1 00:00:09,640 --> 00:00:12,880 I'm on a journey around beautiful and troubled Burma... 2 00:00:15,600 --> 00:00:18,320 ..one of the largest countries in Southeast Asia. 3 00:00:20,160 --> 00:00:24,200 A land that's suffered generations of dictatorship and ongoing war. 4 00:00:24,200 --> 00:00:27,560 They've been fighting now for decades. 5 00:00:27,560 --> 00:00:30,160 It's supposed to be a fledgling democracy... 6 00:00:30,160 --> 00:00:34,000 There's a lot of freedom, or less fear I would say. 7 00:00:34,000 --> 00:00:36,520 ..that's opening up to the world. 8 00:00:36,520 --> 00:00:39,920 This is like Burma's version of Venice. 9 00:00:41,760 --> 00:00:44,240 All right. More? More? 10 00:00:45,440 --> 00:00:49,600 It's just completely, totally fantastic. 11 00:00:52,840 --> 00:00:55,200 But Burma is still a place of tragedy 12 00:00:55,200 --> 00:00:57,520 and now an unfolding catastrophe. 13 00:00:59,160 --> 00:01:01,040 On this first leg of my journey, 14 00:01:01,040 --> 00:01:03,880 I travel through Burma's Buddhist heartlands, 15 00:01:03,880 --> 00:01:07,120 to discover how some are pushing a religion of peace 16 00:01:07,120 --> 00:01:09,160 towards hatred and violence. 17 00:01:15,600 --> 00:01:18,280 I witness how Burma's all-powerful military 18 00:01:18,280 --> 00:01:20,080 has turned on its own people, 19 00:01:20,080 --> 00:01:24,120 driving hundreds of thousands of Rohingya Muslims from their homes. 20 00:01:25,640 --> 00:01:29,360 Like nothing I have seen anywhere on planet Earth, 21 00:01:29,360 --> 00:01:32,280 this speaks of a Biblical exodus. 22 00:01:51,600 --> 00:01:55,160 Burma, which is now also known as Myanmar, 23 00:01:55,160 --> 00:01:57,000 was once part of the British Empire. 24 00:01:58,240 --> 00:02:02,240 I began my journey in Mawlamyine, the first colonial capital. 25 00:02:06,360 --> 00:02:08,960 TRAIN HOOTS 26 00:02:08,960 --> 00:02:12,000 Right. Let's catch a train. 27 00:02:14,600 --> 00:02:16,600 I think this is the carriage. 28 00:02:16,600 --> 00:02:19,920 I was travelling to Burma's biggest city, Yangon. 29 00:02:19,920 --> 00:02:21,440 And we're off. 30 00:02:21,440 --> 00:02:24,480 TRAIN HOOTS 31 00:02:29,600 --> 00:02:32,040 This is so atmospheric. 32 00:02:32,040 --> 00:02:34,080 It really is. 33 00:02:34,080 --> 00:02:37,040 No glass separating you from the outside, 34 00:02:37,040 --> 00:02:39,160 so a lovely breeze coming in. 35 00:02:40,960 --> 00:02:44,120 And a really stunning landscape outside. 36 00:02:52,800 --> 00:02:55,240 TRAIN HOOTS 37 00:02:55,240 --> 00:03:00,800 In the late 1800s the British began building railway lines 38 00:03:00,800 --> 00:03:04,280 running almost the entire length of the country. 39 00:03:04,280 --> 00:03:08,000 At times it can feel like the trains are of a similar vintage. 40 00:03:11,600 --> 00:03:17,120 So we went for ordinary class with solid wood benches 41 00:03:17,120 --> 00:03:21,880 rather than upper class, where you get a comfier, padded seat. 42 00:03:21,880 --> 00:03:23,680 But with added lice. 43 00:03:24,960 --> 00:03:26,800 We thought this was a better bet. 44 00:03:29,280 --> 00:03:32,800 The British ruled Burma for more than a century. 45 00:03:32,800 --> 00:03:37,880 After a long struggle, Burma finally gained independence in 1948. 46 00:03:37,880 --> 00:03:42,120 Just over a decade later, the military seized power, 47 00:03:42,120 --> 00:03:45,080 ushering in decades of brutal dictatorship. 