The Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) is an organization that seeks to promote economic relationships and peace between its members. Most of the countries in Southeast Asia belong to this group today. But unity in this region has been difficult to achieve because of the lasting impact of colonialism. Even within countries, there is still a struggle to find common ground.
One such nation that struggles with a unified identity is Myanmar. This country, formerly known as Burma, is about the size of Texas. Its inhabitants speak about 100 different languages, and more than two-thirds of the people of Myanmar are members of the Burmese ethnic group. The last one-third of the people are from various ethnic groups who speak many different languages.
Throughout history, these different groups had strong individual cultural identities. When the country came under British control, people were unified politically, but not culturally. In addition, the British government let the people run things with a lot of autonomy, so in 1948, when the country wanted independence, it lacked unity. As a result, various ethnic groups have fought against the government. While some groups wanted to secede from the country entirely, others attempted to overthrow the existing government. The disagreements and warring in the country have hurt Myanmar’s economic growth, as has a repressive military government that is responsible for squelching a strong economy.
Myanmar
What is it about the locations of the largest ethnic groups in Myanmar that makes unity difficult?
Each ethnic group is located in a particular area without being too spread out (which might give the people from different groups more contact with each other).
