Philippines welcomes 8 Rohingya refugees
The Philippines has welcomed eight Rohingya refugees from Bangladesh and Myanmar, the fourth batch to be provided sanctuary in the country, the Department of Foreign Affairs said Monday.
Since the Philippines adopted the United Nations-backed Complementary Pathways (CPath) Program in 2019, the country has hosted around 30 Rohingya refugees.
The fresh batch arrived in Manila on July 3, the DFA said in a statement, saying that providing them homes in the Philippines reaffirms Manila's long-standing humanitarian tradition of welcoming refugees.
"The program offers selected Rohingya refugees displaced in Southeast Asia a safe, regulated avenue for admission and stay in the Philippines through education," the DFA said.
"The initiative not only meets their immediate protection needs and upholds their basic rights, but also empowers them with the necessary tools for long-term self-reliance."
Myanmar troops in 2017 led a brutal crackdown in Rakhine state in what the government said was a response to terrorist attacks by the Arakan Rohingya Salvation Army, or ARSA, on 30 Myanmarese police outposts and a military base.
Thousands of Rohingyas fled from the violence, with most escaping to neighboring Bangladesh by land and sea.
Myanmarese authorities regard Rohingyas as Bangladeshi natives, or Bengalis. Impoverished Bangladesh says it can't afford to host them for long and that Myanmar should take them back and stop the "genocide" that drives the Muslim villagers out of Myanmar, a largely Buddhist nation.
'We are just grateful for the chance to begin again,' one of the beneficiaries told Philippine officials.
The Philippines' open-door policy for individuals seeking protection is rooted in history, having welcomed 'Nine Waves of Refugees' since 1917, including Russian emigrés in the 1920s, Jewish refugees in the 1930s, and the Vietnamese 'boat people' in the 1970s.
"The CPath Programme continues this legacy by offering not just shelter, but the opportunity for dignity, education, and a brighter future," the DFA said.
CPath is a joint initiative by the Department of Justice's Refugees and Stateless Persons Protection Unit and the Department of Foreign Affairs, together with the UN High Commissioner for Refugees and selected academic institutions. –NB, GMA Integrated News
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