Argentina's Version of "Manifest Destiny"

The Eradication of Argentina's Wichi Peoples' Culture
(Human Extinction series)

(Wichi Girls in Northwest Argentina)

Food is something that most of us in the modern world don't really have to think about. It is always there. Driving down the street, we are bombarded with ads and plenty of places offering up one form of it or another. Here in America we can eat a hamburger and fries for lunch and then turn around and have curry or stir-fry for dinner. Pot roasts and baked potatoes are the hallmarks of a Sunday meal for many here. For others it is fried chicken and mashed potatoes that really drives home that comfort of a nice hot meal. But one thing never crosses our mind when we are chowing down on those meals that, for us at least, come far too easily... and that is where the food is coming from. 

For the developing world the question of where that next meal is coming from is one that may very well not have an answer. The growling of children's stomachs does not get greeted with a snack to subdue the hunger. Milk or juice aren't available for their children as their parents struggle to find even the basic foods upon which they will survive. For the Wichi people of Argentina, this is a reality that refuses to be resolved. 

Watching The Land Die

For thousands of years the Wichi people lived upon the grasslands and in the forests that once dominated their homeland in northwest Argentina and southwest Bolivia. There they had managed to form a bond with the land that allowed them to find food where the colonial powers found none. Early Christian missionaries said that the Wichi were semi-nomadic and moved with the changing of the seasons. They hunted in the tall grasslands when the native animals migrated through their homeland. They celebrated the ripening of the algarroba fruit in their forests. And fished the rivers that flowed through their homeland. 

Yet all of this changed with the arrival of those early European missionaries. Native languages, cultures, foods, and religions were all seen as the primitive (and often depicted as barbaric) pre-Christian world. The Wichi were expected to settle down in the villages the Europeans designated for them. The missions were to be their new central government. Spanish was to be their new language.

Over the next hundred years the Wichi would suffer disease, famine, and all other forms of suffering brought upon by colonization. One of the most devastating forms of oppression was the application of the Spanish's version of faith. Catholicism had decided that it was their mission to eradicate the spirit of the native while leaving the empty shell of a man behind. Once this was complete the missionaries could fill their new vessels with the religion of Spain. The indigenous spirit was thus on the cutting block as Spain fought to subdue South America in every way. 

With the downfall of Spanish power came the rule of those who had stepped up to fill the power vacuum left behind. For the Wichi this meant little except that their oppressors changed from a tyrant across the sea to tyrants who viewed all of Argentina as theirs. The 20th century brought forth modernization. And with the rise of a nation came the worst cases of starvation the Wichi have ever faced. 

Over the last hundred years the government of Argentina has carved up the Wichi homeland. The Salta state government has refused to recognize the Wichi peoples' needs as it has allowed their lands to be sold off acre by acre. The modernization of Argentina has meant that large chunks of Wichi lands have been handed over to plantations and cattle ranchers. The forests that the Wichi had survived upon were handed over to loggers and developers. The result of all this "progress" has been the desertification of what had once been grasslands and forested acres. 

The Wichi have attempted to tell the world and Argentina that their lands are dying. The animals their ancestors had hunted are almost all gone now. The fruiting trees of the forests have been targeted for their wood rather than their fruits by Argentina's loggers. The rivers in which they fished are being dammed up by Argentina's developers. The grasslands are either being turned to soya plantations or turning to desert from shrinking rivers and disappearing streams. The Wichi have tried to tell the world that their land is dying. But nobody is listening. 

Argentine Gluttony 

Argentina's croplands have become a noose around the necks of the Wichi people. They were once isolated by geography. Now the Wichi are isolated from the outside world by the Argentine food industry. They are suffering from hunger as Argentina grows crops for export on all sides of their lands. This has been made achievable by Argentina's national and local governments by a policy of denying the Wichi people the titles to their own lands. By denying any ownership of the land itself, Argentina has usurped the very homeland of an entire people. This has left the Wichi with the scraps that Argentina could not use or did not want. 

In the United States this very tactic was used against the tribes of North America. As the white settlers spread westward under a policy of "manifest destiny" the native peoples were pushed off their homeland. Native Americans were soon redirected to patches of land that white settlers found unfavorable. These tiny scraps were defined by the United States government as "Indian Reservations". In all reality, these were large open-air concentration camps. 

Argentina has achieved the creation of "Indian Reservations" by writing and interpreting laws that permit businesses and ranchers the right to claim Wichi lands that are found to be favorable. No attention has been paid to the devastating results of deforestation and ranching in the area. Argentina has given no attention to the spreading desertification and famine in Wichi areas. The government only has taken notice as the changing landscape has turned Argentine held lands into sand. Their abuse of the delicate ecosystem is only recognized when the occupying population is affected. 

Yet the growing effects of desertification has not forced Argentina to deal with the problems it's gluttony caused. Instead of allowing the original caretakers of the land to have possession of it, Argentina has dug in it's heels. Non-native Argentine citizens have laid claim to the few fertile plots of land left. They assault and threaten Wichi men they find hunting in the few areas where game animals can be found. They threaten, physically and sexually, Wichi women who are found gathering wild fruits in the few plots of forests left. And they impose systematic forms of segregation that the government refuses to combat. 

While non-native Argentine citizens are becoming poorer from the results of their abuse of the land, they aren't the ones truly suffering. Wichi people are unable to gain an equal foothold in Argentina's weak economy. Wichi are not permitted equal representation in local and federal government. They are not given access to the same systems of commerce and trade that non-native settlers in their homeland are given. What little bit of their land they are left with is still under threat. And the food it provides is far from enough to sustain the 20-50 thousand Wichi that survive there. 

Argentina's desire to keep it's food exports strong has left government incompetent in protecting native culture and society. Local government has refused the Wichi villages even the basic accommodations of modern society (proper sewage for example) as it pushes modernization upon the Wichi people. The closest local government comes to protecting Wichi culture is it's exploitation of Wichi crafts and traditions when tourism opportunities present themselves. This of course plays into the overall exploitation of the Wichi that Argentina's government has become accustomed to.

Cultural Extinction

In the United States the end goal of manifest destiny, as a policy of expansionism, was the eradication of native culture. If the Native Americans were to be brought into the ranks of American society they would first have to assimilate to white society as a whole. After seeing entire tribes eradicated, this form of cultural extinction was preferable to "civil society". It was often viewed as "bringing the Indian into the modern age". This allowed America to believe that their "progress" was not killing a people but rather bestowing a perverse form of enlightenment upon them. 

