Selfies Unite People During Time of Violence and Hate Speech in Myanmar

Myanmar has recently been hit with deadly outbreaks of communal violence and inflammatory hate speech. It is getting increasingly worse with it being a very important election year for the nation. Taking selfies has become an act of unity and a way to help society. “My Friend” is a growing campaign, which strives to help raise awareness of these issues by encouraging people from different religions and ethnic groups to take selfies together and share it online. Hate speech has become a huge problem for this nation because Buddhists make up the majority of the population and Muslims have become the target. The Muslim communities only make up 4 percent of the population and continue to be persecuted. In 2012, many Muslims and other minority groups fled their homes to escape the deadly communal unrest, which led to 200 people being killed. More recently, there have been protests in Yangon and western Rakhine State where people are rallying against helping Rohingya Muslim migrants who are found on drifting boats in the Bay of Bengal.

For more information, please refer to: http://www.mmtimes.com/index.php/lifestyle/15474-selfies-against-hate.html