I am ashamed to call myself a Burmese right now. With attitudes like what many have expressed here, I believe many of you should live under the military regime. Especially those who migrated to other countries because of what happened in Burma. Shame on you people. You cry human rights when it fits you. Imagine yourself being subjected to racism or hate crimes because of your background in those countries.
The people who are migrated to Myanmar before 1823 were stated as ethnics but rohingers were migrated after 1900. Therefore, they can be the citizens but can’t be the ethnic in Myanmar. Using facebook comments are not useful in writing an article. Talking about human right, rakhine people also should have the right to stay peacefully in their motherland. Please when you are about to write use critical thinking and use reliable sources to reference. Think both sides before criticizing the situation. The paper shouldn’t be criticizing to one side only. Talking about human right, developed countries even have discrimination. Many Myanmar people are raped, killed and abused as labor in the Thai-Burma border in the past. We all know it. We should provide a better place for everybody not to caused more hatefulness. Besides, don’t confused the use of Rohinger and Muslims. Don’t make it religious conflict because IT IS NOT.
Grant Evans: “The article was reprinted in the Bangkok Post ‘Spectrum’ section, June 10-16, 2012 – interesting that they need to reprint a NYT article to get an angle on their own rural world.”
For the 5+ years I have been working at that newspaper there has been a continuous stream of articles addressing every aspect of farming in Thailand but admittedly there are: 1. limitations in the information covered and, 2. the style in which articles are written, and also, 3. in the curation of past articles in a way that makes them accessible to readers desiring to get a historical perspective on issues.
This is not the first time a NY Times article has looked at an issue from a different perspective from local mainstream journalism and why this innovation doesn’t trickle down and get added to the repertoire of local journalistic practice is a good question (perhaps you have to go beyond the English language press, check out Thai PBS) , but the question could also be posed about Southeast Asian studies and why the works of academics is this field don’t get more widely disseminated and incorporated into the work of local journalists, teachers and intellectuals, and within the scope of my experience (Chiang Rai, Bangkok) they don’t.
I am continually amazed that so many people are not even aware of Thai Studies and Southeast Asian studies scholars/intellectuals working in the west, but that could be remedied with more dissemination of the work of academics outside of the expensive limited circulation academic journals and books that exist in very few places accessible to students. (This includes some work that is totally obscure until for example you find a dusty 3 volume PhD dissertation on Thai ghosts from the 1970s in the Siam Society stacks, I gave these to the Bangkok University undergraduates I was teaching at the time to use in their research papers, the first use this unparalleled but extremely hard to find work may have ever seen in Thailand.)
Massive Open Online Courses (MOOCs) (see coursera) are another emerging way in which western scholars can engage with people located far away from their universities who could benefit from their work.
Not quite right but now media are accepting the spade as a spade, Rohingyas are Bengalis. A lot of Arakanese and Burmese have paid their lives, blood, insomani, lost familiies, abandoned careers for getting to this stage! We are at war, Burma is under attack and invaders are still being treated with kids glooves. Sharing an analysis by B. Raman [not Aung Myo impersonating as B. Raman like Sai Babu did not so brilliantly]
Violence In Rakhine State Of Myanmar: Likely Implications
-The Muslims of Indian and Chinese origin have had no problems in integrating themselves with the rest of the society. The Muslims of Bangladeshi origin, known as Rohingyas, who speak Bengali, and who live in the Rakhine State in the areas bordering Bangladesh
-The Harkat-ul-Jihad-al-Islami of Bangladesh, normally referred to as HUJI (B), had played an active role in the jihad against the Soviet and Afghan troops in Afghanistan in the 1980s. Its members studied in the Pakistani madrasas and fought as members of different Afghan mujahideen groups, after having been trained by Pakistan’s Inter-Services Intelligence (ISI). The HUJI (B) also recruited a number of Rohingya Muslims from the Arakan area of Myanmar and took them to Afghanistan for fighting against the Soviet and Afghan troops.
Biased reportings and promotions for Rohingya invaders’ cause by Burmese exile medias such as DVB, Irrawaddy, BBC Burmese made Burmese and Rakhines develop siege mentality. A good analysis in Burmese below:
Is western gate broken to hold illegal alien influx?
Khaing Lin (May Ga Waddi)
A Burmese’s (Myanmar’s) request to all Medias : “Stop Pushing a Religion War to my Country” By Htet T San
This post is entitled to all the medias who are responsible for the news they are creating which are recently concerned with the latest news with Rohingya people in my country.
My name is Htet San, a born and raised artist from Burma (Myanmar).
