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Current Issues in Refugee Education

Ethnographic map of Burma

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Persecution of Ethnic and Religious Groups
Burma is one of the most ethnically diverse countries in the world. Within the eight main ethnic groups inhabiting the country, anthropologists have counted more than 130 distinctive subgroups. Of the estimated population of 55 million, the largest ethnic group, the Burmans, or Bamar, form about 68%. Occupying mainly territories in the various border regions are other ethnic groups, such as the Chin, Kachin, Karen, Mon, Rakhine, Shan, and Wa.
Minority ethnic groups such as the Karen and the Rohingya people have faced persecution and been subjected to forced labor. Rape has also been used as a systematic weapon against women of ethnic minorities too, and thousands of villages comprised of minority ethnic groups have been destroyed, many burnt and razed to the ground, and their inhabitants displaced.
1.Persecution of the Karen People
Among minority groups in Myanmar (Burma), the Karen are one of the most persecuted minorities. Since 1990 around 2.000 villages have been plundered and burnt to the ground. People are randomly tortured and killed, men and youth kidnapped to be forced porters and living mine detectors, women systematically raped.
2. Persecution of the Rohingya People
“the Worlds’ Most Persecuted Minority”
— UN Secretary General Ban Ki Moon
Another persecuted minorities are the Rohingya. Discrimination against the Rohingya, a Muslim ethnic minority group, is traced back to the government of Ne Win in the 1960, which claimed them as foreigners. They continued to be denied not only Burmese citizenship but as an ethnic group as well as other fundamental human rights by the government. Meanwhile, they face restrictions on freedom of movement across the whole country.

Violence against Muslims in Myanmar
Although Myanmar (Burma) is a multi-religious country, Myanmar is a predominantly Buddhist country and the government shows preferences for Theravada Buddhism. It was the first country in the Southeast Asian to adopt Buddhism as the state religion in the 11th century. Approximately 87% of the population practice Theravada Buddhism. Monks are given the highest respect and priority. Anti-Muslims rooted in the country’s colonial history and demographics, and the rise of Burman-Buddhist nationalism in that context. Among the most discriminated against populations in Myanmar is the Muslim community in northern Rakhine State, the Rohingya.

1. 969 Movement
The 969 Movement (Burmese: ၉၆၉ သင်္ကေတ) is a nationalist movement opposed to what they see as Islam’s expansion in predominantly-Buddhist Burma.

2. Burma anti-Muslim riots since 2012
Since 2012, there has been a vicious series of pogroms against the Rohigyas. Villages, schools and mosques have been attacked and burned by Buddhist mobs, often aided by security forces. Hundreds of Rohingya have been killed, and as many as 140,000 people have been made homeless.

3. Rohingya refugee crisis in 2015
In 2015, thousands of Rohingya people fled Myanmar to Southeast Asian countries, including Malaysia, Indonesia, the Philippines and Thailand. According to the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees, among 37,000 people who were taken to boat by human traffickers from January to June while on their journey after the traffickers abandoned them on the sea.