Hate In Osama

Hate: a strong feeling which can be developed without a reason or motive. Such a word can help describe the relationship between the Buddhists and the Muslims in Myanmar. Filmmaker Adam B. Ellick documentary 21st Century Concentration camps brings to a light a growing issue between the reservations of Muslims and Buddhists. These Muslims in Myanmar are constantly oppressed and face harsh conditions in “concentration camps”, while the rest of the world remains oblivious to their situation. Throughout the documentary, Nicholas Kristof’s main object is to put pressure onto the rest of the world, to intervene and take action upon this issue.

Ellick opens and closes the documentary by emphasizing the problem with the lack of medical aid and the life threatening conditions of which these Muslims suffer from. Children in Myanmar are at a great risk of falling to life-threatening
diseases. There is little help available to assist these children overcome illnesses, such as the child who had contracted a fever of 105, and there was little to no accessible medical aid. This demonstrates the grave dangers which lie in the vastly decreasing muslim populations. The government does not care for the lives of these individuals, and are leaving them to rot inside these concentration camps. Sadly, there happen to be other instances where the shortage of medical help has caused people to die from curable diseases. The 35 year old man passed away from Tuberculosis, a treatable disease, but received absolutely no medicine to help him fight the illness. This emphasizes the problem which lies in Myanmar, the strong hate within the Buddhist government has caused them to become black-hearted towards the Muslims people, and let them die tragic deaths. The Buddhists do not seem to care about these grave problems and have decided to ignore it instead, while terrible diseases spread and death awaits upon the Muslim population.

Ellick further develops his documentary by conveying the desperation these Muslims feel to escape such a miserable place. The Rohingya people strive to find a better life for themselves and their family, by escaping to Thailand. The situation has proved to be so dangerous and crucial, that these people risk their own lives to seek refuge in hopes this country will come to their aid. However, Rohingyan men usually flee first due to the fact that escaping Myanmar is incredibly dangerous and risky. A Muslim women contacts her husband through an internet video call, who she awaits to be reunited safely in Thailand. These cases demonstrate how this oppression and hate is tearing families apart, while there is a likelihood of never seeing each other again.

Ellick juxtaposes the documentary by developing the clear division of hate which separates the Muslims and the Buddhists.
There is a severe problem in Myanmar about how far the extent of this hate towards the Muslims goes. It is so deep that the government officials do not even acknowledge them as people, and they are not referred to as an ethnic group because they say Rohingy people do not exist. Such actions cause the level of hate to spread and the treatment to worsen. It shows that if the government can treat them unfairly, the common people can do so as well. Hate is does not come instinctively, it is learned. A boy in rural Myanmar has even confessed that if he came in contact with a Muslim, he “would kill him.” Murder is heinous crime easily fueled through ignorance and foolishness. Likewise, their ignorance is promoted by their environment, which is constantly oppressing and discriminating muslims. Yet, a child is willing to commit murder because the victim is a Muslim, doesn’t that emphasize the importance that there is a problem in Myanmar which requires our ultimate
attention?

Myanmar has urgent matters which must be tended to because of the severity of the oppression taking place. The Buddhists have little care for the Muslims and have left them to die in concentration camps. This video expresses the need for the the audience to raise awareness about the desperate situation regarding the Rohingy. There is a great value to medicine and doctors especially due to the high risk of dangerous births and quick spread of disease with no treatment. By spreading this message across a vast audience, it would promote the two specifically targeted people in the video, Barack Obama and Aung San Suu Kyi.