Argentina's Wichi people may not be at a point where their entire race is at risk of extinction anymore, but their culture is. They are expected to live the same lifestyle as the settlers who have confiscated their lands. They are expected to alter their version of Protestant Christianity to match that of the rest of Argentina. Their language is not encouraged by the government or society at large. And their foods are looked down upon as second class in much the same way as they themselves are. 

With all the hallmarks of their culture under threat it is hard to look toward a brighter future for the children of the Wichi people. With starvation a real problem (in 2011 multiple Wichi children died from malnutrition) the Wichi people can not look toward the future and see a real source of hope laying ahead of them. If their lands are to be taken from them, their culture denied to them, and their children treated as second class citizens... what do the Wichi have left? 

Assimilation is not a source of hope but rather is a dehumanizing form of subjugation. Even if the Wichi were to abandon every part of their culture and take upon the characterless modern world's... they are still second class citizens in their own homeland. This is the plight of a people facing the death of their identity as a people. And yet it is also in this, their resistance to Argentina's version of manifest destiny, that the world can see the Wichi peoples' resilience.

Source Documents 

(note: not all are listed)

Survival International:

http://www.survivalinternational.org/news/6990

http://www.survivalinternational.org/tribes/wichi

Chacolinks:

http://www.chacolinks.org.uk/newsletter2.asp?News_ID=79&page=home

American Photo Mag:

http://www.americanphotomag.com/photo-gallery/2012/06/argentinas-wich%C3%AD-people-facing-modern-society?page=1

BBC UK

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-latin-america-12973543

Blockades In Bangladesh

Racism Knows No Borders
(part of The Darkness Visible series)

(Always On The Outside Looking In)

For nearly a year now the Arakan has been under siege by Rakhine extremist who are determined to fulfill their campaign of ethnic cleansing. These fascist have created as system of oppression not seen by the West since the Bosnian Genocide. And much like the Serbian aggression, the Rakhine extremist began their siege of the Rohingya with a horrific purge. 

Many of Burma's Rohingya fled the initial wave of genocide in their homeland for the promise of security across the border in Bangladesh. These Rohingya had been led to believe that at the very least they would be spared the killing and barbarism that was spreading across the Arakan. The one thing they would never escape however was the racism that plagues the region in which they live. 

No border would stop the hatred the Bengali and Burmese communities hold for the Rohingya. It is a deep seeded hatred that can't be easily explained. And yet, in the same irony of the cheap excuses given for the Bosnian Genocide, it isn't a hatred that can be used to explain the violence. This was a hatred that has left the Rohingya as a people vulnerable, oppressed, and constantly on the run. 

In Bangladesh the local authorities fought against the establishment of any form of refugee camps. Recognized camps were just as dangerous as the purges across the border in Burma. So with the constant threat of violence, the Rohingya gathered in unregistered (and considered illegal) camps away from prying eyes. 

(Dreary And Miserable Camps)

Hostility against the Rohingya refugees in Bangladesh has been only getting worse. The Border Guards Bangladesh and the Repaid Action Battalion have been increasing their presence around the Rohingya camps. Along with their presence comes the threat of rape, robbery, extortion, and slavery. Let alone the violence associated with the security personnel.

This increase in military and security has also led to Rohingya being unable to seek jobs and income in the the surrounding area. The fact that these camps are unregistered with the UNHCR also means that they are unable to receive aid from the UN. And with the security the roads have been blocked and checkpoints erected, meaning that NGOs are unable to reach the camps. 

In Bangladesh there are four refugee camps. Two of which are not registered with the UNHCR. This leaves these two camps vulnerable and at the whims of the Bengali military.

In Kutupalong makeshift camp there are about 60,000 people and  15,000 in Lada makeshift camp. All of these Rohingya are on the verge of starvation. Without the ability to leave these camps and seek employment and food, these Rohingya will have to face a slow and painful death.

For many they will have to decide if they should stay in Bangladesh or risk death on the sea fleeing ethnic cleansing once again.

Life Under Siege

What the Blockades in Burma Look Like
(part of The Darkness Visible series)

(Rohingya Camp Being Kept Under Blockade By Myanmar)

In previous post Alder's Ledge has told you what life under blockade was like in Myanmar. We explained what it was like to be starved to death slowly by a government that seeks to destroy an entire ethnic group. We explained how and why the radical Rakhine movement in Burma is carrying out their campaign of ethnic cleansing. Yet nothing compares to seeing the destruction yourself. That is why we are bringing you these images (first provided by @jamiliahanan on Twitter).

This Rohingya woman has a skin condition that has been left untreated due to lack of medical aid being allowed through the blockade. The skin condition has left painful blisters on her feet making it hard to walk. There is currently no relief in site due to the endless blockades being maintained by the Burmese government. 

This Rohingya child has the hallmark sign of malnourishment, a swollen stomach protruding from under rigid ribs. During the Holodomor in the Ukraine (part of Stalin's Forced Famines) children became swollen like this from eating thatch roofing materials. It is hard to say what has caused this child's condition. But it is clear from history's lessons that this condition is fatal if left untreated. 

This Rohingya boy has grown rail thin as starvation slowly claims him. Hips, ribs, and joints show through his thin tight draping of skin. This form of death is a cruel form of torture in Burma. It could easily be prevented. If food was allowed to enter the camp this boy would not be in the condition he is in now. If water was allowed, at the least, his strength would not be so rapidly depleted as his organs begin to shut down.

This Rohingya man is emaciated as his body uses up its own muscles to fuel itself on just a few more days. Just as with other Rohingya starving to death, this man is suffering with each passing day. His body is growing rigid as it looses the ability to move limbs. He is basically suffering from the symptoms of death long before death ever claims him. 

Another swollen stomach, another sad face. This Rohingya boy is rail thin everywhere except his stomach. In previous genocides where starvation was used to kill large numbers of people the children were described as "little fat men" due to this symptom. It was a cruel way of describing the children on their last leg before death set in. 

This is a typical home in the Rohingya concentration camps. In the dry season it may be almost bearable. In the wet season there is little between the Rohingya and the heavy rains. What was dirt beneath their beds quickly becomes mud. There is nowhere to flee from the dirt and mud due to the blockades that keep them in and the food and medicine out. 

