army and the Myanmar military, and to support humanitarian efforts in every possible way. This could include providing cross-border aid and compelling the Myanmar junta to grant full and unrestricted access to all townships in Arakan State.”
The global test
Every year, thousands of Rohingya embark on treacherous journeys across the Bay of Bengal and the Andaman Sea, heading toward Malaysia, Indonesia, or Thailand. They travel in overcrowded boats, often run by traffickers exploiting their victimization. In UN data conclusion, there are over 200,000 people who fled to ASEAN countries. Among them, around 10,000 people missed, 5,000 died, and countless are in prison in Myanmar, Malaysia, or Thailand.
The SUN news of Malaysia mentioned that they have launched an operation in Kedah and found 14,000. Most of them showed them UNHCR cards. There are 1432 Rohingya in a detention centre which has space for 950. Behind each number of detainees, there is a human story. Even immigration officers say: “We can send back the Myanmar citizens but no the Rohingya because they are not recognized as citizens.”
These people are not “illegal migrants or stateless” but victims of genocide, ethnic cleansing, and decades of state-sponsored persecution. This is why they lack identity today.
As Bangladeshi independent journalist Tanbirul Miraj Ripon reminds us: “The world should save the Rohingya, protect the Rohingya. Rohingya lives matter.”
The Rohingya crisis is not a regional burden, it’s a test of global conscience. The continued inaction of ASEAN powers has perpetuated the Rohingya crisis and exacerbated regional tension across Asia.
What ASEAN can do is create a binding Regional Protection Framework grounded in the ASEAN Charter's commitments. This framework would include the standardized creation of a safe zone, and structural development for the entire community. There must also be a call for “safe, voluntary, dignified, and sustainable return,” explicitly linking it to the Charter's principles. This means publicly insisting that Myanmar guarantee citizenship, rights, and security for the Rohingya.
Ahtaram Shin is a Rohingya independent journalist and freelancer. He works with Rohingyatographer as an editor and researcher. Maung Solaiman Shah is a writer, Rohingya activist, and founder of the Youth Led Initiative (YLI). He is based in the Kutupalong Refugee Camp, Cox’s Bazar, Bangladesh.
To that we ask: Why could they do nothing for the Rohingya yet? Our suffering has been going on for decades. Our whole community is in threat of disappearing. Why has ASEAN failed to take any possible steps to protect and give safety?
Although many have died at sea, and so many are still missing, it is us marginalized people who continue to be left with no choice while the leaders of ASEAN sleep in their comfortable palaces. Our cries for life fade into the waves, while the world watches in silence.
As a basic human need, a person should have a home, land, legal identity, safety and protection and a minimum standard of freedom. But the Rohingya do not have any of those. Aren’t they humans? Is vulnerability their crime and fate?
Take this account of a Rohingya mother of four:
“I am a woman and I should have someone to protect me. Now my husband died at sea. How can I protect all of these four children? If we had a state and government, we could possibly seek assistance from them. Everyone will look for a way to exploit in the name of help.”
Catastrophe as consequence
This catastrophe is not an accident but the direct consequence of unbearable oppression, fear, and systematic persecution that has left the Rohingya with no choice but to risk their lives at sea.
As Tun Khin, Chairperson of the Arakan Rohingya National Council (ARNC), said: “The scale of this tragedy is unbearable. The Rohingya are risking their lives at sea because of the continued atrocities of the Arakan Army and Myanmar military. These were people seeking safety after years of persecution and displacement. The world cannot continue to ignore their suffering. It is time for the UN Security Council and ASEAN to urgently address this crisis and hold the Myanmar military and the Arakan Army accountable.”
Since the military coup in Myanmar in 2021, the situation in Rakhine State has deteriorated sharply. The Rohingya, already stateless and stripped of citizenship since 1982, now face escalating violence from both the Myanmar military (Tatmadaw) and the Arakan Army. Villages have been torched, families displaced, and humanitarian aid cut off.
Human Rights Watch reports that the Arakan Army, after gaining territorial control in parts of northern Rakhine, “has imposed severe restrictions and committed grave abuses” against Rohingya civilians leaving them with no choice but to take the dangerous sea route towards possible safety. Entire generations are growing up without land, without identity, and without hope.
As Ro Nay San Lwin, Co-Chair of the ARNC, explains: “It is truly heartbreaking to see my fellow Rohingya losing their lives at sea while trying to escape the suffering in Arakan State. We do not know exactly how many Rohingya have drowned at sea since late 2006. If there were peace in Arakan, no one would take this risk. Currently, the Rohingya in Arakan face not only deep injustice but also a severe humanitarian crisis. The international community and ASEAN must unite to help end the oppression by the Arakan Army and the Myanmar military, and to support humanitarian efforts in every possible way. This could include providing cross-border aid and compelling the Myanmar junta to grant full and unrestricted access to all townships in Arakan State.”
The global test
Every year, thousands of Rohingya embark on treacherous journeys across the Bay of Bengal and the Andaman Sea, heading toward Malaysia, Indonesia, or Thailand. They travel in overcrowded boats, often run by traffickers exploiting their victimization. In UN data conclusion, there are over 200,000 people who fled to ASEAN countries. Among them, around 10,000 people missed, 5,000 died, and countless are in prison in Myanmar, Malaysia, or Thailand.
The SUN news of Malaysia mentioned that they have launched an operation in Kedah and found 14,000. Most of them showed them UNHCR cards. There are 1432 Rohingya in a detention centre which has space for 950. Behind each number of detainees, there is a human story. Even immigration officers say: “We can send back the Myanmar citizens but no the Rohingya because they are not recognized as citizens.”
These people are not “illegal migrants or stateless” but victims of genocide, ethnic cleansing, and decades of state-sponsored persecution. This is why they lack identity today.
As Bangladeshi independent journalist Tanbirul Miraj Ripon reminds us: “The world should save the Rohingya, protect the Rohingya. Rohingya lives matter.”
The Rohingya crisis is not a regional burden, it’s a test of global conscience. The continued inaction of ASEAN powers has perpetuated the Rohingya crisis and exacerbated regional tension across Asia.
What ASEAN can do is create a binding Regional Protection Framework grounded in the ASEAN Charter's commitments. This framework would include the standardized creation of a safe zone, and structural development for the entire community. There must also be a call for “safe, voluntary, dignified, and sustainable return,” explicitly linking it to the Charter's principles. This means publicly insisting that Myanmar guarantee citizenship, rights, and security for the Rohingya.
Ahtaram Shin is a Rohingya independent journalist and freelancer. He works with Rohingyatographer as an editor and researcher. Maung Solaiman Shah is a writer, Rohingya activist, and founder of the Youth Led Initiative (YLI). He is based in the Kutupalong Refugee Camp, Cox’s Bazar, Bangladesh.
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