It’s been a world known fact that my country was suppressed by Juntas for decades and only recently, the people from Burma and the country itself are starting to get brighter hopes for their future, the hopes arising from the positive reforms of the country. I am one of those majority with high expectations who want to see my native land shines with the hopeful smiles of the people again.
Even though Burma does not have a fully functional democracy yet, there’s never a racist problem among the people living in there. We have our own freedom of choice for religion and different people with many different religions, Buddhists, Christians, Muslims and many others, are living inside the country very peacefully.
Recently, riots between the Rohingya people and our ethnic group, Arakanese are happening in the North West part of the country. There are scandals created by outsiders and some countries that “Rohingyas” as one of our ethnics groups and nationality but in fact, they are merely the descendants and refugees of Bengali. Our historians have proved historically on that topic and if any scholar is in doubt, they would be happy to explain with facts.
Many countries accuse Burma of not respecting human rights for Rohingyas but it’s only Burma who let them stay in our ground for many decades. But, demanding to give away a national territory and an ethnic identity is the matter beyond humanitarian concerns that a nation has to consider for its own people. I want to ask all the human rights activists, developed countries and medias who are forcing Burma to do such giveaways. What will your countries do in that case? Will you even let them stay in your ground? Why are you all pushing to accept more burdens to a small country which has very limited resources for its own people ?
Rohingya people are currently burning down many of our villages and killing our ethnics people. Majority of the locals became homeless in addition to their already harsh lives.
What is the responsibility of a nation when it’s national security is threatened?
Burma is not declaring a war against any race or religion . It’s true Rohingyas are muslims. But, the concept of the respond act is not fighting against the Islamic community and Muslims. Burmese government is just protecting our ethnics groups from Rohingya’s violent attacks. But, some of the medias don’t see this concept as exciting enough.
Starting from BBC, VOA, RFA, DVB, even Reuters and New York Times, whenever I read the news, the headlines about this incident is titled as “Buddhists Vs Muslims” or “Burmese Vs Muslims”. Some medias even stated initially that “ Rohingya’s abuse as Burma’s attack”. People in Burma already stated publicly that this is not the case against religion. Even the Musilm Associations in Burma announced that they agree Rohingya’s actions as violent attacks. We have statements ready to prove.
But, are our voices not loud enough or just plainly neglected?
Foreign medias keep spreading propaganda about Burma having religious conflicts within the region and making statements against the truth that can worsen the country’s situation right now. It’s like all the major medias are trying to shift the attention of the Islamic community around the world to Burma and pushing a major religion war to happen inside the country.
Is it intentional or ignorance?
I understand the fact that picking up the controversial ideas would make a news piece interesting but what if that idea doesn’t tell the truth and gonna make things worse? Isn’t the medias’ responsibility to investigate the facts properly before announcing a news to the world? Or, being able to grab more attention and increased rating is the modern value of journalism?
Medias have a great power to shape the world. What if what you wrote would cost more wars and ruin more lives? Will you write the same thing if your little son or daughter, your beloved husband/wife or your elderly father and mother is in the war zone? I highly doubt if any of those writers who wrote recent news about Burma that I mentioned above had a real life experience living in Burma. If you have never been in someone’s shoes, be careful in your guessing games. Sitting comfortably in your chair writing made-up stories about recent news without proper knowledge and experience will not make you realize the real truth like Rohingyas burnt their own houses first before they burn Arakans’ to manipulate the media about them being abused.
I don’t think the primary intention of people who study journalism is to create more wars and kill more people with your pen. Please be careful.
I am deeply very sorry about all the lives that cost from both sides of this riot. Like Rohingyas, there are also lakhs of burmese refugees living in the borderline of Thailand-Burma. But, have you ever heard such an issue of Burmese refugees’ abusive action towards the host country? I understand that Rohingyas are also human beings and wish no further harm would be involved to them. We oppose to Genocide but, like every country in the world, Burma also has principles to those who broke the laws.
I read an opinion piece on Aljazeera article today. It’s very amusing to see how the writer judged on Burma based on peoples’ angry comments on Facebook that makes me want to question him. How would you react first if your mother was stabbed on her back? How did the whole world react first when World Trade Center crashed down? The sudden furious state of mind in respond to the news of their relatives and friends’ getting hurt doesn’t mean Burmese as racists and Burma as a racist country. At least, we are not invading other countries and declaring a war. We are protecting our people. If you are not familiar with the law of religion freedom in Burma , welcome to our country. From http://htettsan.wordpress.com/2012/06/11/a-burmese-artists-request-to-all-medias-stop-pushing-a-religion-war-to-my-country-2-2/
Please check yourself. Are you guilty of confirmation bias? I have read your article and you said like the whole country is anti-Islam. While I admit that many Burmese are nationalists, Rohingya are also not poor refugees like many Western countries assume. They have their own agenda and are now distributing propaganda elsewhere.
