2 - A Theoretical Understanding of Rohingyas and Rohingyas in the Media

Summary

The previous chapter offered a historical understanding of the Rohingya population being deprived of their rights. Life in Myanmar for the Rohingyas in recent decades has been increasingly marked by systematic deprivation and human rights violations, with official state policies restricting their ability to marry, travel, have children, get medical treatment, attend schools, and more.

This chapter presents a comprehensive theory of refugees that emphasizes the importance of endogenous factors, such as political and religious motivations, in the context of refugee issues globally and for the Rohingyas in particular. We show how media framing had an impact on the Rohingyas in terms of the severity of the crisis. Since it provides an alternative to the ‘objectivity and bias paradigm’, media framing is crucial to understanding the broader implications of mass communication (Kupchik and Bray, 2008; Zaini and Rahman, 2017). When conflict in Myanmar's Rohingya region erupts between Muslim minority and Buddhist majority, framing goes beyond simple positive or negative connotations and encompasses complex emotional responses and cognitive dimensions, such as beliefs and attitudes (Tankard, 2001).

Theories of Rohingya genesis

While multiple issues plague the global community right now, the plight of the world's refugees is a pressing concern. It took some time for the problem to be present in people's consciousness, but the plight of refugees has been on the minds of people everywhere in recent decades (Gordenker, 1987). According to Alexander Betts and Gil Loescher (2011: 1), migrants are ‘at the centre of world politics’. Many of the major problems of international relations are entwined with the origins, effects, and reactions to human migration (Ullah et al, 2022). While forced migration studies have largely ignored lessons from international relations, experts in the latter field have largely ignored the study of refugees (Kolukirik, 2009).

The Marxist explanation for migration is fundamentally economic, which is why one of Marxism's central tenets, labour exploitation, has become so prominent. In order to accelerate industrialization, the German government hired a large number of migrant workers. Nonetheless, during the 1970s economic crisis, the government supported the (often forced) return of these migrants (Yin, 2021).

Marx posited that the institutions of mass media are in the hands of the ruling classes. Through the medium of these establishments, the populace is brainwashed into thinking that capitalism is beneficial for all (Sallach, 1974).