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Judenschwein (‘Jewish Pig’), or the Hutus use of inyenzi or ‘coackroaches’ to describe the Tutsis.115 In addition to what we would call ‘animalistic dehumanisation’, ‘mechanistic dehumanization’ is a characteristic of hate speech that involves labelling others as inert, cold, rigid, passive, or superficial.116 As these characteristics show, dehumanization can be much more subtle than we might assume, and once an individual or group is continually referred to in one of these ways, the public’s threshold for using more extreme forms of dehumanizing hate speech are both lowered.117 To further the evaluation of the early stages of hate speech, it would then be useful to consider Susan Besesch’s five variables that assess the level of danger particular hate speech has, as I applied in the case of Wirathu in chapter two. Education and Awareness While I have placed this section under prevention, methods to promote education and awareness are also useful to fight existing hate and prejudice. Human rights and respect must be encouraged through education; most importantly in the classroom, but as chapter one address, there are flaws in the educational system in Myanmar, such as the lack of teaching about religion or ethnic minority groups. Therefore, these values should be encouraged at home, through the media, and through interactions with people in communities. As Foxman and Wolf believe, ‘educating current and future generations about the relationship between hate speech and democracy will have a far greater positive impact than any set of laws that seek to govern or limit hate speech.’118 They believe shaping the ideas, attitudes and values of citizens can strengthen our shared commitment to democracy and the rights of all citizens. Schools and colleges have the ability to combat the threat of online hate among their students by regulating hate speech that they understand to be dangerous, but simultaneously upholding freedom of speech and encouraging the examination of ideas, including unpopular ideas. 115 Thompson, A., (2007) The Media and the Rwanda Genocide, IDRC, p.88. 116 Vollhardt, Coutin, Staub, Weiss and Deflander, (2006) p.27. 117 Vollhardt, Coutin, Staub, Weiss and Deflander, (2006) p.27. 118 Foxman and Wolf, (2013) p.153. - 51 -

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Religion, hate speech and social media in Myanmar: Analysing methods of intervention

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English

Topic

Hate Speech
Rohingya Crisis

Author(s)

Bethany Davis

Date Published: Dec 1, 2015

Abstract: Myanmar is home to one of the longest running intrastate conflicts in the world, involving a series of ethnic and religious clashes that have caused harm to all parties involved. The ideology of a homogeneity based on Buddhism and the Bamar ethnicity has marginalized minority groups, which make up a third of the population, and has particularly affected the Rakhine state’s Buddhist and Muslim communities, the latter of which are subject to what international human rights organizations are calling an ethnic cleansing. Since the government relaxed restrictions to the access of foreign websites, the social media site Facebook has become a popular means to disseminate misinformation and rumours, and this has created mistrust and hatred against Muslims across the country, heightening the polarization between Buddhist and Muslim groups. This study will combine conflict analysis with the assessment of different approaches of countering hate speech to propose which methods of intervention are most suitable for this situation in Myanmar. Lederach argues that to counter hatred and avoid reoccurrence of violence, deep alterations of the parties’ relationships is needed. This idea forms the basis for chapter three which examines educational methods, interfaith projects and social media campaigns to both prevent and change negative attitudes towards the religious ‘Other’. It argues that education and awareness campaigns are more effective than the implementation of legal regulation as we need to combat the underlying issue. In addition to secondary sources, this study involved field research to collect information about how the youth are influence by hate speech and counter hate campaigns in Myanmar.

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Religion, hate speech and social media in Myanmar: Analysing methods of intervention

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