Blog 8: Burma census bans people registering as Rohingya

Summary:

Officials in Burma, also known as Myanmar, are conducting the first census in three decades, but they are neglecting a religious group.  The officials say that the Muslim Rohingya must call themselves "Bengali" or they cannot be registered for the census, while the Rohingya themselves feel a part of the country and feel persecuted.  This is only another step in a series of persecutions the Rohingyas have faced.  They are the target of many hostilities by the predominant religious group in the country, Buddhists.  Most recently, sporadic violent attacks have occurred against the people group, and many of the aid agencies working in the region were also attacked.  The Rohingya is described by the UN as a minority that is one of the most persecuted in the world.  When talk of Rohingya being added as an ethnicity on the census, many Buddhist Rakhines pledged to boycott the census. 

Analysis:

What seems to be most troubling about this religious persecution is the institutionalized discrimination occurring in the form of the census.  By refusing to acknowledge the group as an ethnicity on the census, it will most likely encourage the people to continue their discrimination of the Rohingya.  A big part of the discrimination comes from their Muslim religious beliefs combining with their ethnic heritage.  When people are part of an extreme minority, it is very easy for the majority to think of them as the “other”.  When a group becomes part of the “other”, it makes them seem less human and easier to target.  The further institutionalization of the discrimination adds to the persecution of the people, but also shows socially how deep the discrimination goes.  It is also interesting to see Buddhist people, who subscribe to beliefs promoting peace and harmony, act as instigators of such violent behaviors.  

http://www.bbc.com/news/world-asia-26807239