3 research outputs found
Statelessness of an ethnic minority: the case of Rohingya
No full textThis paper examines why and how Myanmar makes Rohingyas a stateless community in Southeast Asia, known as one of the most vulnerable human groups in the contemporary world. Based on the secondary evidence, the paper argues that Rohingyas are stateless because they are the victim of four discourses: former Bangladeshi people who illegally entered Myanmar; collaborators to British armies while Myanmar was fighting for its independence from British rule; attachment to Islamic terrorism; and foreign interests in the Rakhine state. The paper draws on a wide range of local and global literature to support its arguments. The paper uses extant sociological approaches to understand why a minority community becomes stateless and experiences genocide in their own country. The researcher developed an analytical framework to answer the research questions. This analytical framework draws on existing literature, recent strategies, theoretical understandings, contemporary data, and government responses to understand the process of Rohingya statelessness. This paper finds that Myanmar not only expelled Rohingyas from their homeland by imposing the blame on them but is also unwilling to return over a million Rohingyas from Bangladesh—a host country for them. The paper also finds that the international community is least concerned about the genocide and expulsion of the Rohingyas because of Myanmar’s communal agenda and foreign countries’ economic interests in the Rakhine state. The paper offers some recommendations to address this unique inhuman condition in its concluding part
Political Otherness of the Bihari Community in Bangladesh
No full textThe Bihari community in Bangladesh, consisting of de facto stateless individuals, has long been excluded politically, socially, and economically. This article explores the nature of the political otherness of the Bihari people, who have been the victims of divisive politics. The Bihari people are deprived of a series of fundamental rights, including citizenship status, voting rights, political representation, access to government facilities, freedom to participate in elections as a candidate, as well as access to passports, banking accounts, and insurance. This article investigates how political factors have contributed to the historical and contemporary forms of othering of the Bihari community. Based on six months’ fieldwork in three Bihari camps in Dhaka—Geneva Camp (Mohammadpur), Murapara Bihari Camp (Mirpur), and Kurmitola Bihari Camp (Mirpur), we inquire into the nature of such political otherness. Building on the theoretical insights from Robert Park, W. E. B. Du Bois, and Ruth Levitas, we identify the reasons underlying statelessness and explain the otherness of the Bihari community. Survey and interview data are collected from primary sources, supplemented with data from published and unpublished sources. We find that the Bihari people have neither political power nor access to political participation at the local or national level as electoral candidates due to their identity, residential location, lack of active citizenship status, and limited access to voting rights. Moreover, the Bihari identity and residence in Bihari camps are the principal obstacles to access to a passport, government services, bank accounts, and insurance facilities. This article concludes that the people of the Bihari community in Bangladesh are the victims of severe political exclusion, and such exclusion is responsible for the “otherness” of the Bihari people
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Comparative study of stigma and discrimination among vaccinated and non-vaccinated COVID-19 survivors in Bangladesh
No full textThis study investigates the stigmatized experiences of vaccinated and non-vaccinated COVID-19 survivors in Bangladesh, emphasizing the factors contributing to stigma, the lived realities of stigmatization, and strategies for mitigating discrimination. Employing a qualitative comparative case study approach, the research draws on interviews with 22 survivors (13 non-vaccinated and 9 vaccinated) conducted during two critical phases of the pandemic: July–August 2020 and October 2022–April 2023. The findings reveal that stigma and discrimination were pervasive, stemming from deep-seated fears of death and infection, exacerbated by public health measures such as lockdowns, public announcements, and the symbolic marking of houses with red flags. Experiences surrounding COVID-19 testing further intensified stigma, influencing how survivors were perceived and treated by others. Notably, non-vaccinated survivors reported a broader spectrum of stigmatizing experiences compared to their vaccinated counterparts, highlighting the differential impact of vaccination status on social experiences. Despite these challenges, survivors identified key strategies for alleviating stigma, including robust social support, strengthened community connectivity, normalized attitudes toward COVID-19, and proactive media engagement. As a result, this study offers valuable insights for healthcare professionals and policymakers in Bangladesh, informing the development of effective pandemic management strategies. Additionally, it enhances our understanding of the complex interplay between policy, social perception, and individual experiences in shaping pandemic-related stigma and discrimination, highlighting the critical role of community support and care in addressing these challenges.UMass SOAR Fun