48 00:03:47,400 --> 00:03:49,960 The military completely ruined Burma. 49 00:03:49,960 --> 00:03:54,120 They wrecked the economy, they jailed thousands of dissidents, 50 00:03:54,120 --> 00:03:56,320 they imposed severe censorship 51 00:03:56,320 --> 00:03:58,800 and they cut Burma off from the outside world. 52 00:03:58,800 --> 00:04:00,640 Under the military, 53 00:04:00,640 --> 00:04:04,600 this became one of the ten poorest countries in the world. 54 00:04:10,080 --> 00:04:13,640 Now the slight issue with lack of a window becomes apparent. 55 00:04:14,960 --> 00:04:17,760 Everyone else has chosen to close the shutters. 56 00:04:28,880 --> 00:04:31,600 How much is your... How much is water from you? 57 00:04:31,600 --> 00:04:33,480 300 per bottle? 58 00:04:33,480 --> 00:04:35,800 OK. All right, we'll have one, please. 59 00:04:35,800 --> 00:04:37,440 How old are you? 60 00:04:40,080 --> 00:04:42,760 How much money do you normally make for the family? 61 00:04:44,120 --> 00:04:46,520 About £2 to £3 a day. 62 00:04:46,520 --> 00:04:49,200 Is that good money? Does it help the family? 63 00:04:49,200 --> 00:04:51,680 When do you get a chance to go to school? 64 00:04:54,320 --> 00:04:56,560 Poverty is still endemic here. 65 00:04:56,560 --> 00:04:58,680 Around a third of school-age children 66 00:04:58,680 --> 00:05:00,560 don't actually attend school. 67 00:05:00,560 --> 00:05:02,560 Hundreds of thousands of youngsters 68 00:05:02,560 --> 00:05:04,760 work in fields, factories and trains. 69 00:05:06,520 --> 00:05:10,080 The military dictatorship in Burma lasted for nearly 50 years. 70 00:05:10,080 --> 00:05:13,680 It was the generals who actually renamed the country Myanmar. 71 00:05:13,680 --> 00:05:15,840 Now, both names are still used. 72 00:05:17,360 --> 00:05:20,920 In 2011, the military said they were stepping aside. 73 00:05:20,920 --> 00:05:24,800 Today the country has a new, democratically elected government 74 00:05:24,800 --> 00:05:28,560 led by a human rights icon whose struggle against dictatorship 75 00:05:28,560 --> 00:05:30,720 earned her the Nobel Peace Prize. 76 00:05:30,720 --> 00:05:33,360 The de facto leader of the country, as I'm sure you know, 77 00:05:33,360 --> 00:05:35,120 is Aung San Suu Kyi. 78 00:05:36,600 --> 00:05:40,120 Daughter of the great independence hero, Aung San. 79 00:05:40,120 --> 00:05:46,280 She is loved by many Burmese as a human rights hero, 80 00:05:46,280 --> 00:05:49,600 an Asian Nelson Mandela, if you like. 81 00:05:51,240 --> 00:05:53,640 So what do you think of Aung San Suu Kyi? 82 00:06:06,680 --> 00:06:10,360 Are you telling me you like Aung San Suu Kyi because she's pretty 83 00:06:10,360 --> 00:06:12,360 and still got her youthful looks? 84 00:06:23,440 --> 00:06:26,600 It sounds like you really quite love Aung San Suu Kyi. 85 00:06:39,240 --> 00:06:43,160 Aung San Suu Kyi is hugely popular across much of Burma, 86 00:06:43,160 --> 00:06:45,920 a country of more than 50 million people. 87 00:06:45,920 --> 00:06:47,760 When her party won elections, 88 00:06:47,760 --> 00:06:51,120 many saw it as the start of a new era for the nation. 89 00:06:56,400 --> 00:07:00,200 After a ten-hour journey, we finally arrived in Yangon. 90 00:07:15,800 --> 00:07:17,960 When Burma was ruled by the military, 91 00:07:17,960 --> 00:07:21,520 the international community imposed heavy sanctions on the country. 