The Rohingya people are descendants of Indo-Aryan ancestry, whose roots can be traced back to Rakhine State, Burma. They speak and live by their native tongue, Rohingya, and the Islamic way of life. With a total population of 1,424,000 to 2,000,000 throughout the world, regions with specific, significant populations include: Burma (Arakan), Bangladesh, Malaysia, Pakistan, Saudi Arabia, Thailand, and Indonesia. About 800,000 Rohingyas live in Burma, while there’s  an estimated 1 million who have built their lives overseas. They form about 21% of Rakhine State’s population, or 60%, if the number for overseas population is included.

Those who identify themselves as Rohingyas are typically found residing in the northernmost townships of Arakan,  bordering Bangladesh where they form roughly 80 to 98 percent of the entire population. A typical Rohingya family has about four to five surviving children, but the numbers up to twenty eight have been recorded in some very rare cases. With regards to their Human Rights or Refugee Status, this article takes a sad turn. The Rohingya people are described as the world’s least wanted, or one of the world’s most prosecuted ever since the law passed by the late General was enacted. Amnesty International wrote;

“The Rohingyas’ freedom of movement is severely restricted and the vast majority of them have effectively been denied Burmese citizenship. They are also subjected to various forms of extortion and arbitrary taxation; land confiscation; forced eviction and house destruction; and financial restrictions on marriage.” For more mouth-gaping facts, here we have 10:

Fact 1: Muslims make up 1/5 of the world, that’s a whooping 1.6 billion Muslims!

Fact 2: Not all Muslims are Arab, in fact, only 15 percent of them are. Rohingya Muslims are tooted from Bengal and India, while majority may be found in all cultures, ethnic groups, nationalities, as well as countries.

Fact 3: There is a Rohingya Movement that has started back in 1990 and is on going to this day. Characterized by lobbying internationally by overseas diaspora, as well as establishing indigenous claims by Rohingya scholars, the new movement aims to accomplish publicizing the term “Rohingya”, as well as denying Bengali origins by Rohingya politicians.

Fact 4: The word “Islam” is multi-faceted, and means a “surrender”, “peace”, and “submission”. Salam, the root word of Islam, means peace. Islam means surrendering to the will of God without compulsion. It is also the second largest religion in the world, coming in right after Christianity.

 Fact 5: A Muslim is defined as any person or thing who surrenders themselves to the will of God. That being said, nature and all its components, animals and all are Muslims and serve and fulfill God’s purpose. That’s why it’s forbidden to harm all walks of life.

Fact 6: There’s an estimated 735, 000 Rohingyas living in Burma as of late 2013, and they form about 98% of the entire population! They all speak the Rohingya language.

Fact 7: Way back in 1982, under General Ne Win’s government, he put into motion and enacted the Burmese Nationality Law, which denied Rohingya citizenship. Since the time of the 1990s, the term “Rohingya” has since increased in usage, most especially among Rohingya communities.

Fact 8: In light of the 2015 Rohingya refugee crisis, most Rohingyas have fled to the ghettos and refugee camps of neighbouring Bangladesh, as well as to areas along the border of Thailand. Roughly more than 100,000 Rohingyas in Burma continue to live in camps for internally displaced persons, and are strictly monitored and are not allowed by authorities to leave

Fact 9: Mary, the mother of Jesus, is the only women mentioned in the Q’uran, or the Muslim bible. The term when translated means “recitation”.

Fact 10: To accurately represent Rohingya phonology, the Latin alphabet has been developed using all 26 English letters, from A to Z, as well as two other additional Latin letters, being: Ç (for retroflex R), and Ñ (for the nasal sound).