Nine years without a home: Are Rohingya refugees ready to go back to war-torn Myanmar?

That's the sound of refugees gathered to play football, near shelters in Cox's Bazar, Bangladesh.

For more than a million Rohingya refugees living here, this is where they've spent years of their lives.

But it isn't home - it's the world's largest refugee settlement.

And for many Rohingya people, it's been home for nine years.

It has been nine years since more than 700,000 people fled across the border from Myanmar, also known as Burma.

That's nine years since villages in Myanmar's Rakhine state were burned, families were seperated and survivors describe widespread killing, rape and sexual violence.

The United Nations has described the military campaign against the Rohingya as genocidal and the situation as a textbook example of ethnic cleansing.

Many Rohingya refugees want to go home, but Myanmar is still at war.

Some have cited fears of being caught in between Myanmar's ruling junta and rebel fighters in the country.

And now, governments in the region are talking about sending some of them back.

Malaysia says the return will be voluntary and safe.

But human rights advocates say it could put vulnerable people back in danger.

"We have had Rohingya coming into Malaysia from the late 70s. And of course, many of the Rohingya refugees then applied for asylum with the UNHCR in Malaysia, and, a lot of them were given the UNHCR card. But unfortunately in Malaysia, whether or not the UNHCR card matters is another different question altogether, because it's actually at the discretion of the immigration and the police - if at all they get stopped at immigration checkpoints or police checkpoints."

For the Rohingya people, the idea of home is complicated.

Many have spent almost a decade living in refugee camps.

Others have built new lives across the region - including here in Australia.

But the memory of home remains.

"We need peace, and respect and empathy, and safe place. We are humans, we are humans."

Sajeda is a Rohingya refugee advocate who fled Myanmar and now lives in Australia.

She's one of the founding members of the Australian Rohingya Women’s Development Organisation, or ARWDO.

To mark the ninth anniversary [[August 25]] of the military-led Rohingya genocide last month, Sajeda organised a rally in Sydney [[August 28]] as part of a grim remembrance.

"All of the Rohingyan people have gotten into this genocide. First priority are all the women, children, youth and murubi meaning adults."

Like many others in her community, she's urging the Australian government to stand with refugees, asylum seekers and those facing ongoing humanitarian and human rights crises.

The Rohingya are a predominantly Muslim ethnic minority from Myanmar's Rakhine state.

Their homeland is mainly controlled by the Arakan Army, a rebel force in the country.

As victims of ethnic cleansing and human trafficking, they have faced decades of discrimination and persecution.

Then, in 2017, the Myanmar military launched a brutal campaign against Rohingya communities.

More than 700,000 people crossed the border into Bangladesh.

Villages were destroyed, families were torn apart, and survivors described horrific violence.

"In one of the films that I made, I was actually given a pen drive which had a footage of a young girl who was being raped by three men, Rohingya men. And there were three of them, and you could see a penetration really clearly, and you could see him bantering with another guy. And then you could, from a point of view, actually see another person, videoing the entire thing. Now, I did use about 30 seconds of this in one of my documentaries, pixelated, of course."

That's Mahi Ramakrishnan, a public policy expert who's work focuses on forced migration.

What she's describing is sexual violence on men, women and even children by Rohingya traffickers.

"It was one of my ways in which I could actually show the Malaysian and other audience as to what was happening on the Malaysia-Thai border. And what was really heartbreaking is this. When it was all over, the girl gets up, pushes down her skirt, and just walks away. She did not fight, and that clearly shows that this is something that happened to her one too many times, and she has got absolutely no energy to fight back anymore."

For Rohingya people, fleeing Myanmar did not mean the end of danger.

Across the region, refugees have faced detention, trafficking, exploitation and discrimination.

And now there's another threat - the possibility of being sent back.

Sajeda's daughter, Asma Nayim Ullah is another co-founder and board member of ARWDO.

For Asma, the question of return is deeply personal.