92 00:07:22,840 --> 00:07:27,160 Now, sanctions have been lifted, money and investment has poured in 93 00:07:27,160 --> 00:07:31,440 and this huge city and its skyline is starting to be transformed. 94 00:07:35,640 --> 00:07:39,080 The civilian government has released hundreds of political prisoners. 95 00:07:39,080 --> 00:07:41,960 Many exiles have returned from abroad. 96 00:07:41,960 --> 00:07:45,400 I was on my way to meet one of them, an old friend. 97 00:07:45,400 --> 00:07:47,480 An activist who spent her life 98 00:07:47,480 --> 00:07:50,720 campaigning for Burma's many ethnic groups. 99 00:07:50,720 --> 00:07:53,760 During the dictatorship she had to flee the country. 100 00:07:53,760 --> 00:07:57,280 She is brave and brilliant and her name is Cheery Zahau. 101 00:07:58,360 --> 00:08:00,400 I'm looking for a small green car. 102 00:08:02,240 --> 00:08:04,880 And that is a small green car. 103 00:08:07,000 --> 00:08:09,280 Hi! Cheery! 104 00:08:09,280 --> 00:08:11,240 Oh, my goodness! 105 00:08:13,040 --> 00:08:15,160 Cheery! Can I come in? 106 00:08:16,400 --> 00:08:18,200 Oh, my God! How are you? 107 00:08:20,320 --> 00:08:22,120 You look good! You look good, too. 108 00:08:22,120 --> 00:08:24,080 How the hell are you? Good. 109 00:08:24,080 --> 00:08:27,360 Who's this? This is my... my daughter and my mum. 110 00:08:27,360 --> 00:08:29,640 Hello, Mum. Look at you! 111 00:08:31,040 --> 00:08:34,000 Are you the cutest child in the whole country? 112 00:08:34,000 --> 00:08:35,440 Hello! 113 00:08:35,440 --> 00:08:38,320 Cheery comes from the Chin ethnic minority, 114 00:08:38,320 --> 00:08:40,960 one of more than 100 ethnic groups in Burma. 115 00:08:40,960 --> 00:08:42,760 During military rule, 116 00:08:42,760 --> 00:08:45,600 Cheery risked her life to smuggle me into the country. 117 00:08:45,600 --> 00:08:48,680 Ready? Are you ready? Yeah. As I'll ever be. 118 00:08:48,680 --> 00:08:51,880 Travelling into the remote homeland of the Chin people, 119 00:08:51,880 --> 00:08:55,120 who are Christians, was one of my riskiest adventures. 120 00:08:55,120 --> 00:08:58,560 I've travelled to one of the most repressive countries in the world. 121 00:08:58,560 --> 00:09:02,160 Under the military, many ethnic minorities suffered terribly. 122 00:09:04,840 --> 00:09:07,960 The Burmese troops are not so far from here. 123 00:09:07,960 --> 00:09:12,760 That's why the villagers are always scared of the Burmese troops. 124 00:09:12,760 --> 00:09:16,680 The Chin endured arrest, torture, massacres. 125 00:09:16,680 --> 00:09:18,560 Villages were burned 126 00:09:18,560 --> 00:09:22,280 as the army tried to crush dissent and their culture. 127 00:09:22,280 --> 00:09:24,400 I think we should go back. 128 00:09:27,480 --> 00:09:30,960 Our trip was cut short when troops suddenly appeared nearby. 129 00:09:30,960 --> 00:09:33,000 You were on a wanted list. 130 00:09:33,000 --> 00:09:36,720 Yeah. How much danger were you in doing this with us? 131 00:09:36,720 --> 00:09:38,440 Life-threatening? 132 00:09:38,440 --> 00:09:40,800 If they get... They arrest me, of course. 133 00:09:40,800 --> 00:09:43,040 And I don't know what will happen in prison. 134 00:09:43,040 --> 00:09:46,680 The fact that I took foreigners into Chin state, 135 00:09:46,680 --> 00:09:50,360 it would be seen as really... a heavy case. 136 00:09:51,800 --> 00:09:54,920 I mean, obviously, for you, things have improved. 