Up to 3000 Muslims were killed in the past week in Myanmar's Rakhine State. Thousands were injured in what's describes as a slow-burning genocide. More than 100,000 civilians have been displaced from their homes and many are trapped in the country's border abutting Bangladesh. In addition to this, many villagers were taken to an unknown location, which caused some distress. Men, women, and children who are starving have close to nothing to eat have been left out in the open without a roof over their heads.
Why is this happening?
Myanmar has a Buddhist majority.
The Muslim minority are immigrants who came from India and Bangladesh. During British rule, there was serious competition between the Indian immigrants and the Burmese. The competition was intensified with the coming of The Great Depression.
In 1938, an anti-Muslim riot broke out in Burma which was also motivated by the anti-Indian sentiment that had pervaded the nation. Fanned by the anti-British and nationalistic sentiments, more violence erupted. Strikes and riots against the government caused instability in the nation.
The situation was aggravated when General Ne Win came to power in 1962. He expelled Muslims from the army and segregated citizens from those who followed the Islamic laws. He also used the Taliban's acts as a pretext to denigrate Muslims.
As the years went by, Muslims in Myanmar who were perceived as immigrants who didn't belong in the country were subjected to mistreatment and violence from the nationalists. Mosques were burnt.
How can this be solved?
The only solution to this problem is for the government, instead of imposing laws that force different groups to coexist, should encourage these groups to have open discussions on their views and beliefs.
This is a good way to encourage people to see through differences and appreciate the similarities. Education should be provided to people.
They should be taught about the fundamental rights of a human being. They should be taught to not disrespect the rights. Countries that can accommodate should have their arms wide open to accept people who come in because they feel like they don't belong elsewhere.
Mistreated people should be provided refuge.
Many neighboring countries have refused to allow ships carrying people who are seeking refuge to dock in their ports, thus leaving them stranded in the middle with no food or water and terrible sanitary conditions.
Situations like this should be enough to remind us that we should be citizens of the world. We should stand as one in order to survive.
USA has shown great solidarity by being accepting of immigrants in the past. This should be an example for the rest of the world, and for the USA going forward with new immigration policies, as we slowly become citizens of the world who are willing to see beyond superficial features that only set us apart on insignificant matters.