A beautiful Rohingya girl, starved and hunched over in her tent. Her bones peak through her flesh as she looks away from the camera. Most Americans would have a hard time distinguishing her from any other Burmese or Bangladeshi individual. Yet the Burmese and Bengalis both hate her and her people. They refer to her as "Kalar".

Another symptom of malnutrition, this child's hair is falling out. It is a painful thing to watch as a child waste away right before your eyes. Yet for the Rohingya in Burma this is what life has been reduced to. A long and painful walk from degradation to death. 

This Rohingya man finds it hard to walk as starvation claims his body's muscles. He is frail and thin at a time in his life when he should be living rather than dieing. Instead of enjoying life, this Rohingya man has to watch his family, friends, and community die before his eyes. 

Another child, another swollen stomach. This Rohingya child does not deserve to live like this. He had done nothing but simply be unfortunate enough to be born Rohingya in Burma. That should not be a death sentence. And yet here he is, starved and homeless. 

Sunken eyes, protruding ribs, and thin limbs. These are the hallmarks of Burma's own forced famine. This is what it is like to live under constant siege by a government that is hellbent upon the destruction of the Rohingya people. This is what it is like to be starved to death slowly by a government that is carrying out a campaign of genocide. 

These images came out of Burma so that the world may see the faces of genocide in Myanmar. Now that we have seen them it is our duty to act. It is our duty as human beings to stand as one and fight this inhumanity. We can not remain silent as more and more Rohingya die daily. 

Scream for the Rohingya. Your voice goes much further than you could ever imagine.

Myanmar's Great Leap Forward

Following Mao's Form Of Reforms
(part of The Darkness Visible series)

("Flickers of Hope," Obama Speaking About Burma)

Thursday January 31st, 2013 as Reported by Burma News International

More land has been confiscated by Arakan state authorities for recently resettled Rakhine villagers in southern Maungdaw, according to a Rohingya farmer who spoke to Kaladanpress on condition of anonymity.

The farmer claims that about 150 acres of arable land that was being used to cultivate paddy was seized. Now the new settlers are utilizing the fields to grow their own produce. Another Rohingya farmer, who also didn’t want his name used, wondered how he will survive.  “We’re really struggling because the government isn’t allowing us to do anything.”

Much of the Rohingya populations in Arakan state have been restricted to their villages since the sectarian violence broke out in June. They can’t work; therefore they have no means to feed their families. Some are getting limited support from aid groups in the southern areas of the state. But in the north, where many Muslims are on the verge of starvation, there are no relief groups helping them. Groups like Nasaka (Burma’s border guard force) are making their lives even harder by making arbitrary arrests to extort money, and there has even been allegations of summary executions by the notorious border force.

Burmese Military Enforcing Barricade at Aung Mingalar Ghetto

As Myanmar enjoys the praise of world leaders from Europe to the United States and Canada the Rohingya continue to starve. Many are facing death as the country that afflicts them with hunger grows fat off of trade with the EU, China, and the Americas. Women, children, and the elderly are at the greatest risk of dieing as the world looks the other way. And yet despite all this men such as Barack Obama dare to praise Thein Sein and his fellow dictators for their "flickers of progress" in guiding Burma toward democracy. 

"Progress" in Burma appears however to be far from what we would expect President Obama to align himself with. The progress the government of Myanmar is looking at currently is the ever increasing death tolls in the Arakan state and the Kachin region. This effort to rid the state of given ethnic groups and religions does not reflect democracy, at least in the way the United States practices it, but more directly reflects Mao's cultural revolution.

With the confiscation of land to resettle the area with acceptable ethnic groups the Burmese take yet another step toward completion of their genocide. This step forward allows the Arakan authorities the opportunity to build the ranks of Rakhine people and at the same time to decrease what little food the Rohingya had available. But to the silent West this still somehow seems to be another "flicker of progress".

Arbitrary Arrests Help Nasaka Extort Bribes

Arakan authorities have also forced Rohingya out of villages that were attacked in the June and October pogroms to further make room for Rakhine settlers. Rohingya who tried to defend or protect their homes and families also now face arrest as their old villages are bulldozed. As of Tuesday, February 5th, eleven Rohingya men have been convicted to ten years for their part in fighting off Rakhine mobs. The homes and villages of these eleven men, from Zeydi Pyin and Hati Para, are now bulldozed.

This policy of arresting the male Rohingya once again only points toward the type of progress that Myanmar is looking towards. By arresting the males of the Rohingya community the Arakan authorities leave the Rohingya villages and camps helpless and defenseless. If and when ethnic violence starts again in the Arakan the Rohingya will be at an even greater disadvantage. And with the arrests still taking place they will constantly be reminded of what will happen if they even attempt to defend themselves.

Yet despite all of this mounting evidence of a government hellbent on the destruction of a designated ethnic group the world remains silent. When given the opportunity to speak out against the blatant campaign of ethnic cleansing the West has repeatedly shown their incompetence. Western media has gone out of its way to praise Burmese politicians such as Suu Kyi while avoiding the discussion of the Rohingya all together. Their deafening silence on the issue is only further amplified by world leaders who use Burma as a political tool rather than the humanitarian crisis it is.

All the while thousands of Rohingya in and around cities like Sittwe are reduced to begging for food just to survive.

“What most of the world is not aware of are the refugees that are not living in [registered] camps,” said Oddny Gumaer from Partners Relief and Development. “And those people are living in conditions that are so bad that I’m sure if the international community doesn’t do something very soon they are going to die.”

Relief workers struggle to help those in the most need as Burmese police and politicians fight to find ways to minimalism their efforts. Even with what little aid is flowing through the blockades the Rohingya are still starving to death. And with conditions constantly growing worse, disease and pestilence run rampant.

“If they are lucky they have a tarp to cover them, many of them have stitched together old rice sacks. There are no toilets, no sanitation, doctors, and no access to hospitals. I saw babies that were so malnourished and children with bloated stomachs and mothers that couldn’t feed their babies because they didn’t have any milk.” Oddny Gumaer

So how much longer are we going to wait before the world begins to act? It should be obvious by now that Myanmar is not even close to showing "flickers of progress". If this situation is not dealt with immediately the Rohingya people of Burma will perish. The outside world must force Myanmar to get serious about their so called "democratic reforms". And most importantly, we must stop the slaughter of the Rohingya and force Burma to allow all humanitarian aid to reach the Rohingya in both camps and villages.

