Analysis: Current Landscape of Hate Speech in Myanmar received their degree certification; CSOs state that schools and universities have pointed to some sort bureaucratic excuse (usually around their citizenship and identity status) to justify not providing a degree.352 The patterns are so commonplace that one interviewee believes teachers and others in the Ministry of Education learn, at a minimum implicitly, to oppress minority groups through the civil service training: Somehow they become familiar with [the] government’s institutions to gain a government’s staff mindset. . . . [P]eople who came from those institutions have already developed a Burmanization mindset and . . . provide services to the public in a discriminatory manner.353 To overcome the tremendous challenges of structural discrimination, CSOs working to build religious tolerance have emphasized the importance of teaching children about diversity and different faiths.354 For instance, one CSO representative who works to promote education and peace in Myanmar explained that children could learn about Islam just by interacting with Muslim members of the community: If only students from other religions can learn what Muslims are doing, they can see our mosques, how we worship, what we do in the mosque and outside of the mosque so that they will understand that we’re not spreading hate to other religions and that we’re not terrorists. We don’t plan purposely to show them that, [but] that’s what we hope they will learn about our community by being around. They are allowed to lis- ten to our discussions. We have learned that the students who have joined our school hang out together until now. They are invited to each other’s religious festivals [and] shar[e] food.355 Any solutions addressing hate speech needs a commitment approach to dismantle these dis- criminatory policies and practices which are rooted in government institutions, and replaced with positive government-spearheaded actions for peaceful coexistence. Without it, these powerful state and non-state key drivers of hate will remain protected and shall continue to disseminate their rhetoric of hate through various channels. 352 353 354 355 Ibid. 002-R3-01, 8-9. FGD (January 2019 and December 2019). 001-R3-01, 1. 61