She was about ten years old when her family arrived in Australia after fleeing persecution in Myanmar.

But instead of immediately finding safety, they spent three months in immigration detention in Darwin.

"It was one of the most traumatic experiences of my life. We were also detained in the detention center in Darwin for three months before we were settled into Sydney. So, that experience has had a huge impact on my life, and it's really hard to describe what it was like."

She remembers being separated from the outside community.

And she remembers asking her mother a question that has stayed with them both.

"We had to go by numbers and also, very isolated from, the outside communities. It was basically a prison. And I asked my mother, like, "Why were, are we in a prison if we didn't commit a crime?" And I think my mother also says this a lot. She's like, that question stuck with her as well because it was a child asking her that question. "How can a decision that I made is, being punished on my kids? Why are my kids being punished for this?"

She says that experience shaped her. As the eldest child, she took on responsibilities at a young age.

And she was also trying to catch up with classmates who had spent years in school.

Then, in 2017, the violence in Myanmar reached her family again. She was about 14 , turning 15 at the time.

"I felt like my world ended all over again, and I ended up not being able to go to school because I was so depressed. Even then, I got myself up and walked on a, on, to the protest that we held in Sydney and spoke even in the city hall about the massacre and what happened to my family, who all got murdered and displaced."

But she says she eventually found a way to turn that trauma into activism.

Almost a decade later, she's still speaking out.

"We are human beings, with human feelings, experiencing things that are way beyond out control, but we are being punished for those things."

Asma says the experience remains deeply dehumanising and isolating.

But does she want to return?

Despite everything, she still wants to go home.

"The thing is with Rohingya people, and myself included, we all want to go back to our home country eventually. And because this is something that I think a lot of people can feel is, like, even though when they choose to leave their home by choice, they still miss their home, their family, their land, just even the air there. It's a very universal feeling of missing home, something that's familiar. And my family, my parents, my community all feel the same as well."

A powerful contradiction - to feel lost as they are neither here nor there.

And for Rohingya people, that distinction is becoming increasingly important.

Myanmar today is not the country the Rohingya fled in 2017 - it's arguably even more dangerous.

Since the military seized power in 2021, Myanmar has descended into a brutal civil war.

More than 150,000 Rohingya have fled Myanmar since the conflict escalated.

And Rakhine state is held by the Arakan Army, a rebel armed group fighting the Myanmar military.

Rohingya people are still caught between competing armed forces.

"Things are even much more dangerous now. So it's impossible for Rohingya people to go back safely. And the ones who are being forced to go back are, being forced into conscription, fighting for either sides. So Rohingya people are stuck in this crossfire between policies and governments and armed conflicts and all these debates."

For people still displaced inside Myanmar, and for those living across the border, the war has created another layer of uncertainty.

And for Asma? Physical safety is only part of the story.

"And obviously, because I'm much more safer physically in Australia does not mean that I have emotionally not been also feeling unsafe.. there's becoming a lot more tension and debate around the plight of the Rohingya."

What would going home actually mean? This has become an urgent question for neighbouring countries - Bangladesh and Malaysia.

Malaysia is home to hundreds of thousands of refugees and asylum seekers, many are Rohingya.

But Malaysia has not ratified the 1951 Refugee Convention.

And it does not have a national law formally recognising refugee status.

Instead, people without legal immigration status can be treated as illegal migrants.

”Because we do not have a statute precisely defining who is a refugee. Currently, the Immigration Act puts them together as illegal migrants.”

William Leong Chee Kin is a Member of Parliament for Selangor state.

He says Malaysia faces a difficult balancing act.

On one side, security and socioeconomic pressures, and on the other, the rights and safety of people seeking refuge.

"Malaysia is caught in a situation of being the frontline state care (holding the burden) of a problem that is not created by Malaysia."

UNHCR data shows about 215,600 refugees and asylum seekers were registered in Malaysia as of February this year.