Ultimately the world will have to protect the Rohingya and provide food for them. We can not wait till we are looking back at this and telling ourselves "never again" again.

Hunted Down Like Dogs

RNDP Puts Up A "Bounty" For Every Dead Rohingya
(part of The Darkness Visible series)

(This Boy Is Now A Commodity, Sold As A Slave Or Killed For A Bounty)

Rakhine Prime Minister, U Hla Maung Tin, arrived at Pauktaw this morning and made a beeline for the Rohingya refugee camp. Once there the PM fell in line with his party (the Rakhine Nationalities Development Party) by demanding that the Rohingya in the internally displaced peoples' camp sign documents that state that they are illegal immigrants. The documents state that the Rohingya are illegal Bangladeshi immigrants that have no claim to Burmese citizenship. These documents would be used therefore to deport the Rohingya to a country that has shown no interest whatsoever in accepting them. And without actual legal documents to show that they are either Burmese or Bengali, the Rohingya would officially in Burmese courts be "stateless". 

When the Rohingya in the camp refused to sign the documents Maung Tin threatened the refugees and left. Maung Tin told the Rohingya refugees that if they did not sign that he would see to it that no aid ever made it through the blockades again (including rice from the foreign aid organizations). The RNDP went further by going to Rakhine villages and camps to pass around word of just what these threats entailed. The RNDP then went on to tell the Rakhine that they would pay one lakh kyats for every Rohingya, or kalar (a slur for the Rohingya), they kill. Together, Maung Tin and the RNDP, are making threats that could lead to a return to the June and October riots that launched their genocidal campaign. 

This tactic of "sign or die" has been getting used more and more as the campaign of ethnic cleansing has been amped up. In addition to calling on renewed butchery by the RNDP, the Rakhine extremist have maintained their blockades of Rohingya villages and camps. The RNDP has also begun encouraging Rakhine from Bangladesh and impoverished areas of the Arakan to move into Rohingya villages. By calling the Rakhine "settlers" the RNDP shows that they are intent upon wiping out the memory of these Rohingya villages that were burnt or bulldozed. 

With all the actions taken recently by a major Burmese political party to kill and deport an entire minority one might wonder how the outside world is ignoring this? Time and time again Alder's Ledge has brought proof of genocide taking place right now in Burma and yet these same articles fail to show up in mainstream media. So once again I'm sure there are those wondering just how something like that which has been shown above can take place without their media source covering it. I'm sure there are still far to many people with their eyes closed to this subject to understand that genocide is taking place as they sleep. 

So imagine for a moment that you are a Rohingya trapped behind barbed wire and military checkpoints. Imagine that your family and friends are starving to death as you pick through the grass for any source of food you can find. Imagine that your government, your homeland, is treating you as though you aren't even human. Now imagine that you aren't allowed to leave... you aren't even allowed to travel to neighboring villages or camps. 

All you know is hunger. All you know is pain. All you know is desperation. 

Now imagine that the only way out is to flee by boat. Yet to do this you have to sell everything you have and scavenge for something to bribe the boat's owner. Imagine that you have no way to know if this boat will make it to the presumed safety of Malaysia or not. All you can do is hope that the Nasaka don't catch you as you drift off into the night. 

Imagine that while you starve to death you are approached by Rakhine who promise they can get you out of Myanmar. Imagine that you are asked to sign a paper in exchange for a promise of a better life. Imagine that you don't realize that this paper will make you a slave and that you will be sold in Thailand or Bangladesh. 

But imagine that you stay...

Now try to imagine that the RNDP just visited your village. Imagine that you just heard them proclaim that your Rakhine neighbor can earn cash money just for killing you. You know that your local police don't stop these attacks. You know that the military sides with the RNDP. You know that there is nowhere you can run. Now imagine that you are being hunted... but instead of running, you can only wait for your hunter to strike. You know that you are like a caged animal. You know that there is nowhere in you homeland that you can hide. 

This is the life of nearly a million Rohingya trapped in Burma. This is how the government of Myanmar has allowed ethnic cleansing to occur in the Arakan. The Burmese have committed a forced famine, constructed death camps, blockaded entire villages, and permitted the wholesale slaughter of the Rohingya people. 

It is a story that would enrage the common citizens of the West. It is a narrative that would sell papers across America and Europe. And it is a tragedy that the West could exploit at a moment's notice. Yet the prospects of Myanmar's untapped wealth have curtailed the actions these crimes demand. Once again the numbers were run and the prospect of economic gain topped the cost of saving lives.

Only Grass And Dirt To Eat

Starvation: A War Of Attrition
(part of The Darkness Visible series)

(Rohingya Refugee Camp: Searching For Food In The Ditch)

The photo above was taken more than a month ago and was taken in near a Rohingya refugee camp. These Rohingya are living life beyond the villages where their fellow Rohingya live in modern day concentration camps. These Rohingya live where food consist of grass and weeds found alongside dirty streets. They are not allowed to go into the Rakhine villages and purchase food. They are forbidden to use the same water as their Rakhine neighbors. Yet in comparison to the Rohingya still living in the villages, these are the lucky ones. 

Checkpoints much like those seen around the ghettos the Nazi's built during the Holocaust pot mark the area around the refugee camps. Though there are coconuts hanging in the trees outside the camps, though there is rice in the fields that the Rakhine now claim... the Rohingya starve. The barbed wire is a constant reminder that they are considered less than human in their own homeland. The lack of food makes it clear that they are considered of less value than the livestock the Rakhine raise in nearby pastures. This is the life that the Burmese have damned the Rohingya to. 

Ali Hassan, a 24 year old Rohingya man told Phuket Wan Travel News, "My babies are starving in front of my eyes. I cannot buy anything now I have no money." 

Ali Hassan had newborn twins at the time. It is impossible to know for sure if his children have survived. It is hard to imagine any child, let alone babies, living a life of starvation. But his story survives. Even if he and his family do not, his story will never perish. 

This war, this barbarism that Myanmar carries out, is meant to starve the Rohingya out of existence. The violence that plagued the Arakan state forever lingers in the air. Death hovers behind every shadow. It waits for the Rohingya... with open arms it accepts them of every age, gender, shape, and size. This is a war in as much as it pins one group against the other. Yet in this horrific struggle only one is armed... only one gets to fight... only one survives. 

