Towards a New Holocaust: A philosophical appraisal

What anguished me? It comes in manifold ways, be it in the form of terrorism, ethnic cleansing, war, starvation, and the list adds on. However, what troubles my very being is the recent cruel and extremely violent operation led by Myanmar Buddhist unthinking mass for the deliberate murder of minority Muslim community.

Whatever were the causes of that violence, I have focused on some crucial and burning existential issues, which have become the cause of intense disappointment and shock for me and for those who I believe have the highest sense of humanity and morality and whose hearts and conscience are not dead.

The sight of merciless torture and killing of fellow human beings by their own fellows pollute and cloud my understanding of the very notion of humanity. It is horrifying and painful to see the site of the bodies of deceased being chopped into pieces. Cruelty reigns even more when people are burnt alive, the exceeded cruelty and barbarity engulfs me.

However, my mind and conscience never allow me to be a spectator of the event, rather I stand my protest and I have raised battle of ideas against the inhuman and immoral operation.

This article demonstrates the recognition and seriousness of another form of this holocaust which is happening in Myanmar. At the same time, it demands and emphasizes one’s conscious and strong condemnation over it.

No doubt the people in red and yellow are in majority and empowered in Burma. But does their majority and power justify innocent killings and deliberate murder?

I have seen from last few weeks hundreds of the minority people are being killed and burnt alive. Would not this operation undeniably lead to the totalitarian holocaust?

Innocent people, kids, and women are being openly victimized and murdered on the streets. Such acts call to our conscious for a serious ethical consideration. Is it not a holocaust when humans, who have been rendered voiceless and defenseless, and are invalidated and destroyed?

After Nazi’s undemocratic exception and mass killing, atrocities and bloodshed have reached its peak in Myanmar which unveiled the truth of this dark democratic country where humans blood are flowing into the streams and bodies of the victims are lying riddled and chopped on the streets.

The minority people are being forced to leave their homeland, having lost their homes and their dignity of life. They have become like a raft on the sea moving here and there without any definite direction, the dread of death is riding over their faces.

I believe this serious issue call for our moral obligations and ethical responsibilities. There should be a proper solution to these crucial existential crises.

Moreover, I suggest each individual should rethink before turning dumb, deaf and blind over the atrocities and killings of innocent humans.

The condition of man is getting worst day-by-day. People have become cunning and selfish. Despite the educational, cultural and religious progress all sorts of immoral activities, tortures, oppression, persecution, cruelty, and barbarity exist in different parts of the world. This is the reason for the consequent growth of misery, sorrow and suffering in the world.

Human’s inhumanity to other humans, continuous acts of tyranny and terror lead to a subtle increase in existential, psychological and social crisis which causes underestimated damage to human beings

We can see different parts of the world and societies where humans have forgotten the significance of humanity, morality, justice, equality, and freedom. Such societies suffer a huge loss, loss in the sense of not producing good, moral, human beings.

On the contrary, it produces humans devoid of moral, human and social senses. Burma is a living example to my observation. It appears to me that the people of Burma, have completely failed to become good humans and respectively failed to understand and sustain the essence of Buddha’s philosophy. 

The wilder aspect of Burman brute force can be imagined after seeing a nine month’s old baby being smashed, killed and chopped; on the other side, the wounded bleeding women were hanged naked on the tree.

This harsh crime to innocent people are being preceded not only by Myanmar army and some disordered devilish monks but also carried by the children of that land. Now, one can imagine how ugly, unfortunate and dangerous the situation is, where humans no longer remain human but turn into beasts.

I am also anguished because a question repeatedly destroys my peace of mind, why people have maintained silence over this crucial issue? I observe that the silence over the widespread human loss is a serious tragedy.

As Martin Luther says, “The ultimate tragedy is not the oppression and cruelty by the bad people but the silence over that by the good people.”

So, I urge people to break your silence, raise your voice against the undergoing tyranny, cruelty, and barbarity in Myanmar.

The actual slavery is terminated over large parts of the globe, but slavery in the form of religious and political exploitations still persists. Myanmar seems to me a part of the dark democratic country where human rights violation reaches its peak and ethnic cleansing moves to its pinnacle.

The current situation in Myanmar unmasks it’s destructive and depressive atmosphere that it stifles the life of minority people.

I assume this holocaust occurred under several intentions. Besides geographical, historical and political issues there are other sensitive religious issues which have resulted in this mass killing. Mainly, the monastic hegemony of that region does not want other minority community to exercise and practice their religion.

Whatever are the reasons; they cannot forcefully impose their ideology, their authoritative role, and principles to their minority people. They cannot abrogate their freedom to choose how to live, and what to practice. They cannot kill or exile them for their belief.

The majority of the people in Burma more than 85 percent are the followers of Lord Buddha.  Buddha’s philosophy is spread throughout the world because of his noble teachings. Particularly his deep concern for human suffering and its cessation shows that he wanted to release mankind from all clutches of suffering.

Since Burma erupted into the savage violence and I wondered, could decades of Buddhism as having produced such savagery? Of course no. but whence, then has this savagery come? The irony is the ruler of this undemocratic, unethical country who allowed and ignored bloodshed of minority peoples is having noble peace award as its license to promote such acts of genocide. I laugh at the foolishness of noble peace academy.

During the deepening depression and extreme days of suffering, could Buddha lose sight of the fundamental problem? Buddha in his age primarily focused on overall human suffering and left his royal life in search of its cure. Does not it depict the followers of Buddha in Burma has turned his whole position from head to tail and destroyed the essence of his teachings?

The unthinking Buddhist mass needs to rethink and revisit Buddha’s philosophy without falling into misunderstandings. They need appropriation of Buddha’s teaching in order to salvage the current situation and reorient their path.

Moreover, to maintain peace in the country these people deserve severe and serious condemnation and critique from all humans so that humanity can be rescued over there. In this regard, I urge each individual to stand against such cruel, inhuman and immoral operations of mass killings.

Thus before the new holocaust destroys whole minority people in Burma and begins to move towards other countries of the world, we all, irrespective of our religious, political and social differences need to unite and to stand against it. You need not be a Hindu, Christian, Muslim, Sikh, and so on to stand against it, but what you need is only to be a good human.

Martin Luther said, “In the end, we will remember not the wounds of our enemies, but the silence of our friends.”