The majority, 193,824 individuals, are from Myanmar, including 126,144 Rohingya.

But resettlement places in third countries are limited.

He says up to May this year, only 504 have been resettled to other countries.

Mr Leong says that means Malaysia is increasingly left carrying the burden, and that the understanding is that the country acts as a transit point for UNHCR to settle migrants in other countries.

Malaysia also does not allow refugees to access public schools or formal employment.

Mahi Ramakrishnan says many rely on community-run schools.

"We have had very many, communities coming up with their own schools, not just for the Rohingya, but different communities running schools for their own children. When (Donald) Trump first took over as President of the US, we have already seen, like, more than 40 per cent slash in UNHCR's, budget, which means that the schools that it was supporting, was also rolled back."

But those schools are vulnerable to funding cuts and government action.

Mahi says some schools have recently been shut down.

"The Malaysian government has also, over the last two months, gone around looking for Rohingya children or looking for undocumented Rohingya kids in schools. And there are a few schools which have been shut down, and the schools have not been reopened. Given the fact that over the last few months, we have had this escalation of hate against the Rohingya, we have seen the government go back and forth about whether or not to send them back to Myanmar."

For children, that can mean growing up without access to the formal education system.

And for families, it creates another layer of insecurity.

At the same time, advocates say anti-Rohingya sentiment and misinformation have grown in Malaysia.

Noor Azizah previously lived there before resettling in Australia.

She recently faced backlash after speaking about the treatment of Rohingya people in a speech, at the Marie Claire Women of the Year Awards.

Noor said the rhetoric has become increasingly hostile.

"You might know Malaysia, Indonesia, and Thailand as holiday destinations for you and your family. In Malaysia today, over 2,000 Rohingya children are locked in immigration centres, growing up behind bars instead of classrooms. In Indonesia, hate speech, misinformation, disinformation, floods, social media. People call us dark skinned animals, ocean trash, monkeys. In Thailand, traffickers sell Rohingya bodies like currency. Men forced into labour, women disappeared, entire families lost at sea."

And that Rohingya people are being treated as a problem to be managed, rather than people with rights.

"The world calls it the Rohingya genocide. But for us, it was daily life. The sound of gun fire instead of birds. The silence of names erased from citizenship lists. The quiet burial of a people the world barely knew, and even after we fled Myanmar the violence followed us."

For some, that means detention.

Mahi says Rohingya refugees can spend months or even years in Malaysian immigration detention centres.

"Once they come to the Malaysian shore, a lot of them are held in immigration detention centers. And the problem is this. We have had quite an exodus of the Rohingya population a few years before. We are not seeing any more at this point in time because a lot of them are actually fleeing into Bangladesh. But once they come into the immigration detention centers, then chances are they could be there for years, they could be there for months."

She says access to those centres is also restricted.

"And it was the Pakatan Harapan government, which is the, coalition of a party led by Malaysia's Prime Minister Anwar Ibrahim, the Democratic Action Party, and AMANAH, which actually banned, or barred CSOs*** from having any access to immigration detention camps. And that means that until today, UNHCR cannot go into the camps."

The result, she argues, is a system where people can become trapped - unable to return safely to Myanmar, but unable to fully build a life in Malaysia.

And now Malaysia is proposing another option.

The country's Home Ministry plans to repatriate 1,476 Myanmar nationals at the end of this month - most are Rohingya refugees.

The plan is part of a wider proposal to return 5,000 Rohingya asylum seekers to Myanmar.

Malaysia's Prime Minister Anwar Ibrahim's earlier announced that Myanmar has agreed to take 5, 000 Rohingya asylum seekers in the country.

The President of the Myanmar Ethnic Rohingya Human Rights Organisation in Malaysia has urged the Malaysian government to halt their decision.

Zafar Ahmad Abdul Ghani says they cannot trust the Myanmar government to protect the safety of the refugees when the killing is ongoing.