Many foreign agencies interview them and say “army kills 100 Rohingya” “Army helps Rakhine burns Rohingya houses” “Genocide in Rakhine” etc. All these are part of an elaborated campaign. Check out http://www.kaladanpress.org whose “Chief Editor” has been interviewed by VOA. They have “photos” depicting “Rohingya” deaths. STOP. Don’t quickly assume what you see is truth. Use Google similar image search function. You will now know that Muslim deaths from all over the world have been reported as “Rohingya”. Worse. I have seen photos about deaths from My Lai massacre are reported as Rohingya deaths. How funny!
Also, I don’t think you understand Burmese. Many local news agencies have reported retaliations by Rakhine. Eleven reported that “Rakhine burn houses in Bohmu village in retaliation.”
I can understand your need to cover the easily observable reality that you guys are not invading Burma, deliberatly multiplying in great numbers in addition to mass illegal immigration and multiplication of your numbers – while UN recognized Burma born refugees stand at only 80,000 your activists and leaders give self contradicting numbers – may I suggest why dont you give 150 millions just in case your fatherland Bangladesh sunk under sea then you all can move into Burma. How convenient will it be for your brothers across the Naff river? Unfortunately there are people like us, who are protecting our own brothers. This is politics and not race or religion. We have Bengali buddies who disapprove of you guys more than we do, it is like an African American can use the “N” word.
It seems that you do not have substance to counter my claims so you sought style. You can use your tried-and-true, straight out of old cookbook rheotics such as U Ne Win bambued your grand mother and aunts in tandem nonstop for 100 days and so on but not with us now, we have been suffering your covert invasion for 100 years and high profile agression for weeks and we know that who you are, terrorist invaders across the border.
Let me share you a famous Indian joke, Indian says that they do big favour to Pakistan by splitting Bangladesh. And we are sharing with your country. We want to be good neighbours but some of you from Chittagong cannot content with free stay in our country, ploughing our land, eating our grains, etc.. Now you want more and that led to this conflict.
While Arakanese are murdered everyday silently we swallowed our anger because we do not want to make our muslim and muslimahs countrymen uncomfortable and your invaders exploit our weakness. Now our leaders Ko Ko Gyi and Ko Mya Aye, our Muslim, officially announced that you guys are just Bengalis across our western border.
This answer Plan B (for reaming his bottom till soreness) claim that it is not time for discussing Bengalis equal to Rohingya. It is proven and so now the question is how to save our locals (of all religions) and lands from this foreign invasion of expansionist Bengalis.
Long live Burma and down with the invader Rohingyas!!!
If you are a contrarian you could argue that this is the ideal time to get into farming. The time to get into something is when everyone else is getting out of it especially something essential like food. This is the view put forward by Jim Rogers, the legendary hedge fund manager. He argues that the big bucks in the next few years are going to be in agriculture.
Trying to selling agricultural products as a cash crop could be tough as you are at the mercy of the global commodity markets. The fluctuations could wipe you out. For example sugar has fallen 20% over the last 2 months, not because of fundamentals, just because of the rise in the dollar which is benefited from the fall in the Euro. If you were a farmer trying to sell your sugar now you would have been hammered.
A better solution, in my view, is try to become self sufficient in food. This way if food inflation takes off you can at least feed yourself. This is what I am doing, concentrating at the moment on vegetables such as wing beans and bamboo leaf, which are easy to grow. The food is not only more healthy but tastes better! Its a learning process which involves experimentation and asking around for advise.
What a load of crap “Long Live Burma” wrote totally ignoring the genocidal atrocities that Rohingyas have suffered since the coup of Ne Win to this date.
Now that Internet has carried the news of the genocidal plot that have been unleashed upon these Rohingya people, the perpetrators are desperate to portray these Rohingyas as terrorists as if there is no relaible source for such information.
