On boat people: More SINNERS than saints

[SparklingCascades]

Clearly 'Tell It As It Is' - cannot quite - tell it like it is else the military will set the writer adrift.

Blaming the West for ignoring the plight of economic migrants or genuine refugees, blaming Israel are hardly good reasons for the Thai navy to have presided over people-smuggling for the past 10 years or for the Thai navy to have repaired the engine of a boat last week before pushing it back into international waters.......Tell us how we can clean up our patch Mr. Tell-it-like-it-is before deflecting blame by pointing fingers at the behaviors in the West & elsewhere which upset your one-eyed thinking.

But then again if you 'Tell-it-Like-It-Is' the military may set you adrift so best to stay with a script which pleases ones masters.

As a Thai I feel ashamed of one-sided opinions like this one. It tells of a slavish kow-towing mentality among some Thais.

Analysis like this do nothing to address the corruption (people smuggling, slave labor on boats, an airline which is B-listed, yellow-card for fishing practices, black-listed for trade in wild animal parts, seller of fake duplicate goods..........) which is destroying my country. shame....try to 'Tell-it-Like-It-Is' please.

[Thaddeus]

per wiki

The Brits brought many Rhoyingya in as workers.

When Brits bailed out, they armed the R to hold the line against the Japs.

But instead R used the guns to murder 10's of thousands of Buddhist neighbors.

>>>>>>>>>>>>>>

Hence hatred for R by Burmese.

Even "the Lady".

Karma?

The Rohingya community in Burma has roots going back 1000 years.

Shhhhh, don't say that BP, it totally ruins the day for the average Brit basher.

[JoeLing]

Sanctions need to be reimposed...

Well, whilst sanctions by EU countries, the USA etc were previously in place, most Asian nations (eg China, Singapore, Thailand) openly ignored these sanctions and invested in (and exploited) Myanmar.

Sanctions are not the answer - they will not force a generation of Myanmar Buddhists who has been taught to hate and discriminate against Muslims to suddenly open their hearts to them.

Sanctions and boycotts do work but they take their time, something we do not have in the West. (Time is money)

Sanctions in place are lifted by our western governments as we worry, someone else will have a bigger market share then we have and not because situations have improved. Selling Coke and Burgers is more important than a few persecuted, displaced people who have nothing. (They can't afford Burgers or Coke anyway whilst the Generals there spend a fortune on western "toys")

Conflicts in other countries are a huge factor for our wealth and it's sure not our intention to stop any of those lucrative businesses. So of course, we fuel this phobia of all the different minorities, be it race, religion, ethnicity. We use them as scapegoats, chastise them and start generalizing to bring fear in to those so highly educated Mr. & Mrs Average.

Suppose that's what the majority of western people are happy with. As long it's not in my backyard, as long Football, Burgers and Coke fuel our collective amnesia, it's not our problem.

Edited May 21, 2015 by JoeLing

[Oziex1]

Desperate people...looking for a place to call home...work...raise a family in relative peace...in many parts of the world...

As the 1% get richer...and continue monetary policies which enslave the masses...this problem is only going to get worse...

The future is very bleak indeed...the boat people are just the 1st evidence of a much larger world problem...

We are just a major catastrophe away from mass anarchy in the world's cities...

Then where will the 1% hide?

Thanks GGT you have really nailed it and the word is inequality we will be hearing this word more and more from now on.

Not all of the 1% are uncaring bastards as nothing makes money like money it's self. More of the new wealthy are philanthropists than the old moneyed, however as much as they give away it is not closing the ever widening gap between the haves and havenots.

Governments need to start looking into the issue of inequality, but governments of all sides cannot tackle the super rich as they are too powerful.

[JoeLing]

If we are going to open the borders to these migrants we should be fair and consistent and open our borders to all.

The Visa and Visas for other countries sections of this forum are full of posts by people who are trying to follow the rules and do things in a legal manner. If the migrants are allowed to move freely from one country to another with a minimum of fuss, paperwork and cost, so should everyone else.

A friend of mine recently got a long term US visa for her Thai husband. Now, he was educated in the US, getting both his BS and MS there, and has worked as an engineer for the Thai government for about 10 years. Despite this background it took them almost a year and endless fuss and bother to get him his visa. It would probably have been easier and quicker to put him on a boat and cast him adrift a few miles offshore.

Refugees are not migrants, immigrants, ex-pats or tourists.

How could you even compare?

Most of the refugees would probably be pretty happy to stay in their homes if they could.

[wabothai]

Cockroaches" and "a plague of feral humans" were the terms used to describe boat people earlier this month by Katie Hopkins, a British television personality. She proposed that nations "bring on gunships, force migrants back to their shores and burn the boats".

I would suggest that Katie Hopkins should be cast adrift on a pedalo in the Med and we can all throw rocks at her.

I hope she will be fired and while collecting she has time to think about her "personality".

Actually she ought to be keel hauled.

