What problems or obstacles have you encountered during your independent study/research so far? How have you overcome these roadblocks?

The obstacle that I have encountered so far during my research is sticking to my topic and finding good research sources. My topic is human rights violations but, there are also other major factors that I believe trigger human rights violations or need just as much recognition. If I included them, it would make my case a lot stronger but, unfortunately I am not able to do that. To avoid addressing several topics at once, I have made a visual graphic organizer that includes the major points of my topic. It's really helpful because it make me address the major points in the order I want and prevents me from drifting off into a new topic. By the time I'm through with the graphic organizer, I look back to see whether I have answered the question thoroughly and by the end I realize it isn't necessary to add more.

As for finding good sources to use for my research, I have decided to also use interviews of burmese refugees as some of my primary sources. I believe these interviews will give better insight of Burma and my topic. I will also be taking a visit to the library to find books that may be resourceful.

What is something about your topic that has surprised you? 

I was surprised that I couldn't find much more information on my topic. Considering how devastating my topic was, I thought I would find more information about it. Most of the information I was able to find was through the US Campaign for Burama. 

What is the present status of this factor? How severe is the situation? Is the environment being degraded? Are Women, rural or Urban poor, or developing countries particularly disadvantaged? If so, how?

The present status of the factor is worse off than it was before. Not only are people being forced out of their homes and into unsanitary living conditions like the refugee camp pictured above but, minority ethnic groups are facing possible extinction. As you can also see the land is degrading and hopes of returning to Burma is long gone for the refugees. Ethnic conflicts spurred by the government have also created more obstacle that disturb even the somewhat peaceful areas. With nearly almost all of the population in danger, farming is the last thing on peoples' minds.

Children and women once living in rural areas are being the most affected by this issue. Although a Burmese women does not depend on her husband for all financial support, when she loses her only income and her husband, she basically has no other option but to desperately enter prostitution in nearby countries such as Thailand, putting not only her self in danger but also her children. 

*Will be adding a lot more to this section after doing my interview. 

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Interview Questions

Here are a list of questions I have brainstormed for the interview with my burmese friends.

• When and how long did you live in Burma?
• How many people are in your family?
• How many people worked in your family when you were living in Burma?
• What types of jobs did they hold?
• Did your family live on or near a farm?
• Where did your family buy produce?
• How difficult was it to obtain fresh produce in Burma?
• What conflicts did you face in Burma?
• Do you believe food insecurity is a problem in Burma? How so?
• Who do you think can solve these issues and what do you suggest they should do?

Effects of Human Rights Violations

What role does the factor presently play in causing your family to not produce enough food, earn sufficient income to purchase food, or access adequate nutrition? 

Human rights violations are currently causing many devastating issues in Burma and are leading to a an ongoing civil war. These violations include land confiscations, arbitrary arrests, forced labor, child labor, torture, human trafficking, rape and sexual violence, extrajudicial killings, and ethnic cleansing. Because of this issues, the Burmese people have dispersed to nearby countries while some have decided to stay and live through these horrible conditions since the refugee camps are sometimes just as worst.

The government has taken control of 100% of Burma's land and continues to benefit from it through foreign investment while the people work and cultivate it under terrible working conditions. The Burmese people most likely never actually eat anything they produce. The government exports it and makes major profits. Since agriculture is the most important economic driver and farming is a dominant form of employment, the people directly feel the affects of human rights violations when the Burmese government continues to seize land and violate the people's rights. Besides the fact that productivity greatly decreases, there are basically much fewer people working and producing crops as before. This is a result of ethnic cleansing and other violations that eventually led to death, imprisonment, or emigration.

Human Rights Violations

 

 

In Burma alone, there are 135 different ethnic groups. Within these groups are 8 major minority groups that do not identify themselves as Burmese. These include Karen, Chin, Arakhan, Karenni, Mon, Shan, Rohingya, and Kachin. These groups hold a strong hold to their identity and easily become offended when being referred to as another group. So how exactly did these ethnically and culturally diverse groups come to live in the same area? Burma was recently a colony of the British Empire who forced several independent groups together into one nation. After Britain departed in 1948, major civil wars broke out as independent groups sought to claim a piece of the unclaimed land. With no group or leader under rule, the military took control and created an unstable government. The government does not take into consideration the various ethnic groups in the country but instead impose laws that feed into the conflict. Those who try to protest are often brutally tortured, forced into labor, or killed by execution.  The major issue is not about the ethnic conflicts but about the oppression of the Burmese people by the government who constantly violates their human rights.

*Currently still working on this and plan on taking about how it affects food security. 

Reflection & Questions

After doing a lot of research, I realized that there are several factors that affect food security which made it hard to stick to my top since the others were just as important. If possible, I would like to find some connections between my factor and the other factors so I can at least address at some point. Which leads do my questions:

• My topic/factor is human rights violation. Can I make a connection and say that ethinic conflicts, political conflicts, and gender inequality are leading factors of  human rights violations? or am I addressing several topics here? 
• It was sometimes hard for me to find the information I'm looking. Can an interview of a Burmese immigrant count as research and a source? 

These are research questions that I would like to answer:

• How can Burma be one of the leading agricultural countries but have its people suffer from poverty and hunger?
• How is land distribution determined by the government?
• What percentage of locally grown produce are distributed to the poor and landless?