R. N. Englland said “out-populate more enlightened cultures”.
Obviously, like mosts wetsreners, he thinks Muslims represent a homogeneous group of people. Secondly, he has no clue that how industrious Rohingyas are, like Jews. Thirdly, it is amusing that he thinks that the decendants of Bengalis mixed with the descendants of Turkish and Arab via Muslim settlements that predated the founding of the First Bamar Kingdom are culturally inferior to those who would still be living a primitive form of life if the Bengal was not instrumental in disseminating culture to what is now Arakan and in fact all Burma. Talk about not having a clue.
winlwin said “We’ve been living peacefully for years with different religions in our country, because we, 135 ethnics groups, share some common belief, religions, or traditions between us.”
Tell that to Karens, especially the Karen Christians and Kachin (Christians especially), etc. and last but not least, the Rakhines (Arakan) Buddhists.
This was an enlightened and insightful comment even though the party line for the international community has been sound condemnation of these discriminative, hypocritical, dishonourable Buddhists at this time of their own misery and crisis.
Being neighbour to 150 million over crowded poverty driven people in a literally sinking nation does incite Burmese public apprehension made worse by demand for a separate “Pakiston” on a piece of the land they fought hard for.
Name, religion, race are simply outward expressions with never ending historical arguments avoiding the real issues.
Paucity of amicable interrelationship reinforces the fear and animosity.
Still it is incumbent on the government of the day to determine who should or should not be recognized as citizens and prevent abuse of the system as well as treat and support all the citizens to be peaceful and productive members of the society.
All crisis carries opportunities. This time round simple support of ALL injured parties would go a long way to amend the bridge and the firmly incorporated community will itself serve as deterrent against opportunistic encroachers.
By the way, the description of “more enlightened culture” though is by own defination and a touch indulgent.
I travel regularly in the rural areas of Northern Thailand, and am pretty well known in thevillages I visit and have family up there.
There is hardly anyone excepting those who have done jail time under te age of 40 in the villages.
To a person none of the farmers want their kids to have anything to do with farming now. This is a change from the generation of my wife who as a child remembers all the parents at that stage wanted their kids to be farmers. Now it is just seen as hard thankless work for no money. Parents want better for their kids.
Its funny when people talk of Thainess and cultural difference and yet all I see are the cultural similarities we see all over the world of people wanting a better life for their off spring, a little easier life themself, a few luxuries.
Its also funny to see Thainess equated as being kindness, helping each other and mercy whihc again are things we see across multiple cultures although I do note the slipping in of gratefulness. What exactly is meant by that and gratefult to whom? Thai farmers have very little to be grateful for if you look at the lives they live and how they are treated and it seems they now understand this fully themsleves.
I would suggest a lot of those who make these statements head up north or north east or even parts of the centre and south and spend some time humbly dwelling with rural people in rural settings and sharing food, drink and conversation with them or better still just listening. It isnt very difficult at all to understand the rural poor in Thailand as they arent very different from anyone else anywwhere in the world.
The Thailand problem in regard to fraudulent, phoney, corruption tainted credentials is not just a Chula problem, it’s an endemic nationwide problem as per the link below to the BKK Post story about the nationwide police examinations having to be nullified due to widespread dishonesty, fraud and cheating by the police candidates:
The sentiments expressed and the conflict described here go back into the depths of human prehistory, which was dominated by one wave of migration after another, starting in Africa and quickly reaching every habitable corner of the earth. Overpopulation, the driver of evolution and of migration, has always been with us. Darwin needed Malthus’ idea to formulate his own. In the whole of human existence there have been only brief periods affected by epidemics or by technological advance (e.g. agriculture, the green revolution) in which population pressure has been relieved.
Viewed in this way, the only satisfactory answer to migration-conflict seems to be keeping population in check by changing the role of women from mainly reproduction to mainly cultural/economic activity. One can fully understand the resentment against Islam in this context, because of its very real potential to out-populate more enlightened cultures by forcibly confining women to a reproductive role. Liberating women is greatly preferable to reducing population by other means.
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Intolerance, Islam and the Internet in Burma
I am ashamed to call myself a Burmese right now. With attitudes like what many have expressed here, I believe many of you should live under the military regime. Especially those who migrated to other countries because of what happened in Burma. Shame on you people. You cry human rights when it fits you. Imagine yourself being subjected to racism or hate crimes because of your background in those countries.
BBC under fire on Rohingyas
Myanmar need to Rohanjar-Rakhine Dialogue.Although Rohanjor is not Myanmar Nationality ,our accept one ethnic group.