There is an abundance of fish in the seas and waters along the Rakhine coasts. However the Burmese officials have confiscated almost all the fishing equipment the Rohingya once owned. Nets, poles, and hooks... nothing is left to harvest the food that the Rohingya so desperately need. 

For now the Rohingya slowly waist away as the little aid that is making it through the blockades is barely enough to keep even a small portion of them alive. It is in this slow starvation that many are turning to the the very people who cause their suffering to offer "a way out". The Rakhine Nationalities Development Party uses this wide spread starvation to traffic the Rohingya out of Myanmar. 

Over the last couple days nearly 700 Rohingya have turned up in human trafficking camps in Thailand. Over 500 Rohingya had to swim ashore in Malaysia after their boat sank 500 km off the coast. All of these Rohingya were trafficked out of the country by the RNDP. And of the RNDP's trafficking victims... they could easily be considered the lucky ones. 

Over half of the Rohingya who are sent out to sea each year die trying to make their way to Malaysia. Almost all Rohingya who are sent into Thailand are sent back to Myanmar having lost everything they had including the bribes that got them out of Burma the first time. These 1,200 Rohingya are lucky just to still be alive and outside of Myanmar. 

It is important to note at the close of this post that this tragedy, this genocide, could had been prevented. This horrific case of ethnic cleansing could be immediately stopped. All that is needed is for the outside world to finally wake up. To wake up and start taking action.

Waiting For Hope

A Look At The Blockades' Affects
(part of The Darkness Visible series)

(December 03, 2012 Rohingya Children Starving in Burma)

In Burma the blockades still stand. Living testaments to the savagery of a government dedicated to the annihilation of the Rohingya, the police and military still hold back much needed food, water, and medicines. This incredibly disturbing method of warfare is dead set on starving the Rohingya out of existence. And yet for the past few months I have been unable to pinpoint where and how this method was being used.

Today that changed.

Thanks to Jamila Hanan, an activist on Twitter, I was able to finally get my hands on some hard facts. The information however is nothing to be celebrated. For the man who sent it out of Burma is still stuck inside living the same hell his Rohingya brothers are suffering through. Aung Aung posted the following information earlier this month.

(Life For The Rohingya Hinges On Every Meal)

There are currently 15 Rohingya villages within the Min Pya area of Arakan, Burma. This is what is being reported out of Min Pya over the last month's time.

• Tara Auk: 1,570 Rohingya currently living, 30 dead including 9 children. WFP & UN distributed some rice and beans. Still no medicine; many people are dieing of malaria, asthma, cough, fever, and diarrhea. 
• Naga Pyan Ywa: 1,165 Rohingya alive, 20 dead including 8 children and 3 women. Blockaded and starving. No aid can make it through. 
• Nagara Pauktaw: 2,800 Rohingya still living, 48 have died including 11 children. Blockaded by government. Situation is bad, they are desperate. No help can get through. 
• Saung Gyi Pyin: 2,383 Rohingya alive, 15 dead including 7 children. Blockaded. Need food, water, and medicine. Not able to find food.
• Naw Naw Ywa: 1,067 Rohingya still living, 11 died including 7 children. They are asking for food and medicine. 
• Aung Daing: 2,003 Rohingya alive, 15 died including 6 children. WFP able to deliver some rice and beans. They need medicine and blankets. 
• Thatori Ywa: 894 Rohingya living, 10 have died. Need food and medicine. 
• Samali: 1,952 Rohingya alive, 24 have died including 11 children. WFP provided some rice and beans for only half of them. Most houses burnt to the ground during October massacre here. 
• Peik Thay Ywa: 1,358 Rohingya live here. 11 have died. WFP provided some assistance to those who lost homes in October attacks. The rest are starving to death. 
• Kyein Tuang: 791 Rohingya living, 9 died this month. WFP provided little rice and beans. 
• Tha Dar Ywa: 961 Rohingya still alive, 14 dead this month including 6 children. Have received no aid at all. Starving to death.
• Lama Ywa: 4,901 Rohingya live here. 46 have died this month alone including 15 children and 5 women. Blockaded by Myanmar government. Can't be reached and can't leave. 
• Sakkya Ywa: 1,581 Rohingya still alive. 15 died this month including 7 children. No help has arrived. They need food and medication desperately. 
• Teint Seik Ywa: 2,090 Rohingya live here. 20 died including 9 children. They are blockaded and can't find any food. They desperately need food and medication. 
• Hara Praing: 955 Rohingya alive. 11 died this month alone. No medication at all. They need food and medicine. 

 All these villages are starving to death due to the blockades the government of Burma has put in place. Out of this region the Rakhine Nationalities Development Party has been able to get 61 to leave Burma. Since Rohingya are forbidden to move from village to village without permission the Rakhine Nationalities Development Party is able to offer them a sense of false hope. This allows the RNDP to deport the Rohingya and achieve their aim of an ethnically pure Rakhine state.

 (July 5th, 2012 Hungry Then, Starving To Death Now)

In the Mrauk U area of Arakan, Burma there are 12 Rohingya villages. Aung Aung was not able to reach a handful of them due to the restrictions on communication. Of these we know only what has occurred in 8 of them over the last month's time. 

• Zula Fara at Yanthay: Rakhine mobs attacked here in October killing 61. There are currently 2,421 Rohingya here. Last month 73 died including 22 children. WFP gave some rice and beans. Due to blockade there is no access to medicine and food is scarce. 
• Ziza Ywa at Naga Kuay: there are 734 Rohingya, 8 died last month. All are in desperate need of food and water. No medicine here.
• Ziza Ywa Gyi: 695 Rohingya here, 7 died last month. Have received no aid. Need food and medicine desperately. Most are nearly starved to death.
• Kun Baung: there are 1,500 Rohingya here. 11 have died including 5 children. Must get some food, medicine, and blankets immediately or more will die this month. 
• Sithay: 525 Rohingya are here, 11 died this month including 6 children. Most Rohingya here have only rice gruel and broken rice grains to eat. Starving to death. 
• Amauk Taung: 560 Rohingya, 10 died this month. They need food, blankets, and medicine. 
• Pothalun: there are 1,574 Rohingya here, 17 died including 9 children. Most Rohingya here are surviving on rice gruel. If no food or medicine arrives many will die this coming month. 
• Kaing Daw: 1,105 Rohingya live here, 13 died last month including 7 children. They desperately need food and medicine. 

