Rohingyas under siege
Out there in Myanmar
A poor country that has
A de facto leader who is
A Sakharov Prize
For Freedom of Thought
And Nobel Peace Prize winner

(South Africa too has one
An ignoble whose service
To humanity was as
Apartheid’s last emperor
He denying knowledge
Of its unfathomable atrocities)

Carrying on as normal
Says Aung San Suu Kyi
Where there has been
An exodus of half a million
Rohingya Muslims
In just five weeks

Carrying on as normal
Ethnic cleansing says
The United Nations
The Myanmar military
Conducting cleansing operations

Carrying on as normal
A scorched-earth campaign
Not seen since Rwanda’s genocide
(Rohingyas now living
In severely overburdened
Camps in Bangladesh)

Carrying on as normal
Persecutions continue
Some in a Rohingya village
Under siege where anyone
Trying to get out
Is reportedly gunned down

Carrying on as normal