BBC under fire on Rohingyas
Government should conduct new policy for minorities
Intolerance, Islam and the Internet in Burma
The people who are migrated to Myanmar before 1823 were stated as ethnics but rohingers were migrated after 1900. Therefore, they can be the citizens but can’t be the ethnic in Myanmar. Using facebook comments are not useful in writing an article. Talking about human right, rakhine people also should have the right to stay peacefully in their motherland. Please when you are about to write use critical thinking and use reliable sources to reference. Think both sides before criticizing the situation. The paper shouldn’t be criticizing to one side only. Talking about human right, developed countries even have discrimination. Many Myanmar people are raped, killed and abused as labor in the Thai-Burma border in the past. We all know it. We should provide a better place for everybody not to caused more hatefulness. Besides, don’t confused the use of Rohinger and Muslims. Don’t make it religious conflict because IT IS NOT.
Intolerance, Islam and the Internet in Burma
How come some of you believe in facebook?
Think before you talk.
Leaving the farm
Grant Evans: “The article was reprinted in the Bangkok Post ‘Spectrum’ section, June 10-16, 2012 – interesting that they need to reprint a NYT article to get an angle on their own rural world.”
For the 5+ years I have been working at that newspaper there has been a continuous stream of articles addressing every aspect of farming in Thailand but admittedly there are: 1. limitations in the information covered and, 2. the style in which articles are written, and also, 3. in the curation of past articles in a way that makes them accessible to readers desiring to get a historical perspective on issues.
This is not the first time a NY Times article has looked at an issue from a different perspective from local mainstream journalism and why this innovation doesn’t trickle down and get added to the repertoire of local journalistic practice is a good question (perhaps you have to go beyond the English language press, check out Thai PBS) , but the question could also be posed about Southeast Asian studies and why the works of academics is this field don’t get more widely disseminated and incorporated into the work of local journalists, teachers and intellectuals, and within the scope of my experience (Chiang Rai, Bangkok) they don’t.
I am continually amazed that so many people are not even aware of Thai Studies and Southeast Asian studies scholars/intellectuals working in the west, but that could be remedied with more dissemination of the work of academics outside of the expensive limited circulation academic journals and books that exist in very few places accessible to students. (This includes some work that is totally obscure until for example you find a dusty 3 volume PhD dissertation on Thai ghosts from the 1970s in the Siam Society stacks, I gave these to the Bangkok University undergraduates I was teaching at the time to use in their research papers, the first use this unparalleled but extremely hard to find work may have ever seen in Thailand.)
Massive Open Online Courses (MOOCs) (see coursera) are another emerging way in which western scholars can engage with people located far away from their universities who could benefit from their work.
Intolerance, Islam and the Internet in Burma
Not quite right but now media are accepting the spade as a spade, Rohingyas are Bengalis. A lot of Arakanese and Burmese have paid their lives, blood, insomani, lost familiies, abandoned careers for getting to this stage! We are at war, Burma is under attack and invaders are still being treated with kids glooves. Sharing an analysis by B. Raman [not Aung Myo impersonating as B. Raman like Sai Babu did not so brilliantly]
Violence In Rakhine State Of Myanmar: Likely Implications
-The Muslims of Indian and Chinese origin have had no problems in integrating themselves with the rest of the society. The Muslims of Bangladeshi origin, known as Rohingyas, who speak Bengali, and who live in the Rakhine State in the areas bordering Bangladesh
-The Harkat-ul-Jihad-al-Islami of Bangladesh, normally referred to as HUJI (B), had played an active role in the jihad against the Soviet and Afghan troops in Afghanistan in the 1980s. Its members studied in the Pakistani madrasas and fought as members of different Afghan mujahideen groups, after having been trained by Pakistan’s Inter-Services Intelligence (ISI). The HUJI (B) also recruited a number of Rohingya Muslims from the Arakan area of Myanmar and took them to Afghanistan for fighting against the Soviet and Afghan troops.
The link:
http://www.eurasiareview.com/11062012-violence-in-rakhine-state-of-myanmar-likely-implications-analysis/
Intolerance, Islam and the Internet in Burma
Biased reportings and promotions for Rohingya invaders’ cause by Burmese exile medias such as DVB, Irrawaddy, BBC Burmese made Burmese and Rakhines develop siege mentality. A good analysis in Burmese below:
Is western gate broken to hold illegal alien influx?
Khaing Lin (May Ga Waddi)
http://www.hittai.net/index.php?show=rm&fileid=166&t=home5&id=5
Intolerance, Islam and the Internet in Burma
Pls NO Religious War! We are Burmese
A Burmese’s (Myanmar’s) request to all Medias : “Stop Pushing a Religion War to my Country” By Htet T San
This post is entitled to all the medias who are responsible for the news they are creating which are recently concerned with the latest news with Rohingya people in my country.
