State In Myanmar Research Articles

The Brain Is Not Working (Thluak Rian a Ttuan Lo): Perceptions of Mental Illness in a Resettled Chin Community

For decades, violent conflict has caused forced displacement throughout Myanmar. Chin people, largely from the northwestern Chin state in Myanmar, have been subjected to this violence resulting in displacement and resettlement with refugee status for thousands of Chin people. Scholars have often endeavored to understand the psychological outcomes of displacement and resettlement, with empirical work often dedicated to the onset of posttraumatic stress, depression, anxiety, and other Western-defined constructs of mental illness being correlated with traumatic experiences. These endeavors fail to center cultural explanations of mental illness among specific cultural groups like the Chin. Therefore, we used a community-collaborative, grounded theory approach to interview Chin people ( N = 20) resettled in the midwestern United States. Grounded theory analyses led to identification of two categories reflecting participants’ explanatory models of mental illness: (a) The Brain is Not working and (b) Causal Beliefs of The Brain not Working. The first category has one subcategory (Symptoms of the Brain not Working) and the second category is separated into three subcategories: (a) Going Crazy, Being Born Like that, and Thinking too Much as Causes, (b) Religion as an Explanation, and (c) “Control Your Heart”: Personal Responsibility and the Onset of Illness. These are discussed in light of the need to better understand cultural models of illness for Chin people with refugee status in contexts of resettlement. Specific attention is afforded to potential importance of this idiom of distress.

Prefiguring a democratic state: student activism and the National Education Law in Myanmar

ABSTRACT This article aims to contribute to contemporary understanding of student activism dynamics by using insights from prefiguration literature. We use practical prefiguration and conceptual prefiguration to analyse student protests against education reform in Myanmar in 2014–2015. Using in-depth interviews with student activists, their list of educational demands, and secondary sources regarding educational legislation, we unpack the complex relationship between educational claims and national politics that characterised the students’ struggle. We show how the students reimagined a new and better version of the Myanmar state by using both educational practice and theory to fuse the future with the present, the desired with the possible.

The effect of different types of migration on symptoms of anxiety or depression and experience of violence among people who use or inject drugs in Kachin State, Myanmar

BackgroundEvidence on the social determinants of mental health conditions and violence among people who inject or use drugs (PWUD) is limited, particularly in conflict-affected countries. We estimated the prevalence of symptoms of anxiety or depression and experience of emotional or physical violence among PWUD in Kachin State in Myanmar and examined their association with structural determinants, focusing on types of past migration (migration for any reason, economic or forced displacement).MaterialsA cross-sectional survey was conducted among PWUD attending a harm reduction centre between July and November 2021 in Kachin State, Myanmar. We used logistic regression models to measure associations between past migration, economic migration and forced displacement on two outcomes (1) symptoms of anxiety or depression (Patient Health Questionnaire-4) and (2) physical or emotional violence (last 12 months), adjusted for key confounders.ResultsA total of 406, predominantly male (96.8%), PWUD were recruited. The median age (IQR) was 30 (25, 37) years, most injected drugs (81.5%) and more commonly opioid substances such as heroin or opium (85%). Symptoms of anxiety or depression (PHQ4 ≥ 6) were high (32.8%) as was physical or emotional violence in the last 12 months (61.8%). Almost one-third (28.3%) had not lived in Waingmaw for their whole life (migration for any reason), 77.9% had left home for work at some point (economic migration) and 19.5% had been forced to leave home due to war or armed conflict (forced displacement). A third were in unstable housing in the last 3 months (30.1%) and reported going hungry in the last 12 months (27.7%). Only forced displacement was associated with symptoms of anxiety or depression [adjusted odds ratio, aOR 2.33 (95% confidence interval, CI 1.32–4.11)] and recent experience of violence [aOR 2.18 (95% CI 1.15–4.15)].ConclusionFindings highlight the importance of mental health services integrated into existing harm reduction services to address high levels of anxiety or depression among PWUD, particularly among those who have been displaced through armed conflict or war. Findings reinforce the need to address broader social determinants, in the form of food poverty, unstable housing and stigma, in order to reduce mental health and violence.

