Never Again!
Urge your Senators to stop the ethnic cleansing of the Rohingya people in Burma
The Rohingya are an ethnic minority in Burma who have been described as the world’s most persecuted minority. Although roughly one million Rohingya reside in Burma, they have been systematically denied their rights, including citizenship since 1982. The Rohingya who live in northern and central parts of Rakhine state are confined to ghettos or camps and cannot leave without government permission.
Over the past four months, the Burmese military has engaged in a scorched earth campaign, razing entire Rohingya villages. Soldiers have indiscriminately massacred Rohingya men, women and children. Doctors Without Borders has reported that 6,700 Rohingya have been killed due to the violence, and eyewitness testimonies report widespread rape and other sexual violence, looting, deportation and mass arson of hundreds of Rohingya villages. More than 600,000 people have fled on foot or by boat to refugee camps in Bangladesh. The United Nations is calling it a “textbook example of ethnic cleansing” and we – as Jews and global citizens – and our government cannot stand idly by.
The American Jewish World Service (AJWS) has organized a mass mobilization e-action to urge the U.S. Senate to pass the Burma Human Rights and Freedom Act of 2017. This legislation would authorize desperately needed humanitarian assistance to refugees and impose sanctions on the Burmese military, who have been key agents in massacres and other atrocities committed against the Rohingya people.
The Burmese government has a long history of human rights abuses against the Rohingya, and they will only change with strong outside pressure. We urge you to click here and sign the letter to your Senators.