Confronting Hatred with Peace

The most eye-opening experiences I have had this summer in Yangon, Myanmar were conversations I had with family friends about Muslims and Islam. For me, a Burmese Buddhist in a country of mostly Burmese Buddhists, 

it took various conversations to admit to myself that Islamophobia and racism existed in the minds of individuals who I loved and cared for. All the disrespectful, misguided remarks they offered came from a place of ignorance.

“Muslims worship nothing! A fake God that they’re willing to kill and die for.”

“They abuse their women and then brainwash them. We have to fight back. They’re converting the women in this country!”

Oh how I wish I could change their minds by lending them a few books I read at school. But it’s not that simple--The eradication of irrational hatred will never be an easy, quick process. As a college student with limited life experience, I feel helpless.

I want to apologize for such an anti-climactic conclusion--but right now, in the face of such hate, all I can do is listen, hope, and provide my input if it’s asked for. Peace is a large concept but the roads towards it are narrow and maze-like. In the case of Myanmar and its Muslim minority, the right path seems as obscure as ever.

Moe, Grinnell College student (Grinnell, IA, USA)

July 2013