Leaving My homeland A Refugee’s Journey from Myanmar Ellen Rodger Crabtree Publishing Company www crabtreebooks com
Leaving Myanmar Imagine living in a country where fear is normal You fear government soldiers the police and maybe even your next door neighbor You might be scared of being attacked if you leave your home That is what life is like for some people in Myanmar These two boys live in the city of Sittwe in Myanmar UN Rights of the Child Every child has rights Rights are privileges and freedoms that are protected by law Refugees have the right to special protection and help The United Nations UN Convention on the Rights of the Child is a document that lists the rights that all children should have Think about these rights as you read this book Myanmar also known as Burma has seen many conflicts It has suffered through one of the world’s longest-running civil wars The violence is often between the government and different ethnic groups There are 135 different ethnic groups in Myanmar 4
Bangladesh India China Myanmar is located in Southeast Asia Myanmar Naypyidaw Rakhine State Vietnam Laos Bay of Bengal Thailand Andaman Sea Cambodia The Rohingya are an ethnic group that live in Rakhine State Myanmar They are a Muslim minority Minority means a small group or part Hundreds of thousands of Rohingya have been driven from their homes Those who flee their homes but stay in their country are called internally displaced persons IDPs Others have left Myanmar They are called refugees Refugees are people who left their homeland because their lives were in danger They are different from immigrants Immigrants chose to leave to look for opportunities in another country 5 The Rohingya are considered some of the most badly treated people in the world
