{"id":8124,"date":"2026-10-20T05:31:21","date_gmt":"2026-10-20T05:31:21","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/myanmarmuslim.news\/en\/?p=8124"},"modified":"2026-10-20T05:31:22","modified_gmt":"2026-10-20T05:31:22","slug":"myanmar-cannot-build-a-prosperous-future-by-wasting-its-human-resources-discriminating-against-minorities-driving-talented-people-into-exile-or-spreading-hatred","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/myanmarmuslim.news\/en\/2026\/10\/20\/myanmar-cannot-build-a-prosperous-future-by-wasting-its-human-resources-discriminating-against-minorities-driving-talented-people-into-exile-or-spreading-hatred\/","title":{"rendered":"Myanmar cannot build a prosperous future by wasting its human resources, discriminating against minorities, driving talented people into exile, or spreading hatred"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

For a better Myanmar \u2014 with equal rights, peace, meritocracy and dignity for all.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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Myanmar Cannot Build a Prosperous Future by Copying Israel\u2019s Exclusionary Policies: Lessons from America, Israel and the Myanmar Diaspora<\/h3>\n\n\n\n

An MMNN English adaptation of a post by Myat Maw, originally dated 14 October 2023<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Translated and Edited by Dr Ko Ko Gyi @ Abdul Rahman Zafrudin<\/em>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Introduction: Learn from Success, Not from Prejudice<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

Why have some countries managed to attract talent, develop their economies and become influential, while Myanmar has lost so many of its people, businesses, professionals and opportunities?<\/p>\n\n\n\n

This is a question Myanmar\u2019s political and military leaders should seriously consider.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The original Burmese post by Myat Maw argues that Myanmar\u2019s military rulers have admired Israel while pursuing policies that damaged the country\u2019s own economy, alienated minorities and deepened international isolation. It contrasts those policies with the United States, whose history illustrates how immigration, entrepreneurship, education and opportunities for people from different backgrounds can contribute to national development.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The central argument deserves serious consideration: a country cannot become prosperous by excluding people, discriminating against minorities, destroying private enterprise or allowing political propaganda to replace economic reality.<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

However, comparisons between countries must be historically accurate. Israel, the United States and Myanmar have different histories, political systems and migration policies. We should learn from their experiences without treating any country as a perfect model.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

1. Israel, the Jewish Diaspora and the Importance of Human Capital<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

Israel has developed a distinctive policy of welcoming Jewish immigrants from around the world.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Under its 1950 Law of Return, eligible Jews have a legal pathway to immigrate to Israel. The policy has enabled Israel to draw on the knowledge, professional experience, capital and entrepreneurial abilities of Jewish communities throughout the world.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Israel has also benefited from highly educated immigrants. Research on the large immigration wave from the former Soviet Union during the 1990s found that many arrivals possessed substantial educational qualifications and that their integration contributed to productivity and the development of Israel\u2019s technology sector.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

These findings offer an important lesson for Myanmar: a country’s human resources include not only the people already living within its borders, but also its diaspora and the people it is capable of attracting and retaining.<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Yet we must distinguish between two different things.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Israel’s Law of Return is based on Jewish identity and eligibility, not simply on an applicant being rich or talented. Israel also maintains much more restrictive policies towards many non-Jewish migrants and asylum seekers. It is therefore not an appropriate model for a country seeking equal citizenship for people of every ethnic and religious background.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Myanmar should learn from the way successful societies mobilise education, investment, scientific knowledge and entrepreneurship\u2014not imitate exclusionary ethnic or religious policies.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Nor should we assume that Jews, Chinese or Indians possess some inherent superiority over Myanmar people. Their communities, like every other community, contain people with different abilities and circumstances. Economic success depends on many factors, including institutions, education, opportunity, social networks, access to capital, political stability and public policy.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Myanmar has talented people too. The question is whether the country gives them a fair opportunity to develop their abilities and contribute.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