My name is Htet San, a born and raised artist from Burma (Myanmar).
It’s been a world known fact that my country was suppressed by Juntas for decades and only recently, the people from Burma and the country itself are starting to get brighter hopes for their future, the hopes arising from the positive reforms of the country. I am one of those majority with high expectations who want to see my native land shines with the hopeful smiles of the people again.
Even though Burma does not have a fully functional democracy yet, there’s never a racist problem among the people living in there. We have our own freedom of choice for religion and different people with many different religions, Buddhists, Christians, Muslims and many others, are living inside the country very peacefully.
Recently, riots between the Rohingya people and our ethnic group, Arakanese are happening in the North West part of the country. There are scandals created by outsiders and some countries that “Rohingyas” as one of our ethnics groups and nationality but in fact, they are merely the descendants and refugees of Bengali. Our historians have proved historically on that topic and if any scholar is in doubt, they would be happy to explain with facts.
Many countries accuse Burma of not respecting human rights for Rohingyas but it’s only Burma who let them stay in our ground for many decades. But, demanding to give away a national territory and an ethnic identity is the matter beyond humanitarian concerns that a nation has to consider for its own people. I want to ask all the human rights activists, developed countries and medias who are forcing Burma to do such giveaways. What will your countries do in that case? Will you even let them stay in your ground? Why are you all pushing to accept more burdens to a small country which has very limited resources for its own people ?
Rohingya people are currently burning down many of our villages and killing our ethnics people. Majority of the locals became homeless in addition to their already harsh lives.
What is the responsibility of a nation when it’s national security is threatened?
Burma is not declaring a war against any race or religion . It’s true Rohingyas are muslims. But, the concept of the respond act is not fighting against the Islamic community and Muslims. Burmese government is just protecting our ethnics groups from Rohingya’s violent attacks. But, some of the medias don’t see this concept as exciting enough.
Starting from BBC, VOA, RFA, DVB, even Reuters and New York Times, whenever I read the news, the headlines about this incident is titled as “Buddhists Vs Muslims” or “Burmese Vs Muslims”. Some medias even stated initially that “ Rohingya’s abuse as Burma’s attack”. People in Burma already stated publicly that this is not the case against religion. Even the Musilm Associations in Burma announced that they agree Rohingya’s actions as violent attacks. We have statements ready to prove.
But, are our voices not loud enough or just plainly neglected?
Foreign medias keep spreading propaganda about Burma having religious conflicts within the region and making statements against the truth that can worsen the country’s situation right now. It’s like all the major medias are trying to shift the attention of the Islamic community around the world to Burma and pushing a major religion war to happen inside the country.
Is it intentional or ignorance?
I understand the fact that picking up the controversial ideas would make a news piece interesting but what if that idea doesn’t tell the truth and gonna make things worse? Isn’t the medias’ responsibility to investigate the facts properly before announcing a news to the world? Or, being able to grab more attention and increased rating is the modern value of journalism?
Medias have a great power to shape the world. What if what you wrote would cost more wars and ruin more lives? Will you write the same thing if your little son or daughter, your beloved husband/wife or your elderly father and mother is in the war zone? I highly doubt if any of those writers who wrote recent news about Burma that I mentioned above had a real life experience living in Burma. If you have never been in someone’s shoes, be careful in your guessing games. Sitting comfortably in your chair writing made-up stories about recent news without proper knowledge and experience will not make you realize the real truth like Rohingyas burnt their own houses first before they burn Arakans’ to manipulate the media about them being abused.
I don’t think the primary intention of people who study journalism is to create more wars and kill more people with your pen. Please be careful.
I am deeply very sorry about all the lives that cost from both sides of this riot. Like Rohingyas, there are also lakhs of burmese refugees living in the borderline of Thailand-Burma. But, have you ever heard such an issue of Burmese refugees’ abusive action towards the host country? I understand that Rohingyas are also human beings and wish no further harm would be involved to them. We oppose to Genocide but, like every country in the world, Burma also has principles to those who broke the laws.
I read an opinion piece on Aljazeera article today. It’s very amusing to see how the writer judged on Burma based on peoples’ angry comments on Facebook that makes me want to question him. How would you react first if your mother was stabbed on her back? How did the whole world react first when World Trade Center crashed down? The sudden furious state of mind in respond to the news of their relatives and friends’ getting hurt doesn’t mean Burmese as racists and Burma as a racist country. At least, we are not invading other countries and declaring a war. We are protecting our people. If you are not familiar with the law of religion freedom in Burma , welcome to our country. From
http://htettsan.wordpress.com/2012/06/11/a-burmese-artists-request-to-all-medias-stop-pushing-a-religion-war-to-my-country-2-2/
Intolerance, Islam and the Internet in Burma
Please check yourself. Are you guilty of confirmation bias? I have read your article and you said like the whole country is anti-Islam. While I admit that many Burmese are nationalists, Rohingya are also not poor refugees like many Western countries assume. They have their own agenda and are now distributing propaganda elsewhere.