137 00:09:54,920 --> 00:09:56,760 Here we are. 138 00:09:56,760 --> 00:09:58,680 You've come back from exile. 139 00:09:58,680 --> 00:10:04,240 Yes. In 2012 the government said people can come back. 140 00:10:04,240 --> 00:10:08,560 People who have been campaigning for democracies, human rights, 141 00:10:08,560 --> 00:10:10,240 you all can come back. 142 00:10:10,240 --> 00:10:12,800 And... And you didn't think it was a trap? 143 00:10:14,920 --> 00:10:16,760 Cautious optimism. 144 00:10:18,360 --> 00:10:22,040 We'll show you... Are you going to be my guide again?! Yeah! 145 00:10:22,040 --> 00:10:25,200 What an honour. I'll be your guide. What an honour for me. 146 00:10:26,520 --> 00:10:29,760 This time not in the jungle. Not in the jungle. Urban jungle. 147 00:10:29,760 --> 00:10:31,840 Yeah, urban jungle. 148 00:10:31,840 --> 00:10:34,280 It was emotional for me to see Cheery. 149 00:10:34,280 --> 00:10:36,040 There was so much to discuss, 150 00:10:36,040 --> 00:10:38,960 starting with the basics - the country's name. 151 00:10:38,960 --> 00:10:41,880 Burma has been officially renamed Myanmar. 152 00:10:41,880 --> 00:10:45,880 But Burma is still used as a name by some foreign governments 153 00:10:45,880 --> 00:10:48,040 and many people here use both. 154 00:10:48,040 --> 00:10:51,000 Why do you say Burma rather than Myanmar? 155 00:10:51,000 --> 00:10:55,120 I use Burma because the military regime 156 00:10:55,120 --> 00:11:02,280 never conducted a public referendum to choose the name of the country. 157 00:11:02,280 --> 00:11:04,760 They just changed it? They just changed it. 158 00:11:04,760 --> 00:11:07,920 So I want to make a statement by using Burma, 159 00:11:07,920 --> 00:11:11,680 that I'm not being fooled by the generals. OK! 160 00:11:14,600 --> 00:11:18,160 This is a beautiful landmark of Yangon, 161 00:11:18,160 --> 00:11:21,560 or the whole of Burma, Myanmar. 162 00:11:21,560 --> 00:11:23,560 All right. Let's cross. 163 00:11:23,560 --> 00:11:27,760 And this is a... Oh! ..very beautiful place to hang out. 164 00:11:29,360 --> 00:11:31,560 Look at this! Yes, it is! 165 00:11:31,560 --> 00:11:36,600 You can just come here and sit and you know, like meditate. 166 00:11:38,680 --> 00:11:41,160 Shwedagon Pagoda is one of the most famous 167 00:11:41,160 --> 00:11:43,480 and dramatic monuments in the whole country. 168 00:11:44,720 --> 00:11:46,880 And it's extraordinary 169 00:11:46,880 --> 00:11:50,880 that you are now able to be out in Yangon at all 170 00:11:50,880 --> 00:11:55,480 and that, to me, signifies some really positive and profound changes 171 00:11:55,480 --> 00:11:57,560 have happened in the country. 172 00:11:57,560 --> 00:12:00,440 Yes. If you live in Yangon, yes. 173 00:12:00,440 --> 00:12:03,960 There's a lot of freedom, or less fear, I would say, 174 00:12:03,960 --> 00:12:06,240 to go anywhere you want. 175 00:12:09,080 --> 00:12:13,320 It's a very special time to be here, actually, at sunset. 176 00:12:14,640 --> 00:12:16,480 And a very strange time as well 177 00:12:16,480 --> 00:12:19,280 because of what is going on elsewhere in this country. 178 00:12:19,280 --> 00:12:22,280 It is bizarre to be here now in the city 179 00:12:22,280 --> 00:12:26,280 at a peaceful meditative Buddhist shrine, 180 00:12:26,280 --> 00:12:30,360 while genocidal ethnic cleansing against a Muslim minority 181 00:12:30,360 --> 00:12:32,560 is happening elsewhere in Myanmar. 