"The Rohingya will be forced to join the Myanmar military without any training and become the human shields by the Myanmar military in their war with different ethnic groups."

But the Malaysian government says the process will be voluntary, and that nobody will be returned if their life is at risk.

William Leong says the people who are returning are making that choice themselves.

”The process is voluntary. Nobody is being forced. You can ask the people that are going back on the first ship. So this is a first step looking for a practical solution to a problem that nobody wants.”

He says the can't be kept forever in Malaysia, saying ASEAN has to look into the matter as an international mechanism is needed to combat the issue.

But human rights advocates say that choice needs to be examined more closely.

Because what does voluntary mean for someone who has spent years in detention?

For someone without legal status, or for someone who cannot work or send their children to formal school.

And what does safe mean, when the country they're being sent to is still at war?

"The Malaysian government, cannot dither between wanting to look progressive and then also deliberating on sending the Rohingya back to a country where they are likely to face persecution and death. That is a no-no. So we really need to start looking at a proper legal framework, a proper policy when it comes to forced migration, when it comes to how we are going to deal, with the refugees."

Mahi warns danger looms for Rohingya men.

"All of these men are going to be there. They are going to be placed on the front lines, and they are going to end up in body bags. That is precisely why Myanmar wants them back."

She also questions the poor conditions in Bangladesh, as evidence that people are ready to return.

Cox's Bazar is overcrowded, there are shortages of food, water and sanitation, aid funding has also been reduced.

An NGO, Save the Children says food security is expected to get worse for the 1.2 million living in the camps, as 35 per cent have already been classified as crisis hunger level or above.

Head of Cox's Bazar Area Office at Save the Children Bangladesh Golam Mostofa says more than one in three Rohingya refugees are expected to face crisis hunger levels this year.

"I was recently in the camps and speaking directly with children and their parents. They told me that they need adequate food, education for their children, safety, better shelters for their family members, and consistent access to clean water. Therefore, Save the Children is calling on the international community and on regional governments, not to forget the Rohingya crisis and these children."

This is what Mahi had to say.

"So when the Rohingya's say they want to go back to Myanmar, tt's not because they know that they are going to go back to a country which is going to welcome them with entrenched rights and open arms. If at all the government of Bangladesh does it, then it's not repatriation, but coercive governance."

Malaysia's politician William Leong says he understands those concerns.

But argues that the country cannot keep people in detention indefinitely, and that it needs a practical solution.

”For other countries, the embassies and the national governments would take them back. But for Myanmar nationals, the Myanmar government does not take them back. And so they are left with us, many of them spending years in the detention center.”

He says the government is trying to develop a broader framework for refugees.

That includes documentation, access to employment, education and healthcare.

”The registration of refugees was processed by the UNHCR which is now being taken over by the government. And that process is now called the registration of refugees. All presently not legal migrants who are here would be processed. And those that complies and falls into the definition of refugees will be documented as refugees. And we are looking at more than just the documentation. We are looking to provide them with an access to employment, educational needs, their medical and health issues. So it's a comprehensive situation proposed by my committee, and the report has just been tabled in parliament.”

But on repatriation, the government says it is working directly with Myanmar, to ensure those that are returned would not be harmed in any way.

”The government is working with the Burmese government to get their commitment. The question is how good is their commitment? It is done in stages to monitor it.”

That assurance raises another question -who independently determines whether an individual is safe to return?

This is what Mahi had to say about the country's leader.

"Firstly, we are sending them back or we are trying to or planning to send them back to a country where Min Aung Hlaing, the quote-unquote, "lawful leader of Myanmar," does have an investigation pending in ICC. The possibility of an arrest warrant being issued against him is very, it's very possible."

For Rohingya advocates, the concern is that Myanmar cannot be trusted to protect a population it has historically denied citizenship to.

And the same military authorities accused of persecuting them remain central to the conflict.