Many foreign agencies interview them and say “army kills 100 Rohingya” “Army helps Rakhine burns Rohingya houses” “Genocide in Rakhine” etc. All these are part of an elaborated campaign. Check out http://www.kaladanpress.org whose “Chief Editor” has been interviewed by VOA. They have “photos” depicting “Rohingya” deaths. STOP. Don’t quickly assume what you see is truth. Use Google similar image search function. You will now know that Muslim deaths from all over the world have been reported as “Rohingya”. Worse. I have seen photos about deaths from My Lai massacre are reported as Rohingya deaths. How funny!
Also, I don’t think you understand Burmese. Many local news agencies have reported retaliations by Rakhine. Eleven reported that “Rakhine burn houses in Bohmu village in retaliation.”
Don’t let your contempt mislead you. Good luck.
Intolerance, Islam and the Internet in Burma
Hi Mandy Babu or Nyunt Oo Abdul
I can understand your need to cover the easily observable reality that you guys are not invading Burma, deliberatly multiplying in great numbers in addition to mass illegal immigration and multiplication of your numbers – while UN recognized Burma born refugees stand at only 80,000 your activists and leaders give self contradicting numbers – may I suggest why dont you give 150 millions just in case your fatherland Bangladesh sunk under sea then you all can move into Burma. How convenient will it be for your brothers across the Naff river? Unfortunately there are people like us, who are protecting our own brothers. This is politics and not race or religion. We have Bengali buddies who disapprove of you guys more than we do, it is like an African American can use the “N” word.
It seems that you do not have substance to counter my claims so you sought style. You can use your tried-and-true, straight out of old cookbook rheotics such as U Ne Win bambued your grand mother and aunts in tandem nonstop for 100 days and so on but not with us now, we have been suffering your covert invasion for 100 years and high profile agression for weeks and we know that who you are, terrorist invaders across the border.
Let me share you a famous Indian joke, Indian says that they do big favour to Pakistan by splitting Bangladesh. And we are sharing with your country. We want to be good neighbours but some of you from Chittagong cannot content with free stay in our country, ploughing our land, eating our grains, etc.. Now you want more and that led to this conflict.
While Arakanese are murdered everyday silently we swallowed our anger because we do not want to make our muslim and muslimahs countrymen uncomfortable and your invaders exploit our weakness. Now our leaders Ko Ko Gyi and Ko Mya Aye, our Muslim, officially announced that you guys are just Bengalis across our western border.
This answer Plan B (for reaming his bottom till soreness) claim that it is not time for discussing Bengalis equal to Rohingya. It is proven and so now the question is how to save our locals (of all religions) and lands from this foreign invasion of expansionist Bengalis.
Long live Burma and down with the invader Rohingyas!!!
Leaving the farm
If you are a contrarian you could argue that this is the ideal time to get into farming. The time to get into something is when everyone else is getting out of it especially something essential like food. This is the view put forward by Jim Rogers, the legendary hedge fund manager. He argues that the big bucks in the next few years are going to be in agriculture.
Trying to selling agricultural products as a cash crop could be tough as you are at the mercy of the global commodity markets. The fluctuations could wipe you out. For example sugar has fallen 20% over the last 2 months, not because of fundamentals, just because of the rise in the dollar which is benefited from the fall in the Euro. If you were a farmer trying to sell your sugar now you would have been hammered.
A better solution, in my view, is try to become self sufficient in food. This way if food inflation takes off you can at least feed yourself. This is what I am doing, concentrating at the moment on vegetables such as wing beans and bamboo leaf, which are easy to grow. The food is not only more healthy but tastes better! Its a learning process which involves experimentation and asking around for advise.
Intolerance, Islam and the Internet in Burma
What a load of crap “Long Live Burma” wrote totally ignoring the genocidal atrocities that Rohingyas have suffered since the coup of Ne Win to this date.
Now that Internet has carried the news of the genocidal plot that have been unleashed upon these Rohingya people, the perpetrators are desperate to portray these Rohingyas as terrorists as if there is no relaible source for such information.
