Rohingya Activist: 'Rohingya Are Not Safe Anywhere' : Parallels : NPR
Abdul Rasheed
A deal was struck last month between Myanmar and Bangladesh to repatriate the Rohingya who've fled since August. But Yangon-based human rights defender Abdul Rasheed  54  says repatriation must be done safely  securely and with dignity.
 Abdul Rasheed  who goes by both names   is  himself  Rohingya and has been working on behalf of  his  people for the past several years.  He 's the founder of the Rohingya Foundation  a human rights organization based in Yangon  and serves as an adviser to Fortify Rights  a human-rights organization that specializes in Rohingya issues.
 The activist  was in the U.S. this week  meeting with U.N. officials in New York and lawmakers including Vice President Pence's team in Washington  D.C.  to raise awareness about the plight of  his  people.
 Abdul Rasheed  previously worked with the National League for Democracy  Suu Kyi's party  but in 2012  after violence erupted in Rakhine   he  decided to devote  himself  full-time to Rohingya issues.
The government doesn't recognize them as citizens  insisting they're illegal immigrants from Bangladesh  even though many Rohingya â including  Abdul Rasheed 's family â have lived in Myanmar since before the country gained independence from Great Britain in 1948.
The situation needs to "be addressed urgently because people are suffering " Abdul Rasheed tells NPR. "Our people are suffering greatly."
A deal was struck last month between Myanmar and Bangladesh to repatriate the Rohingya who've fled since August. But  [TGT] says repatriation must be done safely  securely and with dignity.
  [TGT] is   [TGT]   Rohingya and has been working on behalf of  his  people for the past several years.  He 's the founder of the Rohingya Foundation  a human rights organization based in Yangon  and serves as an adviser to Fortify Rights  a human-rights organization that specializes in Rohingya issues.
 The activist  was in the U.S. this week  meeting with U.N. officials in New York and lawmakers including Vice President Pence's team in Washington  D.C.  to raise awareness about the plight of  his  people.
  [TGT] previously worked with the National League for Democracy  Suu Kyi's party  but in 2012  after violence erupted in Rakhine    [TGT]   decided to devote   [TGT]   full-time to Rohingya issues.
The government doesn't recognize them as citizens  insisting they're illegal immigrants from Bangladesh  even though many Rohingya â including  Abdul Rasheed 's family â have lived in Myanmar since before the country gained independence from Great Britain in 1948.
The situation needs to "be addressed urgently because people are suffering "  [TGT]  tells NPR. "Our people are suffering greatly."