2. Myanmar\u2019s Historical Mistakes: Nationalisation, Isolation and the Loss of Enterprise<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

Myanmar’s post-independence history provides painful lessons about the consequences of poorly designed economic policies.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

After General Ne Win’s 1962 coup, his government embarked on the so-called Burmese Way to Socialism<\/em>. The state progressively nationalised major sectors of the economy, including banking, industry, foreign trade and the rice trade. Private businesses faced severe restrictions, and the country became increasingly inward-looking.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

These policies disrupted established commercial networks and weakened the incentives and institutions needed for productive private enterprise. They also disproportionately affected communities that had been active in commerce, including many people of Indian and Chinese ancestry.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The resulting economic decline was not caused by one policy alone. It reflected a wider combination of centralised control, economic isolation, weak institutions, policy failures and the military government’s unwillingness to permit an independent and competitive economy to develop.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The consequences were profound. Burma, once a major rice exporter, lost ground to regional competitors. In 1987, the United Nations designated Burma a least developed country.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The lesson is not that governments should never regulate business or own enterprises. It is that nationalisation without sound management, accountability, competition and respect for property and economic rights can destroy productive capacity instead of improving people’s lives.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The 1967 anti-Chinese riots<\/h3>\n\n\n\n

The anti-Chinese riots in Rangoon in June 1967 further damaged relations between Burma and China.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Historical research traces the riots to tensions surrounding the Cultural Revolution, Chinese students’ display of Mao badges, the Burmese government’s response and wider political and economic grievances. The events contributed to a deterioration in Sino-Burmese relations, while China’s subsequent intervention in Burma’s civil conflict further complicated the relationship.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

It would be too simplistic to claim that the riots alone caused all subsequent conflict. Nevertheless, they illustrate the dangers of allowing political tensions and ethnic hostility to damage relations between communities and neighbouring countries.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

A country that alienates its own citizens and commercial communities may lose not only investment and expertise but also the trust necessary for national development.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

3. The Cost of Economic Mismanagement and Isolation<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

The original post also refers to Burma’s debts to Japan.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

There is documentary support for the scale of the historical debt problem. In 2012, Human Rights Watch referred to unpaid Burmese government debt to Japan estimated at more than 500 billion yen, equivalent at the time to approximately US$6 billion, arising from loans dating from the late 1960s to the late 1980s.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

However, we should not claim that this debt alone made Myanmar one of the world’s poorest countries. The country’s economic decline had multiple causes, including decades of authoritarian rule, isolation, mismanagement and conflict.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The broader lesson remains important: borrowing is not a substitute for development. Loans should finance productive investment, infrastructure, education, healthcare and other activities that improve people’s lives and strengthen the economy. Debt accumulated without corresponding productive gains can become a long-term burden on future generations.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Myanmar needs leaders who understand that national wealth is created through productive work, sound institutions, innovation and responsible economic management\u2014not slogans about national greatness.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

4. The United States: A Country Enriched by Immigration<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

If Myanmar wants to learn from another country’s experience, the United States offers important lessons about immigration and opportunity.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

America’s history includes successive waves of immigrants who brought professional knowledge, business experience, scientific skills, capital, cultural traditions and entrepreneurial ambition. Their contributions have helped shape American industry, medicine, universities, technology and public life.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The US National Academies’ comprehensive study, The Economic and Fiscal Consequences of Immigration<\/em> (2017), concluded that immigration contributes to economic growth and that highly skilled immigrants strengthen innovation, entrepreneurship and technological change.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

An American Immigration Council analysis published in August 2025 found that immigrants or their children had founded 231 of the 500 companies on the 2025 Fortune 500 list\u201446.2 per cent. These companies generated approximately US$8.6 trillion in revenue during fiscal year 2024.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

