Episode 4: Myanmar opens up
In 2008, Cyclone Nargis devastates Myanmar’s Irrawaddy Delta, killing over 130,000 people. The crisis opens a humanitarian space. From 2009 onwards, MSF intensifies its public advocacy on the Rohingya including the “Fatal Policy: How the Rohingya Suffer the Consequences of Statelessness” report that highlights the health consequences of restrictive policies in Myanmar. Though never publicly published, it becomes a key tool in diplomatic exchanges. Throughout, MSF balances the need for advocacy with operational access, gradually developing a comprehensive regional strategy that highlights the Rohingya crisis as a major humanitarian and political issue.
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This podcast series is adapted from the MSF Speaking Out Case Study “MSF and the Rohingya 1992 – 2014”.
It brings to light two decades of MSF advocacy activities as part of its humanitarian assistance to the Rohingya people in Bangladesh and Myanmar.
It examines the challenges that MSF teams in the field and headquarters encountered when deciding whether and how MSF could publicly speak out about the plight of the Rohingya facing persecutions and violence in Myanmar and Bangladesh. During the 1992-2014 period, MSF worked mostly through diplomatic channels “behind closed doors” to advocate about the Rohingya’s plight with foreign diplomats and United Nations agencies. This “silent advocacy” was challenged within MSF by those who felt that the lack of public speaking out meant MSF was abandoning a persecuted population. To maintain an operational presence without speaking out publicly was not seen as an ethically justifiable option for an independent and impartial humanitarian organisation like MSF.
Over 7 episodes, the podcast explores the challenges, dilemmas and internal disagreements underlying MSF’s humanitarian response to assist the Rohingya under the Myanmar authoritarian regime.
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This podcast series is written, produced and mixed by Andrea Rangecroft.
Editorial direction is from Nancy Barrett and Laurence Binet.
The narrator is Claire Lubert.
Extracts are read by Clive Hayward and Lucy Scott
The voiceovers are by Kevin Halliwell, Charles Nove and Alex Vincent.
The music is by Lost Harmonies and Peter Sendberg.
Photo credits: Generic MSF
A special thanks to Rian Landman