Difference in dependence on forest resources between first generation migrants and their descendants in southern Shan State, Myanmar

Forest resources have the potential to act as a safety net for those who live in or migrate to rural areas. The aim of this study was to assess the difference in dependence on forest resources between first generation migrants and their descendants in a village in the southern Shan State of Myanmar that includes different ethnic groups and has experienced population growth. Their perceptions of collective action for sustainable forest resource management were also analyzed. Primary data were collected through semi-structured interviews with households, interviews with key informants, and focus group discussions. The first generation had a greater diversity of income sources than the second generation; in addition, households that earned income from non-timber forest products (NTFPs) were found to have a lower total annual income than those that did not, across the generations. This result demonstrates the function of NTFPs as a safety net for rural migrants whose livelihood is dependent on forest resources. Furthermore, participation by first and second generation migrants in collective action for sustainable forest resource management was found to be low. Rather, the heterogeneity of villagers should be taken into consideration by policy makers and implementing agencies for sustainable forest resource governance.

Fungsi ASEAN Intergovernmental Commision on Human Rights (AICHR) Dalam Perlindungan HAM Di Wilayah Domestik Myanmar

Introduction: Human rights have not been of particular concern at the inception of ASEAN. Until then, there were several cases of human rights violations that occurred in the ASEAN region.Purposes of the Research: The aim of this writing is to study and delve the Role of AICHR in protecting Human Rights in domestic Myanmar. Methods of the Research: The method used is a normative juridical research method using statutory approach, conceptual approach, and case approach.Results of the Research: The results obtained from the research, it is proven that ASEAN Integovernmental Commission AICHR has fulfilled its function to protect Human Rights conflict in domestic Myanmar. AICHR seeks to obtain information on Human Rights violations occured in the domestic territory of Myanmar, and apply regular approach as well in dealing with issue of Human Rights violations in Myanmar which considered to be the function of AICHR Commission. The efforts managed by AICHR to protect Human Rights in Myanmar domestic territory are conducting consultations and discussions with the state of Myanmar, and holding workshops to discuss Human Rights violations on regional level together with ASEAN member countries for any Human Rights violations occured in Myanmar's domestic territory. AICHR endeavour to comply with ASEAN Principles poured in the ASEAN Charter, abides The Principle of Respect for State Sovereignty and The Principle of Non-Intervention.

THE ROLE OF MILITARISM IN THE POLITICAL AND SOCIAL DYNAMICS OF MYANMAR SOCIETY

This paper discusses how the Myanmar military took back power from the government, the democratic efforts built by the Myanmar government returned to a dream after the coup on 1 February 2021. The conflict between civil society and militarism became something that could not be avoided, people took to the streets and made a ceasefire, thousands of civilians were killed in the democracy they aspired to, some-ASEAN communities condemned the conflict that occurred. The purpose of this paper, to see how the dynamics of the Myanmar state in building a complete democracy with a military coup, as well as the role of the Military in the socio-political dynamics in Myanmar, the methodology used is a qualitative method, with the approach of conflict theory, welfare theory.

Occurrence of Some Mosquito Species in Tha-Ma-Nya Village, Hpa-an Township, Kayin State in Myanmar

Among the numerous species of blood-sucking insects, mosquitoes stand out as most offensive to man and other warm-blooded animals. Mosquitoes were collected by indoor and outdoor CDC light traps in randomly selected household and larvae were collected in and around 3 Kilo meter radius from the study site. A total of 14 species, five genera under family Culicidae were recorded in Tha-ma-nya village. Recorded species included two species under genus Aedes, three species under genus Culex one species under the genus Armigeres, one species under the genus Toxorhynchities and 7 species under genus Anopheles. Species inentification was done according to different morphological keys. Altogether seven out of 14 recorded mosquito species were medically important vector species. Aedes aegypti and Ae. albopictus were primary and secondary vectors of dengue fever. Culex quinquefasciatus is a microfilariasis vector. The important vectors of Japanese encephalitis are Culex tritaeniorhynchus and Culex gelidus. High density of malaria vector Anopheles dirus was collected in outdoor light trap than An. minimus, although An. minimus was collected high density by indoor CDC light traps. Virus of Japanese encephalitis could transmit from rearing pig and ducks to persons living in the study area. Indoor clear water containers serve as the favorable places for living Aedes spp. Outdoor water storage concrete tanks provided stagnant water to breed Culex and Anopheles species. Water pools, rock pools and rice fields water were found high preferences for breeding of malaria vectors An. dirus and An. minimus larvae and An. dirus larvae was also collected from concrete tanks. Microfilariasis vector Cx. quinquefqsciatus and JE vector Cx. tritaeniorhynchus larvae were collected from polluted water pools and Dengue vector larvae as Aedes larvae were collected from metal drums, bago jars and concrete tanks. Status of the mosquito species composition in the Tha-ma-nya village provided database not only for further researches but also for giving good knowledge and practice in health workers for effective control of vector borne diseases.

