Calling back a Nobel Peace Prize : Ethnic Cleansing in Myanmar

The Rohingya people in Myanmar are probably the world's current most persecuted ethnic group. Made up mostly of Muslims, there is a small percentage of Hindus as well. Since 1982 the Rohingya have been denied citizenship in Myanmar and left stateless, even though they have lived there for centuries. There are just over a million Rohingya left in the majority Buddhist southeast Asian country to date.

For decades now, they have been fleeing to neighboring countries (like Bangladesh, Malaysia and Thailand) by sea or on foot to escape persecution. The origin of their persecution most likely comes from the British occupation in Burma, when people were shifted about throughout Burma and Bangladesh, leading the Buddhist population to believe that the Rohingya were truly Bengali, and the word 'Rohingya' itself was made up for political reasons.

From time to time their crisis reappears in the news reminding us of the inhumane process known as 'ethnic cleansing', the accusation itself was first used by a UN official in 2016 to the Burmese government. Of course the government was quick to deny any and all accusations of the sort by trying to make the media believe that it was the Rohingya people themselves who were destroying their villages and fleeing. But why would they do that?

I for one do not mean to sound cheap, but this massive discrimination of an ethnic group is just so comparable to the dislike the Nazi's had for the Jews. In fact, even statements made by Myanmar officials have been so similar to those made by Joseph Goebells (the Nazi Propaganda Minister). In the late 20's he wrote “Sure, the Jew is also a human being, none of us has ever doubted that. But a flea is also an animal — albeit an unpleasant one". Over the years, Burmese officials have called the Rohingya muslims "ugly as ogres" and too ugly or "too dirty for soldiers to rape". With their 'ethnic cleansing', Myanmar has created an incredibly unfortunate opportunity for themselves to be compared to the Nazi's- a political group responsible for the deaths of over 7 million Jewish people during the holocaust, perhaps the most horrible discriminatory event to have taken place in history.

The EU as well is disgusted with the way Burma is treating the Rohingya, they have already shunned contact with top generals in Myanmar as part of their sanctions to punish the military for their harsh violence. But the military is not alone when they set fire to the villages of thousands of innocent people, they are often accompanied by Buddhist mobs. World headlines were made when a boat recently capsized off Bangladesh on October 9th, killing at least 12 people; incidents like these remind me of the image of a young Syrian boy, lying face down in the sand after drowning fwhen his boat capsized back in 2015, during his family's attempt to flee Syria to Europe during (the ongoing) Syrian refugee crisis. Seeing that picture changed me, and the way I saw the World. I was just thirteen and this horrible reality struck me.

When you think of Myanmar and its politicians perhaps the most popular name we hear is Aung San Suu Kyi, a Nobel Peace Prize winner who was there for her country supporting and fighting for them when they 'needed it most', ever so peacefully protesting the nation's military dictatorship and creating a democracy. Even with all her previous efforts towards peace she has recently been denounced (by musician and philanthropist Bob Geldoff) as 'one of the great ethnic cleansers'. He called her out as a disgrace for being able to accept one of the greatest prizes that humans give to one another and yet she has become one of the great ethnic cleansers. She has even refused to discuss the current exodus. So, is Aung San just trying to support the majority of her country (and inhumanely treat the Rohingya)? or is she like the country's many civilians who believe that the Rohingya do not belong in Myanmar?