Meanwhile, our American friends have come up with another unrealistic proposal. But first of all, let me make it clear that the largest amount of humanitarian aid for Rohingya refugees has come from America. And also that only the US has attempted to put pressure on the Burmese military regime. On the sixth anniversary of the expulsion of Rohingyas from Myanmar, the US Embassy has issued a notice. There were two points involved in this. At first, the US felt that it was unsafe to return to Myanmar given the current situation there. This statement of his is undoubtedly true. Secondly, the US called for rehabilitating the Rohingyas to different countries as an option to alleviate their plight. He also said that 13,000 Rohingyas have been resettled in the US in the last 14 years.
Earlier on August 14, an 11-member American delegation visited refugee camps in Ukhia. The Rohingyas present there told him about the repression by the Myanmar military and he asked the US for help in repatriating them to their homeland.
Compared to the number of Rohingya refugees, 13,000 in a span of 14 years is not even a drop in the ocean. Last year I went to America and there I met some Rohingyas. Two of them were running small businesses and doing quite well. Everywhere I went in America, I saw store fronts and other establishments with notices saying ‘We are hiring’. There were a large number of vacancies for small positions with modest pay, but not enough applicants. If the US takes in one million Rohingyas for resettlement, they will immediately have 500,000 workers to fill these vacancies. These people and their offspring will eventually become taxpayer consumers and contributors to the American economy.
It will also prove that America really believes in the human values that it promotes and the image of the country will emerge brilliantly. Germany, a relatively small country, has hosted one million Syrian refugees. 70 percent of them have already been easily absorbed into the German economy. No harm has come to Germany in any way and this commendable decision has certainly raised the image of the country.
Don’t expect America to do this. So there is really no use raising the hopes of the Rohingya people with such a hope of resettlement in a third country. The solution to the Rohingya problem lies in sending them back to their homeland. America is a friend of Bangladesh and Rohingyas and is the most powerful country in the world. It can apply its pressure and skill to ensure that favorable conditions are created for the return of Rohingyas to their homeland. In the meantime, the US and its Western allies can muster the bare minimum for the survival of the Rohingya.