[nithisa78]

Cockroaches" and "a plague of feral humans" were the terms used to describe boat people earlier this month by Katie Hopkins, a British television personality. She proposed that nations "bring on gunships, force migrants back to their shores and burn the boats".

I would suggest that Katie Hopkins should be cast adrift on a pedalo in the Med and we can all throw rocks at her.

Thad that's a grand idea. However, let's stay off her level and just help. Don't waste rocks. We can use them to build shelters.

[retarius]

Katie Who? another "celebrity" who makes her money from insulting all on Sundry, and another reason why Hangovers were invented!!

KH, the UK's own Michelle Bachman...ugh!

[bumpkin]

Why is there no ongoing, loud and outright international condemnation of Burma for allowing this situation to arise and in colluding in it's continuation ? Only a whisper from the UN, so quiet that no-one has heard.

Sure, Burma is (supposed to be) emerging from a dark period of dictatorship, but this no reason for allowing that country to develop along this route. This is not the way a modern democracy treats it's citizens. Burma may now have a so-called democracy, but she (or her governing class) has obviously learnt little from her recent past.

Could this be because Burma is now seen as an investment opportunity by richer countries and their international corporations ?

[bumpkin]

ring WW2

per wiki

The Brits brought many Rhoyingya in as workers.

When Brits bailed out, they armed the R to hold the line against the Japs.

But instead R used the guns to murder 10's of thousands of Buddhist neighbors.

>>>>>>>>>>>>>>

Hence hatred for R by Burmese.

Even "the Lady".

Karma?

The Rohingya community in Burma has roots going back 1000 years.

During WW2, many Rohingyans ( and some Buddhists) were enlisted to defend against the invading Japanese. Many Buddhists were involved in supporting the Japanese, some actively and others passively. This created tensions which have lasted, and successive Burmese admistrations have done nothing to address this, rather, they have encouraged this sectarian division.

[srchino]

I didn't realize you Brits had your own Ann Coulter. You have my pity, and unfortunately, my empathy.

Edited May 21, 2015 by srchino

[Docno]

per wiki

The Brits brought many Rhoyingya in as workers.

When Brits bailed out, they armed the R to hold the line against the Japs.

But instead R used the guns to murder 10's of thousands of Buddhist neighbors.

>>>>>>>>>>>>>>

Hence hatred for R by Burmese.

Even "the Lady".

Karma?

The Rohingya community in Burma has roots going back 1000 years.

There is no consensus on this. Of course, the Rohingya themselves make claims like these, but the term "Rohingya" didn't even exist before the British arrived.

For a view contrary to yours, see https://www.soas.ac.uk/sbbr/editions/file64388.pdf, though it must be noted that it was written by a Burmese academic. To add some balance, here is an analysis by a former British ambassador to Thailand: http://www.networkmyanmar.org/images/stories/PDF17/Rohingya-Identity-rev.pdf. His concluding statement is that: "... supporters of Rakhine Muslims overseas should at the same time acknowledge that the particular designation 'Rohingya' had no serious historical validity prior to independence in 1948".

[NongKhaiKid]

The problem with temporary camps is that they often turn out to be permanent,no easy solutions to this,not whilst the Burmese govt,are quite happy to see them all get on boats,and leave.

Oh so true and the Hong Kong government can advise on that.

The Vietnamese Boat people started arriving in the late '70s and when i left in 1996 there were still more than 5,000 in camps with no chance of resettlement as nobody wanted them.

Repatriation was the only way out and Vietnam was accepting those willing to return, with a cash incentive to do so, but others were holding on having been fed false hopes of moving on by people who should have known better.

[Bluespunk]

per wiki

The Brits brought many Rhoyingya in as workers.

When Brits bailed out, they armed the R to hold the line against the Japs.

But instead R used the guns to murder 10's of thousands of Buddhist neighbors.

>>>>>>>>>>>>>>

Hence hatred for R by Burmese.

Even "the Lady".

Karma?

The Rohingya community in Burma has roots going back 1000 years.

There is no consensus on this. Of course, the Rohingya themselves make claims like these, but the term "Rohingya" didn't even exist before the British arrived.

For a view contrary to yours, see https://www.soas.ac.uk/sbbr/editions/file64388.pdf, though it must be noted that it was written by a Burmese academic. To add some balance, here is an analysis by a former British ambassador to Thailand: http://www.networkmyanmar.org/images/stories/PDF17/Rohingya-Identity-rev.pdf. His concluding statement is that: "... supporters of Rakhine Muslims overseas should at the same time acknowledge that the particular designation 'Rohingya' had no serious historical validity prior to independence in 1948".

Yes I know that and I find the evidence for the longer history more convincing. The community has been their for at least a millennia according to it and I believe it. The term Rohingya has been used since the time of the French Revolution. Edited May 21, 2015 by Bluespunk

[nithisa78]

Katie Who? another "celebrity" who makes her money from insulting all on Sundry, and another reason why Hangovers were invented!!