States of Legal Denial: How the State in Myanmar Uses Law to Exclude the Rohingya

States of Legal Denial: How the State in Myanmar Uses Law to Exclude the Rohingya

Ethnicity and Conflict: Understanding Rohingya Issue in Myanmar

The terms'Ethnicity' and 'conflict' are often correlated when discussing the conflicts within any nation's boundaries. Most likely, the state of Myanmar and the conflict with the Rohingya are one of the recent examples. This study intends to investigate how the ethnic identity of the Rohingya people manifested itself as strife in Myanmar society. Two questions: Firstly, why has Rohingya ethnicity become a question of "belongingness"? Secondly, howis ethnic identity entwined with politics and becomes a cultural threat?

A Financial Cost-benefit Analysis of Forest Plantation for Restoration Program in Shan State of Myanmar

A Financial Cost-benefit Analysis of Forest Plantation for Restoration Program in Shan State of Myanmar

The Social Power Ideology between Buddhist and Islam Represented in Times Magazine

This study aimed to determine the critical discourse analysis of news about Rohingya refugees published by theTimes magazine.The qualitative descriptive method is used as the basis for thinking, and thecritical paradigm is used as the point of view of this analysis. The theoryused is the theory of Power and Domination from Teun Van Dijk. The subject of this research is a discourse leaked by the Times magazine entitled "When Buddhist Go Bad". The results of his research are that the Times Magazine represents the Buddhist doctrine in Myanmar with extreme social power and dominance because it is defended by the Myanmar state to discriminate against Rohingya refugees. Furthermore, as a result of the ideology, socialpower, and domination that the Buddhists own, in the result, the discrimination must be accepted by Rohingya refugees.

A new species of Luisia (Orchidaceae) from Shan State, Myanmar

A new species, Luisia verrucosaKurzweil, Nob.Tanaka & Ormerod, from Shan State in Myanmar is described and illustrated. It is very distinct in the genus, characterised by (1) light pinkish and purple-marked navicular sepals which are coarsely verrucose on the outside, especially in their distal part, (2) light pinkish and irregularly pink-dotted lorate-elliptic petals with yellow tips, and (3) a lip with a comparatively large, oblong-elliptic, maroon-purple epichile with prominent callosities in the form of massive bulges. Because its lip does not have a constriction or prominent boundary line between hypochile and epichile, it is superficially similar to Luisia brachystachys (Lindl.) Blume, but the new species differs by having considerably larger flowers with verrucose sepals and pronounced lip ornaments.

‘Blunt’ biopolitical rebel rule: on weapons and political geography at the edge of the state

ABSTRACT This article analyzes the ways in which processes of weapons acquisition and armed collectives formation contribute to shape rebel polities – with their populations and attendant political geographies – in frontier spaces. It argues that the acquisition of weapons and the formation of an armed ensemble are shaped by political rationalities and techniques of governing the entanglements between humans and weapons that are diffused throughout society as a whole. Drawing on biopolitical governmentality, I also show that by governing weapons acquisition and the formation of an armed force rebel movements shape the rebel polity’s collective identity and political geographies of ‘vital’ space in frontiers. Harnessing fieldwork-based research to study Ta’ang rebel movements in Myanmar, I find that weapons acquisition and the formation of an armed ensembles have been inflected by govern-mentalities of narcotics eradication and ethnonationality. The article concludes that some forms of rebel rule at the edge of the state in Myanmar can be qualified as ‘blunt’ following work by anthropologist Elliott Prasse-Freeman. That is to say, rebel rule lacking the governmental apparatuses to intensively know and promote life at aggregate scales still operates massifications and divisions of biological populations and political space via the formation and governing of armed ensembles.

Shanzhai: Creative Imitation of China in Highland Myanmar

Abstract The Wa State of Myanmar is often called “shanzhai China,” that is, a lesser imitation of China. This essay unpacks the material and symbolic implications of creative imitation at the Chinese periphery, embodied in shanzhai 山寨 practices. Literally “mountain fortress,” shanzhai refers to the provenience of cheap brand imitations, made by mountain dwellers who cannot afford the original. The term is commonly used to describe creative and ironic brand imitation in the People's Republic of China today. Until the 1950s, the inhabitants of the Wa hills did indeed live in mountain fortresses—both a pragmatic necessity as well as a miniature repetition of Chinese imperial rule. The pragmatic limitations and creative potential of imitating China are shown for the cases of Maoism, authoritarian capitalism, and contemporary nationhood. Rather than an essentialized feature of Chinese cultural practice, the practices of shanzhai reveal that material and symbolic recombination are essential to creative imitation.

