MAUNGDAW, Arakan State — Let’s say you are a minority group in your native place. You’re surrounded by a majority group that came from a foreign country that has threatened your minority group throughout history.

In this community, you are vulnerable to being robbed, tortured and killed anytime; your wife, your sisters, your daughters risk being sexually abused; your property could be stolen and your minority group could be attacked at any time.

These fears are common to the Buddhist minority in Buthidaung and Maungdaw townships in northern Arakan State in western Burma, where decades-long racial and religious tensions have festered between the Rakhine Buddhist majority and the so-called Rohingya or Bengali minority.

Echoing a common concern among Rakhines in the area, one elder said, “We feel unsafe here, even though this land is ours. We’re just a minority here, and we could be erased at any time."

In Buthidaung and Maungdaw—2 of 17 townships of Arakan (also known as Rakhine) State— Rohingyas make up more than 85 percent of the population in Buthidaung Township and over 95 percent in Maungdaw Township. Buddhist Rakhine and other ethnic people are a minority in these two townships. In Rathaedaung Township, about 50 percent of population is reportedly Bengali, although some believe that number could be much higher.

According to government figures, about 30 percent of the total population of Arakan State are Bengali. There are about 3 million people in the state, which is 36,762 square km. While the population of Rakhine increases slowly, the Bengali population is increasing rapidly.

The Rakhine are well known for its strong nationalism and belief in Buddhism. Generally, they say they won't marry Muslims, citing racial and religious differences. In their eyes, Muslim Bengali have invaded their land.

On the other hand, Muslims don’t want to be viewed as Bengali migrants or descendants of Bengali migrants. They see themselves as a Burmese ethnic group, with the same privileges as other citizens. There have been bloody clashes .

Complaints, complaints, complaints

While traveling in Arakan State, I heard a lot of complaints from Buddhist Rakhines, who say the Rohingya are favored by international and humanitarian organizations, which don't give Rakhine concerns and fears equal weight.
The Rakhine also accuse UN agencies and NGOs of bias and discrimination, opening most of their job opportunities to Rohingya.

The Rakhiness are also angry that the UN and international agencies use the word “Rohingya” for people they view as Bengali migrants, no matter how often Rakhine and Burmese historians say the word accurately describes a Burmese ethnic group.

“Are they [UN and international agencies] lazy to learn a true history, or are they ambassadors for Muslim separatists who want to loot our land?” asked one Rakhine observer in Maungdaw.

Rakhine politicians and historians contend that the word “Rohingya” was coined by educated Bengali Muslim politicians, and that there are political motives behind the word. They say Bengali migrants want to claim Buthidaung, Maungdaw, and Rathaedaung as an autonomous region, for which they need to be recognized as ethic people. Until 1951, there was no word “Rohingya,” say Rakhine politicians.

Rakhine also complain that the international community and humanitarian agencies turn a blind eye to crimes and atrocities committed by Rohingyas.

When it's getting dark, Rakhine people say they don't feel safe to walk through a village of Bengali migrants for fear of being killed. They say a gang of Bengali migrants are robbering and terrorizing villages near Burthidaung.

 Poverty  everywhere

Like other parts of the country, this northwestern suffering great poverty. Many children are kept out of school to help earn an income for their family. A small number of people are lucky to have so-called decent jobs, such as trading.

In addition, Bengali migrants are undeniably living under several restrictions imposed by the government. They must have permissions to marry and to travel from one township to another. The government receives regular complaints from the international community and humanitarian organizations.

Exposing these hardships, exiled Rohingya activists seek help from the international community to put pressure on the ruling junta to recognize the Rohingya as one of Burmese ethnic groups, and to grant them citizenship.

“We just want a status that can guarantee our human rights, for which we need to be recognized as an ethnic people and citizens,” said a Bengali man. “We’re now forced to live a suffocating life.”

Rakhine still traumatized

Some Rakhine politicians that I talked to agreed that some Bengali just want to live peacefully, but say there are radical religious leaders who stir up other Rohingya.

Elderly Rakhine still remember the 1942 massacre, in which tens of thousands of Rakhine were slaughtered and their villages were burned by Muslim separatists.

Before 1942, there were about 200 Rakhine villages in Maungdaw Township. However, after the massacre, the number dropped to 50. Many families fled their village, leaving their land and property behind.

On the night of May 13, 1988, a small number of Rakhine found themselves surrounded by tens of thousands of Bengali Muslims, who threatened to eliminate all Rakhine from Maungdaw. With the help of government security guards, another possible massacre was averted.

Election fever

Though the military junta doesn’t recognize Bengali as citizens, they do allow them to be involved in politics.

The government has given Bengali the opportunity to vote in the 2010 elections. They were also allowed to vote in 1990 elections.

According to the electoral law, the government allows “foreign registration card” (FRC) holders, people who being considered for citizenship or people holding a temporary identification card, to vote in the upcoming elections if they are 18 years old or older. Bengali hold temporary identification cards.

"Is there any country in the world that allows such people to vote in an election?” asked a former Rakhine politician.

In order to win votes from the Bengalis, the former government-sponsored Union Solidarity and Development Party [USDP] gave away incentives. For example, in Buthidaung and Maungdaw, USDP officials held out the possibility of freedom of travel and the right to own land for Bengali migrants. In some areas, USDP officials reportedly said they would consider granting citizenship to the Bengali migrants if their party won in the election.

“We’ve long been waiting for these chances,” said one excited Bengali, though he was not sure if these promises would materialize.

Incentives breed concern

While Bengali are happy with incentives, Rakhines, especially in the Maungdaw area, are not happy.

A Rakhine at Maungdaw asked, "If the new government grants them [Bengali migrants] the right to own land, how can we claim our land?"

Rakhines also fear they could be driven out of their native homes, if Bengali migrants grow stronger in the future.

With all the uncertainty, many Rakhine are frustrated. Some families have fled the Maungdaw area, moving to Rangoon or other locations in Arakan State.

If the government doesn't address the complex issues between the Rakhine and the Rohingya, many other families are likely to flee, warn Rakhine politicians.

“We're now thinking about moving to any township where our Rakhine are a majority," said an elderly man in Maungdaw. Sighing, he said, "Here, our life is in danger.”