Rohingya Muslims face threatening weather
- 11 years ago
Displaced from their homes by ethnic violence, these Rohingya Muslims in western Myanmar are preparing for another onslaught.
A cyclone in the Bay of Bengal is expected to make landfall later in the week across parts of Myanmar, Bangladesh and parts of eastern India.
These straw huts-reinforced with plastic tarps and mud- are the Rohingyas only shelter against the elements.
Facing a growing anti-Muslim campaign led by radical Buddhist monks, some here say they have no desire to evacuate ahead of the storm.
(SOUNDBITE) (Burmese) 38-YEAR OLD HLA MAUNG SAYING:
"I lost my mother and two young daughters during the clashes between Muslims and Rakhine (Buddhists) last year. I lost everything. That's why I pray to Allah to let all the people from here die with the storm. I don't want to go anywhere. I'll stay here. If I die, I want to die here."
The United Nations says there are some 140,000 people at risk and warned a failure to evacuate could result in a h
A cyclone in the Bay of Bengal is expected to make landfall later in the week across parts of Myanmar, Bangladesh and parts of eastern India.
These straw huts-reinforced with plastic tarps and mud- are the Rohingyas only shelter against the elements.
Facing a growing anti-Muslim campaign led by radical Buddhist monks, some here say they have no desire to evacuate ahead of the storm.
(SOUNDBITE) (Burmese) 38-YEAR OLD HLA MAUNG SAYING:
"I lost my mother and two young daughters during the clashes between Muslims and Rakhine (Buddhists) last year. I lost everything. That's why I pray to Allah to let all the people from here die with the storm. I don't want to go anywhere. I'll stay here. If I die, I want to die here."
The United Nations says there are some 140,000 people at risk and warned a failure to evacuate could result in a h