Reviews
This is a captivating account of the complex dynamics underlying the trilateral conflict between Muslim Rohingya, Buddhist Rakhine, and Buddhist Burmese. Professor Holt tells this story through in-depth discussions with key representatives of each community held between the lead up to Myanmar's 2015 elections and the brutal expulsion of the Rohingya. While skillfully weaving in history and his own expertise, he paints a sobering picture of the growing hopelessness of the Rohingya, the siege mentality of the Rakhine and Burmese Buddhists more broadly (who too see themselves as victims), and the persistent and pernicious influence of Myanmar's military., As the world learned of the mass exodus and terrible abuse of the Rohingya of Myanmar, one question lingered: How could it happen? Here Professor Holt gets as close as one can to an answer by capturing the perspectives of leading figures on each side of the divide inside Myanmar. Through these voices, we achieve insights into the deep historical, cultural, social, economic, and political contexts in which the tragedy occurred. One may not agree with all of what these voices have to say as Holt himself notes, but anyone who cares about the future of the Rohingya--and of Myanmar--ignores them and this book at their peril., John Clifford Holt has produced an extremely significant and useful work; it is timely, deeply personal, and speaks to the tragic situation in Myanmar's western region and its permutations in different areas of the country. Holt offers an intimate and sorrowful view of the situation that has been and remains dire for many, and raises questions relevant not only to Myanmar but to persisting and emergent global realities in many parts of the world, including in the U.S. itself., Masterfully organized and richly informative, this is an audacious book, both scholarly and personal, mindful and challenging, deeply engaging yet unsettling. At its core, it contains extracts from series of interviews Holt managed to conduct between 2015 and 2018 with 15 people at various locations in Myanmar (Yangon, Rakhine State, and Mandalay). Holt's conversations, showing utmost patience, progress in many-sided dialogues flowing between the oppressive past and the ongoing Rohingya conflict, Buddhist-Muslim relations, critical events within the country (such as the 2015 elections), and individual life stories. . . . Presented with both empathy and scholarly rigor, the various dialogues invite critical reflections on Myanmar's Buddhist-Muslim conundrum, the status of Buddhism as a cultural and mind-setting system, and ultimately the role of education., Each of the in-depth interviews in this book provides unparalleled and nuanced insights into a complex network of actors, interests, and causes in a conflict that is too often labeled with just simple attributes: religious and ethnic genocide. It shows that the complicated realities of the conflict are articulated in the lives of people on either side., Each of the in-depth interviews in Myanmar's Buddhist-Muslim Crisis provides unparalleled and nuanced insights into a complex network of actors, interests, and causes in a conflict that is too often labeled with just simple attributes: religious and ethnic genocide. This book shows that the complicated realities of the conflict are articulated in the lives of people on either side., John Clifford Holt has produced an extremely significant and useful work; it is timely, deeply personal, and speaks to the tragic situation in Myanmar's western region and its permutations in different areas of the country. Holt offers an intimate and sorrowful view of the situation that has been and remains dire for many, and raises questions relevant not only to Myanmar but to persisting and emergent global realities in many parts of the world, including in the US itself., This is a captivating account of the complex dynamics underlying the trilateral conflict between Muslim Rohingya, Buddhist Rakhine, and Buddhist Burmese. Professor Holt tells this story through in-depth discussions with key representatives of each community held between the lead-up to Myanmar's 2015 elections and the brutal expulsion of the Rohingya. While skillfully weaving in history and his own expertise, he paints a sobering picture of the growing hopelessness of the Rohingya, the siege mentality of the Rakhine and Burmese Buddhists more broadly (who too see themselves as victims), and the persistent and pernicious influence of Myanmar's military.
