Thailand helpless to intervene over Rohingyas' misery

Yesterday’s column needs some expanding.

Thailand’s involvement is merely as a transit point for Rohingya being trafficked to Malaysia. It is a bunch of despicable and greedy Thai officials in the South who have brought this shame upon us. The Thai government should be praised for its efforts to combat and publicise the misery. 

The plight of the Rohingya in Myanmar dates back to 1826, when British colonial rulers pushed farmers from Bengal across the border to join their fellow (Rohingya) Muslims in the sparsely populated state of Arakan (now Rakhine). This policy sparked ethnic tension with Buddhist Rakhine residents that remains to this day and has brought a number of massacres over the years. The Rohingya are a stateless people with neither citizenship nor a safe or stable future.

On its own, Thailand can do nothing to remedy the Rohingyas’ longstanding plight, only hope that these migrants avoid us and go directly to Malaysia, or receive better treatment in Myanmar and decide to stay there. Our mistake was to turn a blind eye to a few greedy Thais, who have brought immense shame to the country by aiding this crime against humanity on our soil. 

Fair Play