Our moral duty
Fairuz Faatin
Published at 06:15 PM August 31, 2017
Last updated at 07:10 PM August 31, 2017
It is not impossible for Bangladesh to help the RohingyaREUTERS
Surely there is a real way we can help the most persecuted people in the world?
Myanmar’s persecution of the Rohingya has developed into a humanitarian crisis of hellish proportions, and it no longer feels justified for us to watch and let the atrocities continue.
After all, if we hadn’t introduced measures to control our own population growth — today we might have been double the size — so can we really not accommodate these helpless and tortured souls coming to us for salvation from hell?
There is no doubt here about what the morally right thing to do is, so the only objections remaining are ones on the grounds of practicality. Yet, we cannot say that it is practically impossible, because it isn’t. Sure, it’s going to be difficult and there are going to be adjustment pains, but it is certainly possible.
So, while the whole world is fighting over what Islam really is and what being a good Muslim entails, we have a chance to show, as a Muslim majority nation, the true spirit of Islam — one embodied in our Prophet Muhammad — and help those in need.
Our common humanity
Labels are not meant to be used to divide us. Our rational minds want to distinguish, categorise, and label everything — from sofas to divans, grunge rock from punk rock (see how petty the distinctions can be?) — because that’s how we understand the world around us.
But calling them Rohingya betrays the fact that they are just as human as we are. Although that argument can, and should, be extended to refute all other evils in the world — racism, sexism, and so on — for now, since we need a reminder of our common humanity, let’s remember that we share the same religion.
And furthermore, we share very similar ethnicity — Rohingyas look a lot more like us than they do the typical Burmese person.
Calling them Rohingya betrays the fact that they are just as human as we are
Learned people — the prophets, philosophers, and intellectuals — know that nation states are a purely political construct and that superficial characteristics like the colour of our skin or the language we speak mean nothing when it comes to our common humanity.
But before world politics can be that self-aware and awake to higher truths, let’s at least help those suffering from the worst kinds of persecution. Then, after we have taken some corrective steps, to reverse the insufferably long series of bad decisions that led the human race to where we are, we can take on less blatant kinds of discrimination, like wealth inequality, oppressive gender roles, and more.
Avoiding disaster
Attempts to correct injustice in the world are often met with ridicule from naysayers who, by the way, have never done anything substantially useful for the world.
When injustice is allowed to persist unchecked, it snowballs into some kind of disaster — always, every time.
And every great person in history who made a positive difference first believed that a better world was indeed possible, and then undertook the noble and usually daunting task of change-making. From Martin Luther in the 15th century to Martin Luther King, Jr in the 20th century, all the greats in history dreamed of a better world. And they did their best to work towards it.
The indubitably positive impact of their work should convince even the most stubborn among us that positive change is indeed possible. Much of Europe today that was previously ravaged by wars, plagues, and whatnot, are pretty much like heaven on earth, more so compared to other parts of the world. And it’s all because of men and women like Martin Luther, Florence Nightingale, Marie Curie, Descartes, and hundreds more.
The point I am making is that, if they can do it, so can we. Hopefully without having to go through wars and plagues because we can just learn the lessons from their mistakes. So, coming back to the Rohingya issue, before the crisis degenerates into a regional conflict that could devastate all the countries involved, let’s turn the tide away from disaster and towards recovery, by doing the right thing.
Fairuz Faatin is a Sub-Editor at the Dhaka Tribune
http://www.dhakatribune.com/opinion/2017/08/31/our-moral-duty/