Sovereignty as Care: Acquaintances, Mutuality, and Scale in the Wa State of Myanmar

AbstractSovereignty always relies on a double movement of violence and care. It requires the power to exercise violence as well as the capacity to care, to protect, and to nourish. In the footsteps of Foucault and Agamben, numerous scholars have rediscovered the same paradox in philosophical and legal texts. Anthropologists writing about informal and practical sovereignty pay attention to violence, but sometimes ignore the importance of care for the exercise of sovereignty. Against such tendencies to focus on texts and on violence, this article deals with sovereignty as care. The concrete examples are the relationships of care between commanders, soldiers, and villagers in the Wa State of Myanmar, a de-facto state governed by an insurgent army. In the absence of an effective government bureaucracy, popular sovereignty in this military state relies on a particular logic of personal relations, in which care is central. Subordinates have to careaboutleaders, whereas leaders are supposed to careforsubordinates. Care provides the balance and foil for the exercise of violence, and both are necessary for the exercise of sovereignty. The combination of violence and care in personal relations is scaled up to create “the people” as the subject and object of sovereignty. The article describes the logic of personal relations that allows for the exercise of popular sovereignty in the Wa State and elsewhere.

ICT skills and challenges faced by high school teachers of Inle Lake located in the Nyaungshwe township of Shan State in Myanmar

In western Shan State of Myanmar, there is a picturesque lake, famous for its floating villages and gardens and the unique way of life of the local Intha people, with their living communities based entirely on the water. The present survey research was aimed at identifying the ICT facilities, skills, usage, and the problems faced by the high school teachers of basic education while using ICT. The population of the study comprised the teachers of 17 Inle villages. Instrument was developed by the first author. About 102 state high school teachers were selected from three government high schools. Descriptive statistics were used to analyze the data. The findings revealed that only some of the teachers have computers and Internet facilities at home and school. They are expert at simple skills like searching and browsing internet, social networking, and MS word but are less skilled or poor on other skills like using MS access, discussion forums/blogs and Windows file management. Teachers spend more time on computers for academic and other purposes than for recreational purpose. They believe that the use of ICT supports their learning, lack of technical support at home and at school, load shedding at home and at school and signal problem in Internet at home and are the problems faced by most of the teachers. Thus, the government high schools should invest more on improving the infrastructure to address the ICT related problems of teachers at the schools.

Forest Fire in the Hindu Kush Himalayas: A Major Challenge for Climate Action

Forest fire has been one of the compelling issues in the Hindu Kush Himalayan (HKH) region. To promote regeneration, clearing fields for agriculture, hunting, and security reasons, local people deliberately set forests on fire. In this paper, active fire incidents, temperature, precipitation, and the changes of Aerosol Optical Depth (AOD) and Carbon monoxide (CO) value associated with forest fire were evaluated. The active forest fire incidents obtained from the Moderate Resolution Imaging Spectroradiometer (MODIS) satellite are supplemented by the ERA5-land dataset to see the relation between precipitation and temperature with forest fires. MODIS and Tropospheric Monitoring Instrument (TROPOMI) sensor datasets were used to see the changes in AOD and CO in the region. MODIS sensor detected more than 30,462 active fires incidents in March and April 2021 in the study areas. Shan State of Myanmar recorded the maximum number of active fire incidents which is due to the practice of shifting cultivation and minimum in Bhutan due to the awareness campaigns and technology improvement. The temperature recorded in the study sites shows an increasing trend as compared to the reference period (2010-2020). Apart from Shan and Bago of Myanmar, precipitation in the study sites is also less during the study period. AOD and CO values show prominent peaks in a fire season which coincide with days of the maximum number of fire counts inferring the influence of forest fire on air quality. Developing countries like Nepal, India, Myanmar, and Bhutan are willing to take part in climate finance and are bound to accept expensive insurance premium due to forest fire incidents. Unless forest fires are effectively managed and mitigated, achieving Nationally Determined Contributions (NDCs) and global agendas, including United Nations Decade of Ecosystem Restoration is onerous.