"And secondly, Myanmar has rendered them stateless, which is one of the reasons why they fled the country in the first place. So why are they not happy to receive the Rohingya? Clearly, it's because they want bodies to be lined up against the front lines to fight against the insurgency that continues to happen in Myanmar. And I can tell you that all of these men are going to be there. They are going to be placed on the front lines, and they are going to end up in body bags. That is precisely why Myanmar wants them back when the environment is not even conducive."

UNHCR and Amnesty advocates have also stated that sending these vulnerable refugees back under the control of Myanmar's military junta exposes them to severe risk of persecution.

But Malaysia says it is being asked to manage a crisis it did not create.

”It’s very good for the people to be concerned. Then they can come and take them. Is Australia taking them? Is US taking them? Which countries are taking them?”

Mr Leong says the answer has to involve the international community.

”The problem in Myanmar has to be resolved so that they can return back. And this needs international cooperation and international will to resolve that problem, which is the source of the situation.”

The Rohingya crisis has spread across borders.

Bangladesh hosts more than a million Rohingya refugees in Cox's Bazar.

Malaysia is home to hundreds of thousands more refugees and asylum seekers.

Others have fled to Indonesia, Thailand and beyond.

And the longer the crisis continues, the more difficult it becomes to find a solution.

For children born in the camps, Myanmar may be a country they've never seen.

And for people who fled as children, like Asma, it is a place remembered through trauma, but also through longing.

"Everyone is doing for the Rohingya, but no one consults with the Rohingya..consult with us, we find the solution.”

That's Sayed Ullah, a Rohingya refugee leader appealing to the international community, the Bangladesh government and the public.

He and many others protested in Cox's Bazar, on the ninth anniversary after their exodus to Bangladesh.

He urges them to work collectively to find a solution to their situation.

Meanwhile, Myanmar continues to reject allegations of genocide against the Rohingya.

In January, its representatives told the International Court of Justice that The Gambia's 2019 case against them relies on what Myanmar described as unsubstantiated allegations.

Nine years after the mass exodus, there is still no clear, safe pathway home.

Mahi says the Malaysian government cannot dither between wanting to look progressive and then also deliberating on sending the Rohingya back to a country where they are likely to face persecution and death.

"We really need to start looking at a proper legal framework, proper policy when it comes to forced migration, when it comes to how we are going to deal with the refugees. Malaysia is going to have another general election, and the Prime Minister, Anwar Ibrahim's popularity has been dwindling."

Saying she hopes he's not thinking about sending them back as a way of currying favor with the voters, as the country heads towards a general election.

SBS News has contacted Malaysia's Prime Minister Anwar Ibrahim's office for an interview on this, as well as the Arakan Army and Myanmar government (Ministry of Foreign Affairs) for a statement, but is yet to receive a response.

William Leong says joint international pressure on the Myanmar government is what's needed.

”It's only when all the countries sit down and in the sense put pressure on the, the Myanmar government that this cannot continue. It has to be resolved. These are their nationals and stop the outflow of people from the source."

For Asma, she wants a future where Rohingya people can return with rights, safety and with a say in who governs them.

And that they - along with other communities - don't want to feel like a scapegoat.

"For example, Bangladesh having its own problems with its own civilians and community - cost of living and, corruption and, poverty. And then on top of that, hosting a very marginalised communities with so many different types of problems, I get it. It's really hard. And same thing with Malaysia as well, and even Indonesia. They have their own problems that they're trying to tackle. But then now, on top of that, they have to deal with the Rohingya plight. But it's also, it's like we have to understand why this is happening. It's because our governments are complicit."

Her hope is for people to read into the history and understand why the Rohingya people are being persecuted to begin with.

"For all the, global leaders and activists and supporters and people who care to come together and, tackle the main issue, which is Myanmar, everything that's happening in Myanmar. And not only Rohingya people are unsafe in Myanmar, but also the rest of the communities are also unsafe."

The Rohingya people want to go home.

And that leaves the question at the heart of this crisis - where is home, if theirs isn't safe?