182 00:12:36,280 --> 00:12:38,880 Shall we go here? Yeah. Lovely tea shop. 183 00:12:40,240 --> 00:12:42,080 I think most people watching this 184 00:12:42,080 --> 00:12:45,600 will have heard about what's been happening to the Rohingya Muslims. 185 00:12:45,600 --> 00:12:48,160 Yeah. It is...serious. 186 00:12:48,160 --> 00:12:51,320 Nearly half a million people were driven out 187 00:12:51,320 --> 00:12:53,760 of their communities in one month. 188 00:12:53,760 --> 00:12:57,400 It's the biggest exodus of, you know, 189 00:12:57,400 --> 00:13:01,960 people driven out of their communities in recent history. 190 00:13:01,960 --> 00:13:05,880 But you look around, you would not... It's as if nothing happened. 191 00:13:05,880 --> 00:13:08,040 You would not have the sense that... Yeah. 192 00:13:08,040 --> 00:13:10,800 ..there is such an extraordinary thing 193 00:13:10,800 --> 00:13:12,880 going on in the country at the moment. 194 00:13:12,880 --> 00:13:17,320 Yeah. In Yangon, life goes on as if nothing happens. 195 00:13:17,320 --> 00:13:22,480 I am astonished that this is happening in Myanmar today, 196 00:13:22,480 --> 00:13:24,680 with Aung San Suu Kyi as the leader. 197 00:13:24,680 --> 00:13:26,320 Yeah. Are you? 198 00:13:27,360 --> 00:13:28,880 Erm... 199 00:13:28,880 --> 00:13:31,240 Yes, or no. 200 00:13:31,240 --> 00:13:33,000 It's very... 201 00:13:33,000 --> 00:13:35,080 ..like, taboo topic. 202 00:13:35,080 --> 00:13:36,960 Taboo topic? Yeah. 203 00:13:36,960 --> 00:13:41,200 Even someone like you, who has risked your life endlessly 204 00:13:41,200 --> 00:13:44,760 for this country and for the different peoples in it, 205 00:13:44,760 --> 00:13:47,120 there are still some things you cannot risk, 206 00:13:47,120 --> 00:13:49,480 or it wouldn't be wise for you to risk saying? 207 00:13:49,480 --> 00:13:52,920 Yeah, exactly. So I will not tell you everything I know! 208 00:13:52,920 --> 00:13:56,120 Probably wise. Or everything you think. Yeah. 209 00:13:56,120 --> 00:13:57,800 OK. 210 00:14:01,240 --> 00:14:05,160 Burma's one million Rohingya people come from Rakhine State. 211 00:14:05,160 --> 00:14:08,920 They're Muslims in a country where 90% of the population is Buddhist. 212 00:14:08,920 --> 00:14:11,760 The United Nations has described what's happened to them 213 00:14:11,760 --> 00:14:13,400 as ethnic cleansing. 214 00:14:13,400 --> 00:14:15,400 Others have labelled it genocide. 215 00:14:24,000 --> 00:14:27,320 I'll be heading to meet the Rohingya later on this journey, 216 00:14:27,320 --> 00:14:29,840 but first I headed north from Yangon 217 00:14:29,840 --> 00:14:32,560 and into the Buddhist heartlands of the country. 218 00:14:35,000 --> 00:14:38,160 You drive on the right but the steering wheel is on the right, 219 00:14:38,160 --> 00:14:41,600 so the driver can't really see what's coming at him. 220 00:14:41,600 --> 00:14:45,400 But they drive on the right because a former leader of the country 221 00:14:45,400 --> 00:14:48,960 had a premonition or spoke to a fortune teller, 222 00:14:48,960 --> 00:14:52,200 it's not entirely clear which, which said that they should move 223 00:14:52,200 --> 00:14:55,320 from driving on the left to the right. So they did, overnight. 224 00:14:56,800 --> 00:14:59,400 I don't imagine it did wonders for road safety. 225 00:14:59,400 --> 00:15:02,400 Such is the power of a military dictator. 