All Rohingya in Arakan are banned from moving from one place to the next. Going out and looking for food will result in death or imprisonment. The WFP and other aid groups have only provided aid to one village in this area. The outside world that is helping seems to think that only the refugee camps need aid. Yet in reality those who are suffering in their homes, in their villages near by, are starving to death due to the blockades. The Rohingya in these villages can't go to the camps. The blockade is meant to keep them in place so that they will die where they are at. In affect, their homes are now their concentration camps.

Na Sa Ka and the RNDP are the only source through which Rohingya can travel anywhere. The Myanmar government however does not grant travel to the camps or to another village where food might have been rumored to exist. Instead the RNDP and Burma government find boats for the Rohingya. Then they send them out to sea without food, water, or medicine. These floating prisons are meant to kill as many Rohingya as the RNDP can trick into risking their lives at sea. They get them into the boats by telling them that they are going to Malaysia or some other foreign country.

(Any Hope Of Food Get Attention In Starving Villages)

There are 22 villages in the Kyawtaw area of Arakan, Burma. In those 22 villages are 4,989 Rohingya who are starving to death. Due to the blockades and restrictions on communication, Aung Aung was unable to contact any of them except one. 605 Rohingya in Napukan Ywa were able to report that they were starving since food ran out last week. In addition to this we know that WFP provided a little food to 7 burnt villages ( Sancar Taung, Apauk Wa, Shwe Hlaing, Guppa Taung, Ambari, Ywa Nyar, and Radana Pun Taung Pway). The rest of the 15 villages are starving to death without aid or medicine. 

Around 200 Rohingya in Kyawtaw area fled to the mountains last month. They were soon after arrested and taken into custody by the Myanmar government. Nobody knows what will happen to them. But it is safe to say that they will most likely end up dead. 

 (Anything That Can Be Ate Is Being Cooked Just To Survive)

It is clear that the genocide in Burma is entering its final stages. The government is prepared to starve those they cannot kill outright. Children and women are being used in human trafficking and as sex slaves by the Myanmar officials. Men are being sent out in boats to die at sea by the RNDP. Those who are trapped in their villages are just waiting to die. Either the Rakhine mobs will reform or the Burmese government will wait for nature to take its coarse. 

For now we are trapped in a position of waiting. We wait to see if the world will wake up before the clock runs out for the Rohingya of Burma. We wait to see if humanity can be salvaged or if we will watch yet another genocide reach completion right before our eyes.

A Look At The Murderers

The Tactics Used In The Rohingya Genocide
(part of The Darkness Visible series)

(Propaganda Sparked A "Scorched Earth" Policy)

Back during the summer of 2012 the Myanmar government allowed and sponsored a systematic launch of propaganda that was meant to portray the Rohingya as "invaders" from Bangladesh. The use of the words "Bengali" and "illegal worker" were not only repeated like scripture by the regime of Myanmar's "reformed government" but were implemented to alienate the Rohingya community. The old Junta had made a conscious effort to isolate the Rohingya from the newly "democratic" society they had created in Rangoon.

In the basic eight steps of genocide the Burmese government had already taken step one prior to the riots that took place that summer. Step one had been completed long before the attacks when the Burmese as a society decided it was acceptable to continue to highlight the ethnic and religious differences between the Rohingya and Rakhine. This is the "classification" step.

It is normal in society to note the differences between ourselves. We clearly know that some of us are Jews others are Christians and others are Muslims. In a stable society these differences float just below the surface. It isn't until a portion of society decides to manipulate these differences that the focusing on these "classifications" is actually wrong. This allows the militant portion of society to paint the image of "us versus them" instead of portraying a united society. This step allows for the combative portion of society to move on to the next steps of initiating and carrying out genocide. 

For the Burmese generals it was easy to form a symbol. Around twenty years ago the generals had tucked their symbol away by sentencing her to house arrest. Aung San Suu Kyi became the poster image of democracy in Burma. And in the end it will not matter if she actually supports the genocide against the Rohingya or not. The fact that the generals could use her image while uniting the people of the Rakhine against the Rohingya is hard to deny. For the democracy movement in Myanmar it is now clear that not everybody is created equal. 

The use of images like Aung San Suu Kyi fulfilled the second step of genocide. They had created an image to unite their followers. This was vital to giving a rallying cry for the "true Burmese" people. It also gave the generals the ability to flawlessly take the next step in committing genocide. 

Sine it is now clear that Suu Kyi does not support the Rohingya people it is easy to see that her image means little to the suffering Rohingya. However her image, her story of oppression, rang loud with the Rakhine and Arakan. This allowed the generals to use step one and step two to justify taking step three. 

Members of the regime such as Maung Aye used words like "invaders" to purposefully dehumanize the Rohingya. These descriptions allowed Maung Aye to further isolate the Rohingya within the Rakhine state. By making the distinction between the "actual Burmese" people and the "Bengali invaders" Maung Aye was able to strip the Rohingya of something all Burmese value... their connection to their homeland. 

Maung Aye had taken step three flawlessly. By dehumanizing the Rohingya he could make the "us versus them" mentality into more than just a sense of resentment. Now the Rohingya could be hated without a sense of breaking up the community that the Burmese value. Instead the Rakhine could feel that they were uniting their society against an outside threat. This would help them feel like they did back when they fought the colonial powers. This would help the Rakhine feel like "true Burmese". 

It was at this point the generals began to organize the police and military. It was at this point that the junta launched step four. 

Bringing slurs like "kalar" (dark or black) back to the forefront of society the generals were able to organize society against the Rohingya. Schools, hospitals, and even communal areas in villages suddenly started sporting signs that warned the Rohingya to not enter. Hospitals began telling would be patients that if they were "kalar" they should just stay home. To enforce this the Junta began telling police to enforce these demarcations between the Rakhine and and the Rohingya. 

In many ways these actions stumbled the generals into organization, polarization, and the preparation of the Rakhine state. And it was with this that the society in the Rakhine state was prime for disaster. 

In the midsummer of 2012 the excuse for action came. With the launch of a propaganda campaign and the claims of Rohingya atrocities, which never occurred, the generals work was justified by the horrific events that followed. 

