Cyclone Mahasen to Wipe Out Rohingya Muslims in Bangladesh, Myanmar

U.N. Agency warns that 8 million people are most likely to be affected as strong Tropical Cyclone Mahasen looms over the Bay of Bengal, CNN reports. This estimated figure will likely to increase or decrease depending on the specific route that the cyclone will take when it hits landfall.

CNN international meteorologist Ivan Cabrera said that "the latest prediction suggests Mahasen will bring wind gusts of 85 to 90 kilometers per hour (53 to 56 mph) to the Bangladeshi coast. That puts it at the level of a tropical storm, weaker than 120 kilometer-per-hour gusts of hurricane. This will be a rain event for most in the area. If you are in a concrete building you will be fine outside of localized very heavy flooding."

Inhabitants alongside coastal areas of Bangladesh Myanmar are advised to prepare for the cyclone forecasted to make landfall either on Thursday night or early morning Friday. The cyclone would possibly bring strong wind and heavy rain in the neighboring southeastern Bangladesh, near the city of Chittagong.

Different agencies expressed deep concern for the thousands of Rohingya Muslims inhabiting makeshift camps in the low-lying areas. Agencies are doing their best efforts to evacuate residents to higher ground area. They make sure that emergency positions are at hand as soon as needed.

Valerie Amos, U.N.'s official for humanitarian affairs said that "Mahasen could be life threatening for millions of people in Bangladesh, Myanmar and India."

Andreas Von Weissenberg of the International Federation of the Red Cross and Red Crescent said that "There is a flurry of activity going on both in Bangladesh and in Myanmar ahead of the storm. It's really a race against time in many ways."

The Rohingya Muslims

Myanmar is mainly a Buddhist country and only about 5 per cent of its 60 million people are Muslims. This 5 per cent Muslims had to endure anti-Muslim campaign by Buddhist monks.

Rohingya is a stateless Muslim minority who endure long accounts of hardship all through the half century military rule in Myanmar.

As Reuters puts it, Rohingya is a group of impoverished and long persecuted people who was caught in between sectarian violence.

According to reports, there were 192 people killed in June and October of 2012 when aggression happens between Rakhine Buddhists and Rohingya. The violence resulted when Rohingya was denied citizenship and proclaimed immigrants by the Myanmar government.

In April 2013, Myanmar authorities were allegedly involved in a Buddhist campaign of "ethnic cleansing" against the Rohingya in Rakhine.

With their experience of violence, Rohingya living at the makeshift camps built with bamboo and thatch - refused to relocate out of distrust to government agencies.

The United nations Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA) said that Rohingya "are reluctant to relocate and some communities have refused to use military vehicles or to shelter in military barracks."

Reuters reports that Rohigya declares that they want to die there. Some would not even dare to get near the army barracks.

Fatima Hadu, 65 years old, one of the Rohingya living in the makeshift camps, said that "If the storm comes, we want to die here."

Another Rohingya man told interviewers that "We didn't receive food assistance here. If we go to a new place, we won't receive food assistance. Whether there's a storm or not, we will die here."