Aid actors face 'humanitarian trap' in Rakhine crisis

International nongovernmental organizations providing humanitarian assistance to the crisis in Myanmar’s Rakhine state have been accused of favoring Muslim Rohingya communities over the Buddhist ethnic Rakhine population — creating serious challenges for the emergency response. Waves of violence in 2012 between the two communities displaced more than 139,000 people, with thousands of houses burned and an estimated 300 dead. The greatest numbers of those affected and now living in camps are the minority Muslim Rohingya, who suffer endemic persecution and discrimination. Denied citizenship, the Rohingya are considered illegal “Bengali” immigrants, although many have lived in Myanmar for generations. Relief efforts over the past two years have provided emergency services to those worst affected by the conflict — primarily displaced Rohingya communities, as well as the smaller numbers of ethnic Rakhine whose houses were destroyed. The needs-based approach lies at the core of humanitarian action, Nicolas Louis, head of the European Commission’s Humanitarian Aid and Civil Protection department in Myanmar, explained to Devex. “You cannot compromise on principles — impartiality being one of the key pillars. Impartiality means needs based,” he said. This massive scale up of international resources directed toward the dominantly Rohingya victims of the violence has fueled resentment on the part of some Rakhine communities, which see this as an unfair distribution of aid, fueling accusations of bias. Protests and threats against humanitarian organizations have escalated since 2012. Tensions erupted in spring this year, when medical agency Médecins Sans Frontières was suspended from the state and mob attacks against international NGO premises in March forced all agencies to pull out, causing more than $1 million in damage. The suspension in aid left hundreds of thousands without access to medical health care. Although most agencies have since returned and relief efforts are gradually returning to scale, Rakhine remains a turbulent operating environment two years after the initial violence, and services insufficient. Conditions in the camps were described as “deplorable” by U.N. human rights rapporteur Yanghee Lee in October. Serious gaps in health care mean that “a referral system exists, but in practice only patients in the most critical condition tend to reach the Sittwe hospital, and even then it is often too late,” the U.N. Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs reported in its most recent humanitarian bulletin. Agencies face hostility and threats The volatile climate has created extreme media sensitivity among relief groups. Although Devex spoke to a range of international NGOs and U.N. agencies working in Rakhine, few were prepared to go on record for fear of repercussions. Accusations that aid is biased are exacerbated by a toxic atmosphere where misinformation and rumors run like wildfire, spread by social media networks and tea shop gossip, including claims that agencies are distributing weapons in camps. International organizations face heavy surveillance of their activities, with assistance scrutinized by community groups such as the NGO Watch Team, which posts updates on Facebook. The hostility toward international agencies also has wide-reaching operational consequences. Following the March attacks, returning organizations were relocated to the “Southern Quarter,” a small demarcated area of the Rakhine state capital Sittwe, which lacks adequate accommodation or facilities. Steep demand for accommodation and office space sent prices skyrocketing, creating massive increases in operational costs. Intimidation of local staff and pressure from family or friends to stop working with international NGOs makes staffing the humanitarian response an uphill struggle, while direct threats to traders and contractors mean few are willing to work with international organizations. Although agencies work alongside the Myanmar government, and the appointment of a new chief minister has reportedly helped improve the situation, access and bureaucratic obstacles also remain a challenge. The body tasked with facilitating greater consultation with community representatives, the Emergency Coordination Committee, has struggled with ill-defined aims and composition. According to many sources Devex spoke with, ECC is reportedly now controlling and at times blocking the delivery of aid. A culture of impunity So what is contributing to this level of opposition to humanitarian actors? Like many complex humanitarian emergencies around the world, the Rakhine crisis is at root linked to political and socio-economic factors, with humanitarians caught in the crossfire, limited to only treat the symptoms — the so-called humanitarian trap. One of Myanmar’s poorest states, Rakhine has long suffered economic neglect and lack of investment from the central government, as well as discrimination against the ethnic Rakhine people. Growing Buddhist nationalism, coupled with widespread fears of Islamization, has served to create what the International Crisis Group refers to as a “siege mentality” — fears that the Rakhine identity is under threat and the Rakhine people will become a demographic minority in their own state. As explained in a recent assessment by international NGO Mercy Corps, “Rakhine people feel that their grievances are not considered or weighted equally relative to the community they are in conflict with. The international community thus becomes a part of the ‘external threat.’” Perception of the international community as a threat — and the subsequent hostility — has been allowed to rise unchecked by what was described as a “culture of impunity” for harassment of international NGOs. Although a number of people were arrested following the March attacks, no one has yet been held criminally responsible. This is aggravated by an in-country U.N. leadership that, in the eyes of many Devex spoke with, is felt to have lost credibility after failing to take a firm stance on the violence against the humanitarian community, instead adopting a defensive position. “Impunity still reigns and the message that ‘you can destroy a U.N. office and get away with it’ is still there,” one aid worker told Devex on condition of anonymity. A long-term political solution To date, most agencies have resumed programs, with the exception of MSF, which is still negotiating the terms of its return. With the Myanmar government set to finalize its controversial Rakhine State Action Plan and elections looming in late 2015, the political context is likely to get even more strained. There is now greater emphasis on providing “conflict-sensitive aid.” What this means in practice depends on the agency and its specific mandate — but all agree that greater and more proactive communication with affected communities is essential. “Conflict sensitivity does not mean compromising,” ECHO’s Louis explained. “It means openness, transparency, proactive engagement and advocacy … Communication is a priority.” Many are calling for development actors to step up, and for greater investment in development funding to address the deep structural poverty across Rakhine state. “I would like to invite the international community … to provide much-needed development assistance there,” U Wunna Maung Lwin, Myanmar’s foreign affairs minister, told the U.N. General Assembly in September. Use of “quick impact” projects with obvious material gains are being suggested as one way to assuage perceptions of bias — although tokenism in place of longer-term investment is unlikely to be appreciated. Likewise, flooding Rakhine with development assistance could be viewed as inequitable distribution of aid from a countrywide perspective and likely be seen as pandering to Rakhine hardliners. “Rakhine leaders are also likely to be suspicious that development programs are attempts to buy them off,” ICG explained in its report. With U.S. President Obama due to visit Myanmar this week, Rakhine is high on the international agenda. The White House recently reported that “the President stressed the importance of the government of [Myanmar] taking additional steps to address the tensions and the humanitarian situation in Rakhine state” during a telephone conversation between presidents Obama and Thein Sein. Ultimately, although the conflict in Rakhine has serious humanitarian consequences, it is a political crisis that requires long-term political solutions. Humanitarian assistance cannot provide these solutions, but remains critical for those affected by the violence. A continual supply of aid is needed for the thousands of displaced Rohingya families who are trapped within segregated camps for internally displaced people, forbidden from leaving for “security” reasons — leaving people dependent on assistance simply to eat or have some access to basic health care. “As humanitarians, our responsibility is to respond to the humanitarian needs, to the emergency needs as best as we can until a political solution is found,” Pierre Péron, U.N. OCHA’s public information and advocacy officer, emphasized. 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