One of the recommendations from a Refugees International Field Report is for the US to send more financial aid to the Burmese Muslim Rohingya displaced people and to work to resettle them in the US. To date, we have not officially begun resettling Rohingya.
The summary of the December 19th report tells us what we already know from recent news accounts. From RI:
With few options available to the Rohingya in Bangladesh, more and more people are risking their lives to travel to Malaysia to seek livelihood opportunities. The number of Rohingya boat people [Editor: more accurately boat men. Women and children have not been found in the boats.] originating from inside Burma and from Bangladesh is increasing, despite the dangers posed by dishonest brokers, substandard boats, and the Thai navy. Although many have lost their lives at sea or were caught and detained by Burmese authorities, many more continue to reach Malaysia. In all, an estimated one million Rohingya now live in Bangladesh, Thailand, Malaysia, the Middle East, and farther afield.
But, follow the link to the PDF report and note the recommendations including one to resettle Rohingya.
The UN and donor governments, particularly the US, should integrate the Rohingya into programs that address Burmese displacement, including resettlement.
The UK and Canada have recently begun resettlement. For more on Rohingya see our category ‘Rohingya Reports’ here.
Refugees International is a lobbying arm of the refugee industry and we wrote previously that they have advocated that the Obama administration allow over 100,000 Iraqis to enter the US this fiscal year.