These figures do not mean that every immigrant succeeds, or that immigration alone explains American prosperity. America’s wealth also rests on its vast domestic market, natural resources, universities, research institutions, infrastructure, access to capital and many other historical advantages.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Nevertheless, the evidence demonstrates that immigrants and their descendants have made major contributions to the American economy.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

In a speech at a naturalisation ceremony in Philadelphia, then-Secretary of State Antony Blinken described the city\u2014and America as a whole\u2014as having been built and enriched by immigrants. He also spoke of welcoming new citizens into the shared democratic life of the country.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

That message is worth remembering.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

People who arrive from elsewhere should not automatically be treated as a burden or a threat. Given fair opportunities, education, legal protection and the chance to work, they can become valuable contributors to their adopted country.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Madeleine Albright: From refugee child to Secretary of State<\/h3>\n\n\n\n

Madeleine Korbel Albright provides a particularly striking example.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Born in Prague in 1937, she came to the United States with her family in 1948, following the communist takeover in Czechoslovakia. She became a US citizen in 1957.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Albright studied political science at Wellesley College and later earned a doctorate at Columbia University. She worked for Senator Edmund Muskie, served on the National Security Council staff and became the US ambassador to the United Nations in 1993.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

In January 1997, she became the 64th US Secretary of State\u2014the first woman to hold that position. She served until January 2001.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Her journey illustrates how an immigrant can become a senior public servant in a country that offers educational opportunities and routes into public life.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Albright’s achievement was not the product of immigration alone. Her education, professional work, political experience and personal abilities were essential. But her story demonstrates what can happen when a country allows an immigrant’s talents to develop.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Kamala Harris: An American of immigrant parentage reaches the vice-presidency<\/h3>\n\n\n\n

Kamala Harris, born in California in 1964, is another important example of America’s diverse political leadership.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Her mother, Shyamala Gopalan, immigrated from India, while her father, Donald Harris, came from Jamaica. Harris became the first woman, the first Black American and the first South Asian American to be elected vice-president of the United States. She served from January 2021 to January 2025.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Her career included service as California’s attorney general, a US senator and vice-president.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Harris was born an American citizen, so it would be inaccurate to describe her herself as an immigrant. Her story instead demonstrates how the children of immigrants can participate in public life and reach the highest levels of political office.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Rishi Sunak: Britain’s first British Asian prime minister<\/h3>\n\n\n\n

Rishi Sunak became prime minister of the United Kingdom on 25 October 2022 and served until 5 July 2024.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Born in Southampton in 1980, Sunak is British-born and the son of parents of Indian ancestry. His father was born in Kenya and his mother in Tanzania; both families had South Asian roots.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

After studying at Oxford University and Stanford University, Sunak worked in business and finance before entering politics. He became a Conservative member of Parliament in 2015, served as chancellor of the exchequer and subsequently became prime minister.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Sunak’s background shows that a country can have leaders whose family histories extend across continents. His election did not mean that Britain had overcome every form of racial or social inequality, but it demonstrated that ancestry need not be an absolute barrier to the highest political office.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Beyond America and Britain<\/h3>\n\n\n\n

Canada and Australia also have histories of immigration and political representation involving people from many ethnic backgrounds. Migrants and their descendants have served as ministers, legislators, senators and other senior public officials.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The important point is not that every immigrant should receive a high position. Public appointments should be based on ability, integrity, qualifications and democratic accountability.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The lesson is that a person’s ancestry should not automatically determine the limits of their contribution to society.<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Myanmar could benefit enormously from a similar commitment to fair opportunity, including for people whose ethnic or religious identities have been marginalised.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

5. Myanmar\u2019s Own Diaspora: Talent That Should Not Be Wasted<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

Myanmar does not need to look exclusively at America or Israel for examples of what people can achieve across borders.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Myanmar’s own history includes migrants, traders, scholars, writers, doctors, entrepreneurs and workers who contributed to societies beyond their birthplace.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

My earlier writings have explored these connections, including:<\/p>\n\n\n\n