Burma or Myanmar?
The Karenni States were an independent nation in 1875 but in 1892, they became a part of British Burma. In 1947 the three Karenni States were united and called the Karenni State. In August 1948, the Karenni leader U Bee Htu Re was assassinated by a pro-central government militia because he opposed Karenni State becoming part of the Burma. Since 1957 the Karenni Army has been fighting with the government of Burma. The Karenni have been accused of using child soldiers but they say the the children are soldiers willingly after watching their families killed by government soldiers. The Burmese Government have approximately 350,000 child soldiers in its army.
"You may not find the country of Burma listed in some books printed after 1989. That year the military government changed the country’s official English name from “the Union of Burma” to “the Union of Myanmar.” Although the United Nations switched to Myanmar, the USA, the UK, and Canada are among the nations who refused to recognize the new name.
As I’m writing... newspapers and magazines are also split. The New York Times, Wall Street Journal, and CNN use Myanmar, while the Washington Post and Time use Burma. For Bamboo People I chose to use Burma because in the Burmese language, "Myanma" is the written, literary name of the country, while "Bama" is the spoken name of the country."
Mitali Perkins. (n.d.). What's in a name; Burna vs Myanmar. Retrieved 26th April 2020, from http://www.bamboopeople.org/2009/11/whats-in-name-burma-vs-myanmar.html
Child Soldiers in Burma/Myanmar
- Top 10 facts about Myanmar Child SoldiersKhalae, M. (2019). Top 10 facts about Myanmar Child Soldiers. Retrieved 5th May 2020, from https://borgenproject.org/top-10-facts-about-myanmar-child-soldiers/
- The Hard Life of Burma's Child SoldiersHow the Burmese Government recruits or traps young children into its armed forces.
Johnson, S. (2015). The Hard Life of Burma's Child Soldiers. Retrieved 3rd May 2020, from https://pulitzercenter.org/reporting/hard-life-burmas-child-soldiers
Aljazeera. (2017).
Who are the Karenni?
TED Talks. (2019). Learning from the Karenni Refugees. Retrieved 2nd May 2020, from https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=23jxn5IBr84
Like We Don't Exist - a short documentary about the Karenni's fight for freedom.
Sawyer, A. Embring, S. (2018). Like We Don't Exist. Retrieved 3rd May 2020, from https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=J0Pxe1onBe0
Burma or Myanmar?
- Myanmar or Burma? Debate over nation's name persists.In1989 when the ruling generals announced the country would be known as “Union of Myanmar," the use of Myanmar or Burma is a contentious issue. European leaders use the name Burma/Myanmar in its documents, but the US, Britain, Canada, and Australia still use Burma. Why?
Magnier, M. (2012). ‘Myanmar or Burma? Debate over nation’s name persists’ Accessed 1st May 2020, from Los Angeles Times. - Who, What, Why: Should it be Burma or Myanmar?A short article which outlines the main issues about Burma/Myanmar's name.Why does the US and UK not recognise the country's name? You can tell where someone's sympathies lie if they use Burma or Myanmar. Myanmar is a kind of indicator of countries that are soft on the regime.Burma/Myanmar does not encourage tourism. a tourism boycott. This article aims to answer some of the questions behind the headlines.
BBC News. (2011). Who, What, Why: Should it be Burma or Myanmar? Retrieved 1st May 2020, from https://www.bbc.com/news/magazine-16000467 - Burma v Myanmar: Why the Country is Known by Two NamesA short article about the name - Burma or Myanmar: why does the Southeast Asian country have two names? Details the events of 1989 history discuss the ups and downs of leading events that have resulted in a dual identity for the country.
Teng, T. (2017). Burma v Myanmar: Why the Country is Known by Two Names. Retrieved 2nd May 2020, from https://theculturetrip.com/asia/myanmar/articles/burma-v-myanmar-why-the-country-is-known-by-two-names/