226 00:15:02,400 --> 00:15:06,720 On a whim, the entire country's roads were thrown into chaos. 227 00:15:06,720 --> 00:15:10,680 The daft change, combined with rules that made it almost impossible 228 00:15:10,680 --> 00:15:12,960 to import left-hand drive cars, 229 00:15:12,960 --> 00:15:15,960 is part of the reason Burma has one of the highest rates 230 00:15:15,960 --> 00:15:18,000 for road deaths in the whole of Asia. 231 00:15:19,880 --> 00:15:21,840 The generals could be bizarre - 232 00:15:21,840 --> 00:15:25,240 another time switching the currency to multiples of nine, 233 00:15:25,240 --> 00:15:28,600 again based on advice from astrologers and fortune tellers. 234 00:15:29,840 --> 00:15:33,160 Across Burma, even today, people mix Buddhism 235 00:15:33,160 --> 00:15:36,560 with a deep belief in spirits and the supernatural. 236 00:15:37,920 --> 00:15:40,280 We're just on the outskirts of the town of Pyay 237 00:15:40,280 --> 00:15:43,360 and we're going to stop here, probably overnight, actually. 238 00:15:44,720 --> 00:15:46,680 So we're here? We're here. 239 00:15:49,280 --> 00:15:51,000 With a local guide, 240 00:15:51,000 --> 00:15:54,280 I stopped off to meet one of Burma's famous spirit mediums. 241 00:15:54,280 --> 00:15:57,040 People consult them with their everyday problems. 242 00:15:57,040 --> 00:15:59,120 They are important and influential. 243 00:16:00,480 --> 00:16:03,960 Lovely to meet you. You are a Nat Ga Daw? 244 00:16:03,960 --> 00:16:07,440 Have I said that right, and if so, what is a Nat Ga Daw? 245 00:16:29,760 --> 00:16:32,760 You're a medium for the spirits, is that right? 246 00:16:35,760 --> 00:16:37,760 Can we come in, is that OK? 247 00:16:37,760 --> 00:16:40,040 Oh, I'm going to get taken! Lovely. 248 00:16:41,400 --> 00:16:44,480 Daw Tin Tin Myaing says the spirits started talking to her 249 00:16:44,480 --> 00:16:46,240 when she was a child. 250 00:16:47,920 --> 00:16:49,640 Oh, my goodness. Look! 251 00:16:55,280 --> 00:16:59,800 I can see there's a busty figure over here smoking a massive cigar. 252 00:16:59,800 --> 00:17:01,520 What's going on there? 253 00:17:11,040 --> 00:17:12,880 What's going to happen this evening? 254 00:17:12,880 --> 00:17:16,120 Is it a celebration? Is it a service? Is it a religious event? 255 00:17:34,840 --> 00:17:37,720 I get one wish and if it comes true, I have you to thank? 256 00:17:51,440 --> 00:17:55,840 Even before Buddhism came to Burma, people here worshipped the spirits. 257 00:17:58,920 --> 00:18:02,200 Today, aspects of the two religions have merged 258 00:18:02,200 --> 00:18:06,520 in a wonderful, unusual way that can often involve a bit of a party. 259 00:18:19,880 --> 00:18:24,520 Followers, locals and slightly baffled guests 260 00:18:24,520 --> 00:18:28,600 were all being encouraged to make donations to the spirits 261 00:18:28,600 --> 00:18:31,440 in return for luck and prosperity. 262 00:18:41,320 --> 00:18:45,960 Being a spirit medium is one of the few occupations open to gay men 263 00:18:45,960 --> 00:18:48,800 in a country where it's still technically illegal 264 00:18:48,800 --> 00:18:50,480 to be homosexual. 265 00:18:50,480 --> 00:18:52,960 And many face harassment. 266 00:18:52,960 --> 00:18:54,840 Has life improved for you? 267 00:18:54,840 --> 00:18:58,520 Have you felt that you live in a more tolerant society 268 00:18:58,520 --> 00:19:01,080 since democracy came to the country? 