The outpouring of racism & Islamophobia directed at the Rohingya people is unlike anything seen for quite a while–except in Syria. The Assad crowd is doing the jihadi terrorist thing, putting them in league with the notorious American Islamophobe Pamela Geller who is posting the exact same crap about the Rohingya. But a lot of the stuff is straight-out hatred for Muslims & classic racist stuff about the high birth rate among Rohingya women. Some of it’s so filthy it shouldn’t be repeated in civilized society. It’s as if the haters are intentionally combing the internet to find dirt that allows them to hate on the Rohingya & make it seem like a crusade against evil.

There’s something going on, a polarization that is emboldening racism, making hatred & talking trash about Muslims completely acceptable. The only way to back that all down is political power, out-mobilizing the haters. We have a battle on our hands & we damn well better win it.

Wondering if disciples of Vanessa Beeley think her support for the fascist military dictatorship of Burma is an aberration or if they now understand it’s of a piece with her support for Assad’s dictatorship & the counter-revolution in Syria?

In an act of cynical & unspeakable treachery, the Australian government has offered incarcerated Rohingya refugees money if they agree to be deported back to Burma where they will likely be killed on the spot. Is that called Kafkaesque or Orwellian? Or is it just standard operating practice under neoliberalism, the barbaric phase of capitalism?

Facebook censoring Rohingya activists; allows genocidaires to continue

Always vigilant in the global fight against terrorism, Facebook has placed the Arakan Rohingya Salvation Army (ARSA) on its “dangerous organizations” list & has ordered its censors to delete any content “by or praising” it. Who determined ARSA was dangerous other than Assad supporters & the Burmese government conducting genocide against the Rohingya? Since the UN Secretary General & human rights groups have accused the Burmese military of ethnic cleansing, why has Facebook not censored the walls of the Myanmar military & its Commander-in-Chief General Min Aung Hlaing as well as Aung San Suu Kyi? They’re all posting up a storm about their genocidal feats.

Kashmiri activists know this kind of censorship well. They are censored & suspended for saying the name or posting a photo of the man who was murdered by the Indian army & whose funeral was attended by over 600,000 people. But the Indian army which has 700,000 soldiers occupying Kashmir has no problem with censorship on FB.

The UK is suspending its military training program with the Burmese military variously described as “educational” or “human rights”. Did you ever hear such a crock? Since the Burmese army is engaged in genocide in Arakan & is accused of several other human rights crimes in other states (including child soldiers, mass rape, forced labor, disappearance, & extrajudicial executions) it seems necessary for the UK to come clean about exactly what its training program entailed. Or will coming clean implicate the UK in those same crimes?

Didn’t listen to the whole of Trump’s speech at the UN General Assembly. It’s reported it was another of his racist, xenophobic rants. How much of that crap can you listen to before your brain begins to rot? His doom is coming. We’ll be dancing in the streets. For those who say Pence is worse? Of course he is. Maybe we need to rethink how things are run in this country that such vile creatures arise from their crypts to power.

Were it not for photojournalists in Bangladesh, we would not really grasp what is happening to Rohingya refugees. That’s just as true in Palestine & Kashmir. We should more than tip our hats to the contribution they make to understanding what is going on in the world to working people.

Where is the humanitarian aid for Rohingya refugees?

Ro refugees in monsoon rains (Paula Bronstein:Getty Images) Sept 20 2017

Mohammed Nazir & his wife Zohar Nahar shelter from monsoon rains under a tarpaulin–“their home until a proper shelter can be built.” And when will that be? What in the hell is going on–or more accurately, not going on–with humanitarian aid for the Rohingya refugees? Let us speak frankly: racism is of the essence here. If these were people in a western country, there would be an international call for emergency, immediate, & massive humanitarian aid. This is a catastrophe very much like Hurricane Katrina & Haiti where racism was also of the essence. No less, this is a crime scene.

Stand with the Rohingya refugees by demanding humanitarian aid.

(Photo by Paula Bronstein/Getty Images)

Squalid conditions for Rohingya refugees in Bangladesh

Ro woman collecting water (Allison Joyce:Getty Images) Sept 20 2017

A Rohingya woman collecting water from a hole many households use for washing, drinking, cooking & bathing in the Balukhali camp in Cox’s Bazar, Bangladesh. This is not a new settlement although it is not an official camp & most residents do not receive UNHCR assistance. This is the state of humanitarian aid before the influx of 420,000 new refugees. Will anyone be surprised when a cholera epidemic is announced?

Stand with the Rohingya by demanding humanitarian aid & refugee rights to asylum wherever they choose.

(Photo by Allison Joyce/Getty Images)