Marginalized and Misunderstood: How Anti‑Rohingya Language… 301 and activist Mayyu Ali reflected on writing in displacement in a 2019 interview. He noted that “no Rohingya is officially considered a writer or poet” in Myanmar, making it difficult to access “sources of inspiration” while being marginalized (quoted in Byrne 2019, para 17). “I learned the Rohingya language without its particular written form (which is two hundred years old and uses a version of Arabic script),” he explains. “While learning Rohingya as a language, I found that the culture and literature of my people have been eliminated because they are socially targeted…And yet Rohingya still belongs to the culture that my grandfather knew. He would often sing me to sleep with the songs and poetries written in our dialect. Unfortunately, today, we have lost our language” (quoted in Byrne 2019, para 10). His experiences have prompted him to write in English so that he can share his experiences of discrimination with people around the world; he contends that “writing for Rohingya people is activism” (quoted in Byrne 2019, para 15). In the midst of forced displacement and genocide, the concept of “self-determination” is a valuable guiding principle for language policy—for the Rohingya, as well as other oppressed minorities. As noted, organizations such as Translators without Borders (2018) systematically survey displaced persons about their language knowledge and preferences to provide language-appropriate resources and train aid workers. Yet while some NGOs are making efforts to utilize appropriate language to provide effective aid, governments lag far behind in upholding language rights. Just as the Rohingya are blocked from using their language in schools and the media within Myanmar’s Rakhine State, displaced Rohingya are similarly denied opportunities to learn and communicate in their language in countries such as Bangladesh. The Rohingya should enjoy the right to self-determination, which includes the right to maintain their mother tongue language if they choose. Self-determination does not prevent them from learning additional languages (such as English or Bangla) that may help them integrate into new societies or succeed at home; rather, it empowers the Rohingya people to determine their linguistic futures. Indeed, any proposed solutions to the current human rights crisis must recognize and respect the Rohingya community’s rights to their own language as a vital step in achieving meaningful change. References Abraham I, Jaehn M (2019) Immanent Nation: The Rohingya quest for international recognition. Nations and Nationalism 26:1054-1068. https://​doi.​org/​10.​1111/​nana.​12560 Babaci-Wilhite Z (2015) Local Languages as a Human Right in Education: Comparative Cases from Africa. Sense Publishers, Rotterdam Brown P L (2021) For Rohingya Survivors, Art Bears Witness. The New York Times. https://​www.​nytim​ es.​com/​2021/​03/​19/​arts/​design/​rohin​gya-​survi​vors-​art-​bangl​adesh.​html. Accessed 10 August 2021 Byrne J (2019) Rohingya Writing as Activism: A Conversation with Mayyu Ali. World Literature Today. https://​www.​world​liter​ature​today.​org/​2019/​spring/​rohin​gya-​writi​ng-​activ​ism-​conve​rsati​on-​mayyu-​ ali-​james-​byrne. Accessed 10 August 2021 Carasik L, Bachman J S (2019) Destroying Indigenous cultures in the United States. In: Bachman J S (ed) Cultural Genocide: Law, Politics, and Global Manifestations, Routledge, London and New York, pp 97-117 13