Burma: Ethnic Minority Abuses

Burma is in the news again, and just like before, it's not for a good reason. The Islamic ethnic minority group known as the Rohingya have been enduring human rights violations. The Rohingya lived in the region for over 1,000 years, but they are denied citizenship because they are not one of the countries 135 accepted ethnic groups. When they go to escape the harsh conditions in Burma, the group is beaten and abused even on the way out.

Rohingya travel on boats from Burma, up the coast to Malaysia. These boats fit hundreds of them,, but they've stopped reaching their destinations. Recently there has been an issue with Thai military pulling over the Rohingya refugees, abusing them, then towing them far from shore and leaving them out there in a boat, presumably with no method of direction because many of the people do not make it back. The Rohingya want to go to Malaysia for the job opportunities, which are better than Burma's for them, and many are being abused on the way there. The United States has recently called for the abuses of the Rohingyan people to stop, and says the situation is a matter of "concern".
--By Alexander Hammer