There are parts of Myanmar that are truly beautiful. Not so beautiful however, are Burmese Buddhists and the way they treat other ethnic and religious groups, whether Muslim, Christian, or others (the Karen, Kachin, Chin, Shan, Naga, in addition to the Rohingya). I was really surprised at how far Simon was able to delve into the persecution and genocide of ethnic minorities in Myanmar. Until I watched this two-part series, I thought, like probably most people in the world, that the ethnic cleansing of the Rohingya Muslims was a recent phenomenon. However, this has been going on for decades and they are far from the only ethnic and religious group who are being attacked in Myanmar. I know there are different Buddhist traditions, but I thought that the overall tenets of Buddhism involved peace and love of all peoples, but I am shocked at what Burmese Buddhists are doing to people in their own country. I'm sure Buddha himself would outright reject these people for their crimes against humanity. And as for their supposed leader, Aung San Suu Kyi, I can only conclude that she has perpetrated fraud on the world by getting support for her country while not being honest about how they treat ethnic minorities. I'm certainly not impressed that she continues to hold a Nobel Peace Prize and honourary citizenship in my country now that I know how bad things truly are and how long this has really been going on. The Nobel people should research their prize recipients far more thoroughly before making their final decisions. No one is always who they may seem. Many are capable of very convincing pretence.
I would never support Myanmar and I would never travel there. I am thankful to Simon Reeve for taking the risks he did in creating this travel documentary and exposing the truth. It is so much more informative than the news has been. I never thought any sect of Buddhists could be as horrifically cruel as the Burmese have turned out to be, but this has been really eye-opening. It just goes to show that evil is possible in all religious beliefs because human beings will always be fallible and capable of hatred and extreme violence, no matter what they believe.
