The Oppressed People of Burma
Burma, like many other Southeast Asian nations, is a land of much culture and diversity of ethnic groups. Unfortunately, unlike the people of other nations, the people of Burma have been stripped of their human rights. Since the military junta had overtaken the Burmese government in 1988, the people of Burma have been among the most oppressed people in the world. The continuation of the government’s brutality has caught the attention of many outside nations around the world who increasingly have been intervening in Burma’s issues to help its people. As these occurrences are a major issue for the people of Burma, these problems are not restricted to its boundaries. They are also becoming a problem for some of Burma’s neighboring countries such as Thailand. With a quick look at current events, it is clear that the oppression of the native people in Burma is still in its most intensive state. But first, an introduction of Burma’s background will spark interest as to how a culturally rich country could turn into a land full of people in search of their basic human right -- freedom.
Burma is considered the land of rice and teak wood, in addition to its being rich in many other natural resources. The official language is Burmese and the major religions include Buddhism, Christianity, and Islam. A population of 49.5 million inhabits the land, in a 261,789 square mile area. The ethnic composition consists of the Burmans, the Shans, the Karns, the Mons, the Chins, the Kachins, as well as a significant population of Indians and Chinese who have migrated from their respective homelands. (Compton’s Encyclopedia) Three-quarters of the population live in rural areas.
In recent decades, Burma has bee...
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The role of women in China has changed dramatically, from one servitude and repression in ancient China, to one of equality in modern China. China women were sometimes subject to their father but when they got married they were subjected to obey their husband without and questioning. ?This study considers family development and attitudes toward motherhood in light of changing roles of women in China. The effects of revolutionary events and government policies on marriage and the traditional family are presented based on interviews conducted in China and a review of the literature? (Hare-Mustin and Hare 67-82). I think that women in any culture should have the same role because it seem like China women have no freedom. Some women went to night school, or worked at the factory until laws were passed to equalize women under the law.
As earlier stated in this paper, Canada’s political culture might not be unique in essence after all. Many similarities can be drawn between the Canadian political culture and that of other North American powers and European cultures. Other similarities can also be made with the culture of the United States of America and Australia (Chakravartty, 2008). Therefore, the position of Canada in the global polities makes it identify its political cultures to other global powers in the region and abroad. Like most countries in Northern America and Europe, Canada’s political culture embraces and emphasizes on the constitutional law, personal liberty, and religion freedom and autonomy. The inception of the aforementioned ideas was majorly from the British common law, the English civil traditions, and the civil law of the French and the aboriginal government of North America (Feld and Boyd, 2013). These forms of engagement are as well shared with other countries through the definition of their political
If history has taught us anything, it is that societies have never readily accepted women as being equal to men. This has never been as evident as in traditional Asian societies. In China specifically, the consequences of being born female in traditional Chinese society can be found in traditional literature, traveller’s tales, personal recollections and scattered statistics mostly from the nineteenth and twentieth centuries . Women’s behaviour, in traditional Chinese society, had been strictly governed by a moral code and certain social customs that separated them from men. This paper attempts to illustrate the role that women in traditional Chinese society played. It argues that women in China during this time were relegated to a secondary
Through this we see that the author’s point of view is someone who understands that the events that took place that morning in Burma, were not humane and degrading.
Traditionally, the family has been the most important unit of Chinese society, and holds true till today. Over the last couple of years or so, new definitions of women's roles have been formed as many Chinese women have received higher education, have joined the work force, begun to compete with men, and become financially independent.
The social dynamics and norms of any culture are directly correlated with the ideological principles held by the ruling political regime. In the case of China, drastic change in political authority gave way to drastic change is gender relations and social structures. Prior to the rule of Mao Zedong and Communist China, many different regimes fought for power. Although there were minor changes in social structure during this period, Chinese culture was still saturated with traditional Confucius ideals for the most part. By comparing the societal norms of pre-Mao China, in regard to gender relations and social structures, with the societal norms of post-Mao China, this paper will illuminate the changes that have taken place as a direct result
Aung San Suu Kyi, Nobel laureate and de-facto leader of Myanmar’s civilian government, has long been hailed as a protector of human rights in her native country. It has thus, been incredibly surprising to witness her reaction to the recent forced exodus of nearly half a million minority Rohingya from within her regional borders. Despite being championed as the great savior of her country, she failed to condemn the atrocities for nearly a month; and, when she did finally speak up against the human rights abuses, she refused to address the United Nations accusations of ethnic cleansing. The Rohingya have been stateless since Myanmar’s 1974 Constitution and 1982 Citizenship Act excluded the minority Muslim group as a ‘national race’ . In The Origins of Totalitarianism , Hannah Arendt explores the idea that the interests of the nation state infringe upon the Universal Rights of Man. The
My Struggle for Freedom and Survival in Burma. New York: Free Press, 2009. Print. The.
Firstly, the author said that the Rohingyas have no right in their homeland. Base on what the author said, every people must have rights to stay in their country. It is not fair for the Rohingyas who were born there but have no rights to live as citizens. He reported that the Rohingyas were not allowed to own land or property, unable to travel outside their villages, their education and marriages were unacceptable. They worked there as slave as they do not have rights to find jobs. The violence was spread out in Myanmar by that some were raped, tortured, jailed and dead. Many Rohingyas were then forced to flee to neighboring countries such as Bangladesh and Thailand (Ahmed, 2012). According to the author, I truly support his idea as that every people have the rights to receive what they deserve. Clements (2012) said that having citizenship is the key concept of realizing a person’s range of human rights. Citizens have the freedo...
The report on the country opens on how Myanmar has gone backwards in progress towards equal human rights for the Rohingya. The discrimination was described as the government’s conscious ignorance of the sectarian violence plaguing the area. This violence has restricted humanitarian aid from reaching the refugees and prevented the Rohingya from returning to their homes. The basic human right to shelter and food has been taken away in Myanmar so the Rohingya look to other places to
By using the rhetorical devices, the author Solomon was able to explain the children’s situations. Solomon concluded a successful article mostly through the emotional aspect. Including Unite for Sight further helps Solomon’s argument and also contributes to the pathos factor. By also including UNHCR and Lipka, the readers are able to feel the emotion Solomon was trying to portray. The children of Myanmar are in desperate need of a safe and sanitary place to live, rather than an overcrowded camp just miles away from the violence they’re trying to
Despite the fact that the Rohingya have been settled in Myanmar since 15th century, According to the council on Foreign Relations, the government takes the position that they are not native to Myanmar. They see the Rohingya as foreigners who traveled to the region during British occupation for work, and while many did come during the nineteenth and twentieth centuries, a vast majority had already been settled for centuries. Recently, it has come to the attention of the global community that the government of Myanmar has enacted violence against these people and their communities, leaving many to flee into neighboring Bangladesh. There has been much debate over whether or not the actions of the government of Myanmar towards these people could be classified as a genocide. With the help of increasing media coverage, more countries are acknowledging the issues that the Rohingya face, although the term genocide has not yet been placed officially on the events. This is all despite the fact that the goals of these actions is very clearly to rid Myanmar of these people, either by killing them or
Woods, K. 2013, The Politics of the Emerging Agro-Industrial Complex in Asia’s ‘Final Frontier’: The War on Food Sovereignty in Burma, Food Sovereignty A critical Dialogue, International Conference Yale University, September 14-15, 2013
My research on the Rohingya Muslim experience in Myanmar shows that this pattern of persecution goes back to 1948 – the year when the country achieved independence from their British colonizers.
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