Seemingly overnight Rohingya villages were being torched and those who could not flee were being killed. The seventh step of genocide was now being conducted within Burma. 

(Rohingya Village in Pauk Taw Burnt on October 25Th 2012)

The methods used during these attacks was similar to those seen in pogroms in Europe. The only difference here was that it was now Muslims being killed rather than Jews. From the outside one could only look at the Rakhine as though they were rabid. From the inside, the Rakhine were being fed a steady stream of propaganda from the Junta back in Rangoon. The mobs of angry Buddhists were also receiving aid and support by Myanmar military and local police. This was a state sponsored genocide. 

For those who dared go against the regime's wishes and offered any support at all to the Rohingya there were Nazi style punishments for their "treason". 

In many cases the same tactics used by the fascist Nazis of the 1930s and 40s are now being seen in Myanmar. They are used so that the Junta's "final solution" for the Rohingya can be carried out in its entirety. The young man pictured above had done little to stop the starvation of Rohingya in Myebon, Arakan st. but sell food to the Rohingya in that area. Yet by doing this the young man had helped slow the progress in the generals end goal... the deaths of all Rohingya. 

In the Arakan and Rakhine states there is now a "forced famine" in progress. In areas such as Sittwe the Rohingya that are in camps are forcibly isolated. Military and police in these areas make certain that food and water can not make it into their "refugee camps". Both outside aid groups and local Burmese are forbidden to interact with the Rohingya trapped within these concentration camps. By doing this the Myanmar government plans to starve the Rohingya or drive them out of the country all together by leaving them no other options. 

(Rohingya Child Dehydrated And Starving To Death)

Yet it is not just the Rohingya within these concentration camps that are suffering. The campaign of implementing a famine in a country not currently suffering a natural one also means that the generals must isolate those Rohingya still living in their own homes. It is these groups of Rohingya that the outside world has little or no contact. They are ironically now suffering the same sentencing that Suu Kyi just was released from. Only this time, the prisoners have no hope of getting out. 

Police and Burmese military officials have taken the method of blockading and applied it to these villages. Humanitarian aid groups have been banned from going near these areas. In some cases the aid groups have been told that these areas are just simply too dangerous to enter. And any medical or food aid that is sent to these areas is often handed over to Rakhine villages instead. Making it impossible to reach the isolated communities. Even harder to judge just how many Rohingya are still alive in these villages. 

The only things we do know about the isolated areas and the camps alike is that the old Junta methods are still in place. Rohingya men and women alike are used as slave labor for the Burmese military. Young Rohingya girls and boys are often used as sexual slaves for the Myanmar police and military alike. The raping of Rohingya is seen as legal since they technically have no right to live within Burma in the first place. It also allows the generals to keep moral up amongst the ranks since the Burmese military has been fighting endless wars every since the British left in 1948. 

As for the final stage in the the eight steps of genocide, the Burmese government has already begun the denial step. 

By simply amping up their efforts to deny the Rohingya citizenship the Burmese government is denying that they are doing anything wrong in the first place. And since the outside world is doing nothing to stop the killings or even address them as wrong the Myanmar authorities have no reason to deny anything. It is almost as though we are watching the first genocide to take place where no outside power recognizes anything as even being questionable. 

With dictators, world leaders, and the United States President all backing Burma it is hard to imagine anything will change. Obama said little to nothing in opposition to the Rohingya Genocide. If one was to listen to his speech a dozen times over they might never realize that anything was going on in Burma at all. Obama's words were carefully crafted as to not address the genocide but rather to build a relationship with the killers themselves. 

One voice that is echoing out of Burma through the miracle of Twitter is that of a refugee. Possibly the only voice left for the Rohingya, Aung Aung (@aungaungsittwe) is the link between the outside world and the restricted access we have to the Rohingya. For this reason I want to close this post by inviting all those reading it to please get on Twitter and follow Aung Aung. Through reading his post you can readily find out more about what is happening on a daily basis in Burma. And more importantly, please retweet Aung Aung every chance you get. 

Please scream for the Rohingya. Please fight for those in need of your help. 

The Slow Walk Into Hell

A Look At Burma's Forced Famine
(part of The Darkness Visible series)

(Blockades Hold Back Food, Water, and Medical Aid)

As Burma prepares the Rohingya for "citizenship" the order of the day appears to be starvation and police brutality. Thein Sein has publicly claimed that any Muslim who is a citizen of Myanmar will be treated as such under the newly formed democratic regime. Yet Rohingya and other Muslim ethnic groups in Burma have been subject to ethnic cleansing since June of 2012. This sort of violence occurred under the old Junta control and prior to Colonial power in the region. However this time around the threat of a total genocide against the Rohingya appears more plausible than ever before now that neighboring countries are developed enough to prevent escape. 

In the months that followed the massive influx of ethnic violence in the region the Junta style authorities reappeared in the Rakhine region of Burma. Police and military leaders immediately began rounding up Rohingya and in some incidents mass executions have taken place. Rohingya who were able to fight back were dealt with through systematic roundups and disarming by government and Buddhist militia like mobs. Those who survived were forced into camps that greatly resemble the small concentration camps used by the Japanese during World War Two. 

For those who were taken to police run camps and prisons the stories of torture became a very real situation. Boys as young as their early teens have been taken to these "safe houses" and prisons where they have been subjected to torture without ever once being convicted of any crime. Piles of bodies have been reported near or behind these facilities so as to leave the Muslim bodies out and unburied well past the time allotted for such ceremonies given by the Koran.

Yet now that the outside world has shown even the most minimal amount of interest the Burmese government has pulled back on outright slaughter of the Rohingya. Instead of the mass executions that immediately followed the outbreak of violence, the Myanmar authorities have turned to their Communist teachings for inspiration in implementing the Rohingyas' "final solution". Following in the footsteps of Stalin, Thein Sien's government has begun expanding upon their original goal of starving out the Rohingya who they claim hide in the "illegal refugee camps". This method is meant to recreate Stalin's infamous "forced famines". 

(Wasting Away As The Outside World Watches)

The goal of this barbaric method of warfare is to force submission or extermination of a selected group by withholding the basics all humans need to live. In the case of the Rohingya the Burmese have decided to blockade the camps and keep all sources of food, water, and medical aid out of Rohingya hands. Police and military have been recorded going into the camps to fetch any source of food or water that the Rohingya may scavenge. The blockades also serve as a way to keep the Rohingya in the camps so that they have no hope of escape. In affect, the refugee camps within Myanmar have become death camps. 