KH, the UK's own Michelle Bachman...ugh!

Yes agreed their lives are better than yours.

Much more intelligent, to say the least.

[bannork]

per wiki

The Brits brought many Rhoyingya in as workers.

When Brits bailed out, they armed the R to hold the line against the Japs.

But instead R used the guns to murder 10's of thousands of Buddhist neighbors.

>>>>>>>>>>>>>>

Hence hatred for R by Burmese.

Even "the Lady".

Karma?

The Rohingya community in Burma has roots going back 1000 years.

There is no consensus on this. Of course, the Rohingya themselves make claims like these, but the term "Rohingya" didn't even exist before the British arrived.

For a view contrary to yours, see https://www.soas.ac.uk/sbbr/editions/file64388.pdf, though it must be noted that it was written by a Burmese academic. To add some balance, here is an analysis by a former British ambassador to Thailand: http://www.networkmyanmar.org/images/stories/PDF17/Rohingya-Identity-rev.pdf. His concluding statement is that: "... supporters of Rakhine Muslims overseas should at the same time acknowledge that the particular designation 'Rohingya' had no serious historical validity prior to independence in 1948".

Yes I know that and I find the evidence for the longer history more convincing. The community has been their for at least a millennia according to it and I believe it. The term Rohingya has been used since the time of the French Revolution.

According to Wikipedia: Muslims have settled in Arakan since the 16th century AD, although the number of Muslim settlers before the British rule cannot be precisely estimated.^[22] After the first Anglo-Burmese War in 1826, British annexed Arakan and encouraged migrations from Bengal to work as farm laborers. The Muslim population may have constituted 5% of Arakan's population by 1869, although estimates for earlier years give higher numbers......

British policy encouraged Bengali inhabitants from adjacent regions to migrate into the then lightly populated and fertile valleys of Arakan as farm laborers. The East India Company extended the Bengal administration to Arakan, thus there was no international boundary between Bengal and Arakan, and no restrictions on migration between the regions. In the early 19th century, thousands of Bengalis from the Chittagong region settled in Arakan seeking work.^[44]

The British census of 1871 reported 58,255 Muslims in Akyab District. By 1911, the Muslim population had increased to 178,647.^[45] The waves of migration were primarily due to the requirement of cheap labour from British India to work in the paddy fields. Immigrants from Bengal, mainly from the Chittagong region, "moved en masse into western townships of Arakan". To be sure, Indian immigration to Burma was a nationwide phenomenon, not just restricted to Arakan.^[46]

Interestingly At the beginning of the 20th century, Indians were arriving in Burma at the rate of no less than a quarter million per year. The numbers rose steadily until the peak year of 1927, immigration reached 480,000 people, with Rangoon exceeding New York City as the greatest immigration port in the world. This was out of a total population of only 13 million; it was equivalent to the United Kingdom today taking 2 million people a year." By then, in most of the largest cities in Burma, Rangoon (Yangon), Akyab (Sittwe),Bassein (Pathein), Moulmein, the Indian immigrants formed a majority of the population. The Burmese under the British rule felt helpless, and reacted with a "racism that combined feelings of superiority and fear."^[46]

After that there was violence on both sides with the arrival of the Japanese in WW2.

The hatred runs deep and has done for a long time.

[JoeLing]

According to UNHCR, almost half of the worlds refugees are children.

Here is one of them. One of those gold-diggers, one of those sinners.

She travelled on a boat to steal our prosperity. She wanted to cause unrest in our society.
Because that’s what they do, those refugees, they cause misery and destruction.

Look at her. She was probably planning to carry out a terrorist attack. Many people from
those countries are Muslim, you know, so the danger is real.

This is about people. Not numbers. People. Real people! Young people, young children even.
People with dreams, hopes and aspirations. With fears. And with the simple desire to pursue
happiness.

And she is not the only one.

A few hours earlier she was probably hugging her mother. Her mother would have said that all

would be fine. Don’t worry, darling. A better life is waiting for you on the other side. The world
will be a better place. For you and for me and the entire human race. There are people out there
who care and who share. The world is not just about wars, violence and terror. No! There are
some countries where people are rather lucky and happy, and they certainly wouldn't mind
sharing a bit of that luck and happiness with us!

Look at her. In her pink dress. Perhaps her favorite dress. Maybe the one she would wear on
her first day to school.

Unfortunately, her mother was wrong. Apparently, nobody really cares.

Shame on everyone who want's to send them back where they came from ...

Sorry we are doing so little. Sorry we are so late. Sorry we don't have time for you. We are terribly
ashamed. Sorry for our stupid politicians, sorry for our infantile and petty narrow-minded fat bellied
population who don’t even have the smallest decency, to leave behind their shameful xenophobic
thoughts. Even not just for a minute to make the right decisions.

(Souces, from UNHCR, Google, Tom Vandenbosh, Kris Klomp and me)

Edited May 24, 2015 by JoeLing