The Rohingya - The Muslim minority of Myanmar

SITTWE, MYANMAR - NOVEMBER 23: Rohingya boys pray during Friday prayer next to hay at a tented IDP camp November 23, 2012 on the outskirts of Sittwe, Myanmar. An estimated 111,000 people were displaced by sectarian violence in June and October effecting mostly the ethnic Rohingya people who are now living in crowded IDP camps racially segregated from the Rakhine Buddhists in order to maintain stability. Around 89 lives were lost during a week of violence in October, the worst in decades. As of 2012, 800,000 Rohingya live in Myanmar. According to the UN, they are one of the most persecuted minorities in the world. (Photo by Paula Bronstein/Getty Images)

A Rohingya man looks out from a barbed wire fence used as a barrier to restrict travel November 25, 2012 on the outskirts of Sittwe, Myanmar. Paula Bronstein / Getty Images

A Rohingya girl looks out from her tent at a crowded IDP camp November 25, 2012 on the outskirts of Sittwe, Myanmar. Paula Bronstein / Getty Images

A rickshaw passes in front of a crowded IDP camp November 23, 2012 on the outskirts of Sittwe, Myanmar. Paula Bronstein / Getty Images

Mohammed Shamim tends to his sick wife Mumtaz as a doctor examines her at a government run medical clinic November 25, 2012 on the outskirts of Sittwe, Myanmar. Mumtaz was later taken to the local hospital. Paula Bronstein / Getty Images

Rohingya patients wait for medical care at a government run medical clinic November 25, 2012 on the outskirts of Sittwe, Myanmar. Paula Bronstein / Getty Images

Mumtaz is held by family members overcome by her illness at a government run medical clinic November 25, 2012 on the outskirts of Sittwe, Myanmar. Mumtaz was later taken to the local hospital. Paula Bronstein / Getty Images

A Rohingya man takes a bucket shower at a IDP camp after sunset November 23, 2012 on the outskirts of Sittwe. Paula Bronstein / Getty Images

Aaisha sits in her tent with her 11 month old baby Bibi Aisha at a refugee tented camp for Rohingya IDP's November 23, 2012 on the outskirts of Sittwe, Myanmar. Paula Bronstein / Getty Images

A burnt out area where dozens of families used to live until fires destroyed many homes November 25, 2012 Sittwe, Myanmar. Paula Bronstein / Getty Images

Rohingya look out from a window as smoke rises from people cooking over open fires at a school that is now a makeshift IDP camp November 24, 2012 on the outskirts of Sittwe, Myanmar. Paula Bronstein / Getty Images

Amina Khatu,22, holds her son Ahmed, 2, inside a thatched hut at a crowded IDP camp November 25, 2012 on the outskirts of Sittwe, Myanmar. Paula Bronstein / Getty Images

A Rohingya man takes a bucket shower at a IDP camp after sunset November 23, 2012 on the outskirts of Sittwe. Paula Bronstein / Getty Images

Ahmed, 50, is blind in one eye from lack of medical care surrounded by Rohingya families at a tented IDP camp November 24, 2012 on the outskirts of Sittwe, Paula Bronstein/Getty Images

Getty Photographer Paula Bronstein recently photographed a series on the Rohingya people of Southwest Myanmar. Currently, 800,000 Rohingya occupy a small section of land in Sittwe, Myanmar struggling to maintain their culture and carve out a liveable existence. According to the United Nations, they have become one of the most persecuted minorities in the world. The Rohingya people originate from Rakhine state of Myanmar which was previously an independent kingdom until the late 1700s when Myanmar annexed the land and incorporated it into its modern borders.  Most recently, the Rohingya people have been relegated to the outskirts of Sittwe, Myanmar and an estimated 111,000 people have been displaced by sectarian violence and subsequently crowded into Internally Displaced Persons (IDP) camps. The camps have been racially segregated from the Rakhine Buddhists in order to maintain order and stability. Around 89 lives were lost during a week of violence in October, the worst in decades.

In late November of 2012, President Thein Sein composed a letter to the United Nations indicating the the government would consider efforts “from resettlement to granting of citizenship” and that the Rakhine state would also be granted much needed humanitarian aid.

All photos by Paula Bronstein / Getty Images

Edited and sequenced by photo editor RJ Mickelson