If there’s anything positive about the sprawling Rohingya refugee camps near Cox’s Bazaar, Bangladesh, it’s that the residents – despite their appalling recent experiences and obvious deprivation – are at least safe here from Myanmar’s military. I’ve been visiting Rohingya refugee camps close to the Bangladesh/Myanmar border, and the scale of the forced migration is Read more
Myanmar’s Rohingya crisis has hit the headlines in recent weeks due to an extraordinary number of Rohingya refugees fleeing Myanmar into Bangladesh. It is estimated that in less than three weeks, up to 400,000 Rohingya refugees have fled Myanmar. They are fleeing mass human rights violations and atrocities, including: the burning of villages and crops, using petrol and rocket Read more
Rakhine State in western Myanmar is in crisis rights groups say as thousands of largely stateless Rohingya Muslims attempt to flee to neighboring Bangladesh, while others are agitating for dangerous boat trips to Malaysia amid reports of villages being razed and gang rapes by Myanmar’s military. At least 5,000 Rohingya have fled the religiously and Read more
Religious persecution of Muslims in Burma has resulted in bloodshed and displaced entire communities. But grassroots initiatives have also emerged to counter the hatred. Ashin Issariya appears unassuming, but the quiet demeanour quickly changes when he has something to say. In the pre-dawn light of Burma’s nascent reform process the Buddhist monk and former Saffron Read more
During a meeting with Burmese opposition leader Aung San Suu Kyi, Pope Francis has expressed his support for her commitment towards democracy in her country. While the Pope assured the Nobel Peace Prize winner of the Church’s support for her cause, he specified that the Church does not show discrimination but is at the service Read more
The state of religious freedom around the world is “increasingly dire”, according to the chairperson of a United States agency that monitors threats to this human right. The reasons include the rise of violent religious extremism and the actions and inactions of governments, according to Dr Katrina Lantos Swett of the US Commission for International Read more
Up to 5,000 Burmese children living on the Thai border face severe malnourishment, as the international donor community withdraws funds and shifts its attention back to Burma. As many as 2,000 children are experiencing stunted growth and nearly 1,000 are acutely malnourished, said Andrew Scadding, director of the Thai Children’s Trust, during an interview with Read more
The landmines that the land is scattered with and the serious epidemics affecting children: are among the most pressing problems of the population of ethnic Kachin, in the north of Myanmar, the scene of the clash between government troops and Kachin Independence Army” rebels, according to Rishop Raymond Sumlut Gam, Bishop of Banmaw.
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Father John Larsen SM, Director of the Marist Fathers in Ranong, Thailand, has was named 2011 Future Justice International Prize winner at a seminar recently held at ACU’s Melbourne Campus. New Zealand-born Fr Larsen served in the Philippines for many years before leading a Marist mission in to Burma (Myanmar). After being denied an entry Read more
Burma is one of the most tightly-controlled countries in the world. Although elections last year replaced the military regime with a civilian one, the country still regularly ranks among the worst for human rights and corruption. Despite this, a group of New Zealanders has set up a successful microfinance charity providing small loans to the Read more