A Rose by Any Other Name

About this episode

Thet Swe Win shares his journey from anti-Muslim sentiments to advocating for social harmony in Myanmar.

Episode #526: “I actually was anti-Muslim when I was in high school!” recalls Thet Swe Win, describing how he was influenced by nationalist propaganda in his youth. But his involvement in the 2007 Saffron Revolution began to change him. Marching with barefoot monks, he witnessed Muslims come from a mosque to give them water, medicine, and slippers. “We do not have to hate each other, but we have to unite and fight back the military,” he realized. His mother, fearful for his safety because of his participation in the protests, sent him to Singapore. Immersed in a multiethnic workplace there, he gradually shed lingering prejudices, concluding that there are only good and bad people, not good or bad religions. Returning to Myanmar, he resumed activism after anti-Muslim violence erupted in Rakhine State in 2012 and spread to other towns, stoked by state television propaganda. In response, he and his peers launched the “Blue Sticker Campaign” to counter the extremist 969 movement and its hate speech. Still, he confesses that the anti-Rohingya propaganda he had absorbed throughout his life left him with lingering bias toward that community—until Rohingya activist Wai Wai Nu drew him…

People in this episode

Guest: Thet Swe Win

Topics covered

• anti-Muslim sentiment
• activism
• social harmony
• nationalism
• Buddhism
• Rohingya issues

Keywords

• Saffron Revolution
• Blue Sticker Campaign
• anti-Rohingya propaganda
• social harmony
• Buddhism
• activism

Mentioned in this episode

Organizations: Synergy, Blue Sticker Campaign, 969 movement

Places: Singapore, Rakhine State

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