Starvation is the new reality for the Rohingya who hoped this wave of ethnic cleansing would pass like all the rest. Their children are dieing at an alarming rate as malnutrition claims the weakest members of their community first. Without some form of help soon the Rohingya within Burma may face total hell at the hands of their tormentors. 

There are stories leaking out of Burma that the government is growing tired of waiting. That the regime wants the "final solution" sooner than later. Military personnel have been reported to have been growing in number in regions further away from where Western media normally has access too. These soldiers, as usual, carry only more ammunition and absolutely no aid for the Rohingya they are now harassing. Even with starvation claiming more lives every day... it appears the Buddhists in charge are looking to cleanse their land of all other religions once and for all. 

This is the face of genocide in the modern age. This is the face of genocide in Myanmar. How long till we act? How many more times do we have to watch this before our hearts begin to beat?

With Eyes Wide Shut

The World Looks To Burma
(Part of The Darkness Visible series)

(Rohingya Boy Starving To Death As Aid Is Blockaded)

MTV Exit recently did a concert to help raise awareness of modern day slavery that plagues Southeast Asia. The use of sexual slavery and indentured servitude has been a horrific part of life for many around the world. But there is in fact a far worse reality than slavery for some in Southeast Asia. This reality is a systematic slaughter of a people based on their ethnic and religious background. This reality is the genocide occurring to the Rohingya people of Myanmar. 

Make no mistake, Alder's Ledge has written article after article depicting the horrors of slavery and human trafficking around the world. We do not discredit the drastic need for action to be taken to save those kept in bondage across the globe. But we do believe that the living should take backseat to those about to die. 

This is the Hidden Genocide. It is not a "humanitarian crisis" like that of slavery. This is murder. This is genocide. There is no tomorrow for many of the faces we have shown here on Alder's Ledge. There is no hope for many who are now dead after months of neglect. These are the faces of souls that are lost to genocide or about to die due to the ineptitude of the Western world. 

In Sittwe, Burma the genocide has taken on the characteristics of Nazi Germany. The "undesirables" are being kept in what can only be described as concentration camps. These are the Rohingya. These are the "ethnically unclean" that Burma and Bangladesh have denied citizenship to. These are the people that Thein Sein's government has marked for annihilation. 

On Myebon Peninsula (in the Rakhine State) the Rohingya concentration camp is kept isolated and blockaded from humanitarian aid. Meanwhile the Buddhist who had fled the summer fighting are allowed to come and go form their camp freely. Their camp is the only one on the peninsula that is open for humanitarian aid to come in. The Buddhist are given food, water, and medicine in excess while the Rohingya die daily from starvation and readily preventable diseases. 

 Phu Ma Gyi's home was destroyed in the fighting. She is Buddhist. For that reason she is given a home in the government camp for the "Burmese citizens". In her own words...

"The government is looking after us here," she says. "We have food, medicine and what we need."

 As for the Rohingya on that same peninsula life has given them no certainty. They are prevented from receiving food. Those who have any form of bartering material left or money are prevented from going into neighboring villages to purchase food. Water is all around them, but it is salt water. Those who are sick in this concentration camp are left to die from ailments that could be prevented. Communicable diseases are just as fatal killers as are the bullets and knives of Rakhine Buddhists. 

(Rohingya Baby Starved To Death As Blockades Hold)

There is no famine currently occurring in Myanmar. There is no shortage of food in the country, anywhere. This is forced famine. This is a method of systematic slaughter through attrition. And this is why Alder's Ledge remains relentless in presenting the tragic fate these innocent souls now face. This is a fate that could be prevented. It is a tragedy that could be stopped right now. 

In this modern age of mass media it is impossible to hide these crimes against humanity. With even the poor now armed with cell phones it is hard for dictators to silence the outcry of oppressed. Even with the best attempts, such as Assad in Syria, the ruthless tyrants have had little luck in preventing the images of genocide from making it out to the rest of the world. And yet the world seems helpless to prevent these tragedies from happening in the first place. 

A Concert For The Damned?

In Very Poor Taste
(Part of The Darkness Visible series)

(Rohingya Die From Starvation Every Day)

On December 16Th Jason Mraz will be playing a concert to help bring awareness to the plight of people bound in modern day slavery. These victims are bound in modern day practice of slavery we call "human trafficking". Many are traded for slave labor in factories and house servants. Others are indentured servants kept in slavery for most of their lives with the lofty dream of being free once their "debt" is payed off. Most however are traded as sexual slaves forced into lives of prostitution. All are robbed of their freedoms that G-d himself gave each and every one of us from our first breath. 

The concert is part of MTV's program MTV EXIT. It is a project I have supported on Twitter in the past. However the problem with this concert is simple... and obvious to those who follow human rights issues. Especially that of genocide. 

MTV plans to take their showmanship to one of the world's most impoverished hell holes. This place violates all its citizens' basic human rights and liberties. It denies citizenship to those who it deems unworthy of life. And at the current moment is a country actively engaged in the intentional destruction of a specific ethnic group on basis of religion and ethnicity alike. MTV is planning to host this concert, mainly for a Western audience, in Myanmar. 

(Internally Displaced Rohingya Die From Disease)

It is beyond a doubt the most blatant and disgusting attempt at self-adulation I have seen in some time. Practically breaking their arms to pat themselves on the back, MTV EXIT has decided to host a lavish concert in a country where portions of the population can barely eat one meal a day. And instead of recognizing the hellish conditions the Rohingya in Myanmar are subjected to, MTV EXIT wants to point out a human rights violation that has little to do with the genocide Myanmar's government is perpetrating right now. 

Even President Barack Obama, a humanitarian when his political image benefits from it, took time to at least mutter some words of condolence for the Rohingya who were dieing from starvation as he spoke to the Rakhine. MTV EXIT however does not seem ready to confront the worse evil our species has ever brought upon this earth. Instead they would rather carry on with a concert that in the end will only serve to glorify the pompous rich like Jason Mraz. 

(Rohingya Children Are At The Greatest Risk)

Instead of taking meaningful action to help those in need the liberal ideals that tug at the heart would have us listen to hollow words and lullabies for the dead and dieing.