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THIS POST IS IN RESPONSE TO: 'THE ROHINGYA CRISIS IS HAPPENING AND NOT ENOUGH IS BEING DONE ABOUT IT'.
*image courtesy of NYT
Flashback to Grade 10 UWC Day, the Rohingya crisis was the focus of the week for us and we opened our eyes to the horrific war crimes that had been taking place. I surely wasn’t the only one to be harrowed by the violence enforced on this ethnic minority in an attempt to ‘cleanse’ the population. But it seems as though I am one of the few who still remembers, or maybe one of the few that cares.
As tutor groups, we discussed whether or not as a school we should boycott the international school sporting events that were being held in Myanmar. The opinions were mixed despite 5 minutes previous to this looking at an image of 3-year-old Alan Kurdi dead on a beach after attempting to flee war-torn Syria, another example of a refugee crisis to put things in perspective, and receiving clamour and uproar about the tragedy. The consensus was that we would continue to travel to Myanmar and indirectly fund the military micromanaged government that incited this violence. I too am a sports fanatic, I enjoy watching, participating, and in general the goodwill and teamwork that arises. But we can find that anywhere, we have that luxury, the Rohingya don’t. It is striking to me how hypocritical it is to advocate for change, dedicate a whole day to awareness, and pledge to strive for change, but pull back when extracurricular excitement is at stake.
This year the girls’ 19A Volleyball Team is set to play in Myanmar, this is a message to the school, to other students, and to the girls on the team in particular. The crisis is real, the death toll is real, and the choice you have is real and makes an impact. Would you rather write on your university applications that you had a blast in a well-sheltered area in Myanmar playing an extreme version of ‘Don’t let the balloon touch the ground’, or would you rather say you staged a boycott to protest the criminal and corrupt government in Myanmar? Or, you could say nothing, the rest of the student body could raise awareness and ask the school to boycott, your trip will be cancelled and you’ll have nothing to say for yourselves except “I should have done better.”
So, do better.