MYANMAR: ETHNIC CLEANSING OF ROHINGYA. FROM ETHNIC NATIONALISM TO ETHNO-RELIGIOUS NATIONALISM

Rohingya, an ethnic minority group in the Rakhine state of Myanmar, has been levelled as one of the most persecuted ethnic groups in contemporary time. For the last five decades, they have been undergoing systematic torture ranging from deprivation of citizenship to mass killing and forceful eviction from their inhabitants. The army of Myanmar spearheads this persecution, which is deemed as genocidal. However, the engagement of radical Buddhist groups and support from the local Burmese population worsened the situation. Along with army inter-vention and ethnic differences, some economic and geostrategic question is highlighted behind this inhuman situation. But Myanmar consists of more than 100 ethnic groups, and there are other similar areas with similar economic and geostrategic importance. Though there are several instances of conflict in some of those areas, they are almost unparalleled comparing that of the Rakhine state. Having acknowledged the multiple genealogies of this conflict, this paper focuses more on the state/nation building process of Myanmar to understand the exceptionalism of Rohingya persecution. We want to argue that rather than ethnic tension or geostrategic interest, the nation/state-building of Myanmar in different phases of its history can put more light on the unique suffering of the Rohingya population in Myanmar. Analyzing the key historical transition of Myanmar, we attempt to trace the gradual exclusivity of the Rohingya people in the evolution of State manufactured discourse on the question of nation and their deliberate enactment of speciϐic identity while alienating the other. Keywords: Rohingya, Myanmar, Nationalism, Identity, State/Nation-Building.

Determinants of institutional maternity services utilization in Myanmar.

Maternal mortality is a persistent public health problem worldwide. The maternal mortality ratio of Myanmar was 250 deaths per 100,000 live births in 2017 which was the second-highest among ASEAN member countries in that year. Myanmar's infant mortality rate was twice the average of ASEAN member countries in 2020. This study examined factors influencing institutional maternity service utilization and identified the need for improved maternal health outcomes. A cross-sectional study design was used to examine the experience of 3,642 women from the 2015-16 Myanmar Demographic and Health Survey by adapting Andersen's Behavioral Model. Both descriptive and inferential statistics were applied. Adjusted odds ratios and 95% confidence interval were reported in the logistic regression results. The findings illustrate that the proportion of women who delivered their last child in a health/clinical care facility was 39.7%. Women live in rural areas, states/regions with a high levels of poverty, poor households, experience with financial burden and the husband's occupation in agriculture or unskilled labor were negatively associated with institutional delivery. While a greater number of ANC visits and level of the couple's education had a positive association with institutional delivery. The determinants of institutional delivery utilization in this study related to the institutional facilities environment imply an improvement of the institutional availability and accessibility in rural areas, and different states/regions, particularly Chin, Kayah and Kachin States- the poorest states in Myanmar. The poverty reduction strategies are urgently implemented because problems on health care costs and household economic status played important roles in institutional delivery utilization. The ANC visits indicated a significant increase in institutional delivery. The government needs to motivate vulnerable population groups to seek ANC and institutional delivery. Moreover, education is crucial in increasing health knowledge, skills, and capabilities. Thus, improving access to quality, formal, and informal education is necessary.

\u201cMost of the cases are very similar.\u201d: Documenting and corroborating conflict-related sexual violence affecting Rohingya refugees

BackgroundIn August 2017, a large population of Rohingya from northern Rakhine state in Myanmar fled to Bangladesh due to “clearance operations” by the Myanmar security forces characterized by widespread and systematic violence, including extensive conflict-related sexual violence (CRSV). This study sought to document the patterns of injuries and conditions experienced by the Rohingya, with a specific focus on sexual violence.MethodsQualitative interviews were conducted with 26 health care professionals who cared for Rohingya refugees after their arrival in Bangladesh between November 2019 and August 2020.ResultsHealth care workers universally reported hearing accounts and seeing evidence of sexual and gender-based violence committed against Rohingya people of all genders by the Myanmar military and security forces. They observed physical and psychological consequences of such acts against the Rohingya while patients were seeking care. Health care workers shared that patients faced pressure not to disclose their experiences of CRSV, likely resulted in an underreporting of the prevalence of sexual violence. Forced witnessing of sexual violence and observed increases in pregnancy and birth rates as a result of rape are two less-reported issues that emerged from these data.ConclusionsHealthcare workers corroborated previous reports that the Rohingya experienced CRSV at the hands of the Myanmar military and security forces. Survivors often revealed their experiences of sexual violence while seeking care for a variety of physical and psychological conditions. Stigma, cultural pressure, and trauma created barriers to disclosing experiences of sexual violence and likely resulted in an underreporting of the prevalence of sexual violence. The findings of this research emphasize the importance of offering universal and comprehensive trauma-informed services to all refugees with the presumption of high rates of trauma in this population and many survivors who may never identify themselves as such.