In grim camps, Rohingya hope UN genocide hearing can bring justice to finally hold Myanmar accountable

Nevin Al Sukari - Sana'a - A Rohingya child cries as he stands near the Thyangkhali refugee camp at Cox’s Bazar in this file picture dated November 29, 2017. — AFP pic

COX’S BAZAR, Jan 12 — Hope is a fragile but persistent force in Bangladesh’s sprawling Rohingya camps of Cox’s Bazar, where more than a million refugees forced to flee Myanmar live in squalid conditions.

In rows of bamboo shelters and muddy lanes, refugees who escaped Myanmar nearly a decade ago await developments more than 8,000 kilometres (5,000 miles) away at the International Court of Justice (ICJ) in The Hague, where a genocide case against Myanmar opens on Monday.

“We want justice and peace,” said Janifa Begum, 37, a mother of two. “Our women lost their dignity when the military junta launched the eviction. They burned villages, killed men, and women became victims of widespread violence.”

The top UN court on Monday will hear a case brought by The Gambia, which accuses Myanmar of breaching the 1948 Genocide Convention during a brutal crackdown on the Rohingya in 2017.

Hundreds of thousands of Rohingya Muslims fled the bloodshed and crossed the border into Bangladesh. Myanmar’s ruling junta denies the allegations.

“My house was gutted,” Begum told AFP. “I fled with my husband and two brothers-in-law with nothing — no food, no belongings. I later heard that they had grabbed my land.”

‘Soaked in blood’ 

For many in the camps, the hearings are a rare acknowledgement of long ignored suffering.

“I hope the ICJ will bring some solace to the deep wounds we are still carrying,” said Mohammad Sayed Ullah, 33, a former teacher and now a member of the United Council of Rohingya, a refugee organisation.

While the ICJ has no way to enforce any judgment it might make, Ullah spoke quietly but firmly about accountability, hoping the UN case may, someday, bring them real change.

“The perpetrators must be held accountable and punished,” he said. “The sooner and fairer the trial is, the better the outcome will be... then the repatriation process may begin.”

Ullah fled Myanmar in 2017 after what he describes as a brutal military crackdown.

It took him more than two weeks to reach Bangladesh, trekking through jungles and swamps, a journey marked by fear and loss.

“There were four of us in the family, and my elderly mother suffered the most,” he said. “On our way to Bangladesh, we saw villages on fire. I saw my neighbouring village soaked in blood.

“Dozens of people took shelter in one place when the junta started firing. The soldiers laid siege to the area, butchered the men, and tortured the women,” Ullah added.

‘To erase our existence’ 

Maung Thein Myint, a Rohingya human rights activist, said the ICJ case carries immense symbolic weight.

“My expectations from the ICJ hearings are rooted in lived suffering and long-denied truth,” he said.

“I hope the court will clearly recognise that what was done to the Rohingya was genocide — systematic, state-led, and intended to erase our existence.”

While acknowledging the court’s limits, Myint believes a strong judgment could still make a difference.

“Such recognition can restore dignity to victims, strengthen global accountability, and keep alive our hope for justice, protection, and a safe, voluntary, and dignified return home.”

In Cox’s Bazar, justice remains distant. But for the Rohingya, the ICJ is a rare hope that their voices may be heard.

“I want to see whether the suffering we endured is reflected during the hearing,” said Begum, hoping for a better for her baby daughter and toddler son.

“I hope that one day we will return home and live there with dignity.” — AFP