Essay Example on A majority of people may not know a whole lot about the country

A majority of people like myself may not know a whole lot about the country Myanmar previously known as Burma For starters it is a predominantly Buddhist country in the Southeast region of Asia that borders Thailand and Bangladesh There has been steady conflict between the Rohingya that live in the Rakhine state and the rest of the Myanmar population ever since World War II During the war Myanmar was under British rule However once Japanese soldiers invaded Myanmar the Buddhists sided with the them thinking that they would win and the Rohingya sided with the British In the end the British were victorious so inherently extreme tension between the two groups was born Religious discrimination has also posed a threat to the Muslim Rohingyas within the past two hundred years Back in 1948 the two sides clashed because Rohingyas demanded they receive the same rights as any other Burmese citizens Sadly they were meet with retaliation and never received those rights Even today Muslim Rohingyas are not considered citizens of Burma In 1962 Myanmar s military took over under the direction of Ne Win and established an authoritarian military rule As a result the Rohingya were deprived of all of the rights they once held dear Ne Win isolated the country turning the once prosperous country into a complete disaster Heavy restrictions were put on who could come in and out of the country Free press was also banned which meant there was a shortage of newspapers and books 

No law will be strong enough to keep these individuals safe in Myanmar or Bangladesh During my research I was especially interested in the conditions of the camps these individuals lived in for many years Malnutrition is commonplace as well as domestic violence rape and drug and alcohol abuse Families have been separated for long periods of time All of these factors have played a role in the development of anxiety depression and post traumatic stress disorder that many Rohingyas have acquired just by living during this time These extreme conditions stick with you for your whole life The reality is that these refugees will never get the help they need to overcome these disorders unless they are accepted by others The pain and suffering from this event will haunt them for years to come Stories like this remind me of how blessed I am to live in a country that allows me to practice whatever religion I desire and not to fear that I may be persecuted for what I believe Reading this has also encouraged me to know more about the world around me Before reading this article I had no idea that there was even a country named Myanmar This experience has taught me that I need to be more aware of the world around me and that I should actively expand my perspective outside of my little bubble