Intolerance, Islam and the Internet in Burma
R. N. Englland said “out-populate more enlightened cultures”.
Obviously, like mosts wetsreners, he thinks Muslims represent a homogeneous group of people. Secondly, he has no clue that how industrious Rohingyas are, like Jews. Thirdly, it is amusing that he thinks that the decendants of Bengalis mixed with the descendants of Turkish and Arab via Muslim settlements that predated the founding of the First Bamar Kingdom are culturally inferior to those who would still be living a primitive form of life if the Bengal was not instrumental in disseminating culture to what is now Arakan and in fact all Burma. Talk about not having a clue.
Intolerance, Islam and the Internet in Burma
winlwin said “We’ve been living peacefully for years with different religions in our country, because we, 135 ethnics groups, share some common belief, religions, or traditions between us.”
Tell that to Karens, especially the Karen Christians and Kachin (Christians especially), etc. and last but not least, the Rakhines (Arakan) Buddhists.
What a joke!
Intolerance, Islam and the Internet in Burma
R. N. England,
This was an enlightened and insightful comment even though the party line for the international community has been sound condemnation of these discriminative, hypocritical, dishonourable Buddhists at this time of their own misery and crisis.
Being neighbour to 150 million over crowded poverty driven people in a literally sinking nation does incite Burmese public apprehension made worse by demand for a separate “Pakiston” on a piece of the land they fought hard for.
Name, religion, race are simply outward expressions with never ending historical arguments avoiding the real issues.
Paucity of amicable interrelationship reinforces the fear and animosity.
Still it is incumbent on the government of the day to determine who should or should not be recognized as citizens and prevent abuse of the system as well as treat and support all the citizens to be peaceful and productive members of the society.
All crisis carries opportunities. This time round simple support of ALL injured parties would go a long way to amend the bridge and the firmly incorporated community will itself serve as deterrent against opportunistic encroachers.
By the way, the description of “more enlightened culture” though is by own defination and a touch indulgent.
Review of McDaniel
I wonder if Craig has read McDaniel’s new book on Mae Nak and Somdej To, which is as yet unavailable in Thailand. Would love to see a review.
Leaving the farm
I travel regularly in the rural areas of Northern Thailand, and am pretty well known in thevillages I visit and have family up there.
There is hardly anyone excepting those who have done jail time under te age of 40 in the villages.
To a person none of the farmers want their kids to have anything to do with farming now. This is a change from the generation of my wife who as a child remembers all the parents at that stage wanted their kids to be farmers. Now it is just seen as hard thankless work for no money. Parents want better for their kids.
Its funny when people talk of Thainess and cultural difference and yet all I see are the cultural similarities we see all over the world of people wanting a better life for their off spring, a little easier life themself, a few luxuries.
Its also funny to see Thainess equated as being kindness, helping each other and mercy whihc again are things we see across multiple cultures although I do note the slipping in of gratefulness. What exactly is meant by that and gratefult to whom? Thai farmers have very little to be grateful for if you look at the lives they live and how they are treated and it seems they now understand this fully themsleves.
I would suggest a lot of those who make these statements head up north or north east or even parts of the centre and south and spend some time humbly dwelling with rural people in rural settings and sharing food, drink and conversation with them or better still just listening. It isnt very difficult at all to understand the rural poor in Thailand as they arent very different from anyone else anywwhere in the world.
University rankings from Chula’s perspective
The Thailand problem in regard to fraudulent, phoney, corruption tainted credentials is not just a Chula problem, it’s an endemic nationwide problem as per the link below to the BKK Post story about the nationwide police examinations having to be nullified due to widespread dishonesty, fraud and cheating by the police candidates:
http://www.bangkokpost.com/news/crimes/297777/police-exam-declared-invalid-after-cheating
Intolerance, Islam and the Internet in Burma
The sentiments expressed and the conflict described here go back into the depths of human prehistory, which was dominated by one wave of migration after another, starting in Africa and quickly reaching every habitable corner of the earth. Overpopulation, the driver of evolution and of migration, has always been with us. Darwin needed Malthus’ idea to formulate his own. In the whole of human existence there have been only brief periods affected by epidemics or by technological advance (e.g. agriculture, the green revolution) in which population pressure has been relieved.
Viewed in this way, the only satisfactory answer to migration-conflict seems to be keeping population in check by changing the role of women from mainly reproduction to mainly cultural/economic activity. One can fully understand the resentment against Islam in this context, because of its very real potential to out-populate more enlightened cultures by forcibly confining women to a reproductive role. Liberating women is greatly preferable to reducing population by other means.