269 00:19:59,840 --> 00:20:03,240 The next morning, I continued my journey north 270 00:20:03,240 --> 00:20:06,480 towards the ancient capital of Bagan. 271 00:20:14,440 --> 00:20:18,360 We're just coming into Bagan and there are temples everywhere. 272 00:20:18,360 --> 00:20:20,640 It's an extraordinary sight. 273 00:20:20,640 --> 00:20:23,840 Bagan was the capital of the first empire 274 00:20:23,840 --> 00:20:26,640 that united what became known as Burma. 275 00:20:26,640 --> 00:20:29,640 A huge city of perhaps over 100,000 people. 276 00:20:29,640 --> 00:20:31,520 This is astonishing. 277 00:20:42,640 --> 00:20:48,280 1,000 years ago, Bagan's kings chose Buddhism as their state religion. 278 00:20:48,280 --> 00:20:51,800 They built around 10,000 Buddhist temples, 279 00:20:51,800 --> 00:20:54,760 more than 2,000 of which survive today. 280 00:21:01,200 --> 00:21:05,680 This is a site to match any of the great wonders of the world. 281 00:21:05,680 --> 00:21:07,600 It really is. 282 00:21:07,600 --> 00:21:11,680 It's as if you put all the great Gothic cathedrals of Europe 283 00:21:11,680 --> 00:21:14,400 in an area the size of Bristol. 284 00:21:16,000 --> 00:21:20,120 During colonial rule, the British deposed Burma's Buddhist kings. 285 00:21:21,320 --> 00:21:24,080 When the military took over after independence, 286 00:21:24,080 --> 00:21:26,960 they pushed the idea that to be truly Burmese, 287 00:21:26,960 --> 00:21:29,360 you needed to be Buddhist. 288 00:21:29,360 --> 00:21:32,360 They persecuted Christians, like the Chin, 289 00:21:32,360 --> 00:21:34,840 and Muslims, like the Rohingya. 290 00:21:36,480 --> 00:21:40,120 The generals tried to use Buddhism to prop up their power 291 00:21:40,120 --> 00:21:43,640 and they tried to put themselves at the heart of the faith. 292 00:21:45,640 --> 00:21:48,320 So although almost everything here looks ancient, 293 00:21:48,320 --> 00:21:51,000 much of it has actually been renovated 294 00:21:51,000 --> 00:21:53,400 or even built quite recently 295 00:21:53,400 --> 00:21:57,240 and a lot of it by former generals and serving generals, 296 00:21:57,240 --> 00:21:59,960 partly to atone for their sins, 297 00:21:59,960 --> 00:22:02,880 the crimes they've committed against their own people. 298 00:22:04,800 --> 00:22:06,520 It is astonishing, really, 299 00:22:06,520 --> 00:22:10,920 that although the dictatorship is supposed to have ended in Myanmar, 300 00:22:10,920 --> 00:22:13,360 the generals haven't been prosecuted, 301 00:22:13,360 --> 00:22:16,160 they haven't been tried for their crimes. 302 00:22:16,160 --> 00:22:20,240 Many of them are still in power or in business power. 303 00:22:20,240 --> 00:22:23,120 If it makes money still in Myanmar, 304 00:22:23,120 --> 00:22:26,400 then the chances are that a general or a former general 305 00:22:26,400 --> 00:22:28,320 is benefiting from it. 306 00:22:29,440 --> 00:22:31,640 Some of what they've done is pretty gaudy. 307 00:22:38,880 --> 00:22:44,560 Despite some dubious renovations, Bagan is still stunning 308 00:22:44,560 --> 00:22:47,440 and a site to rival anywhere on the planet. 309 00:23:05,760 --> 00:23:07,880 Empires have risen and fallen. 310 00:23:09,080 --> 00:23:11,160 Dictatorships have been and gone. 311 00:23:12,520 --> 00:23:15,080 But through it all, Buddhism has been a thread 312 00:23:15,080 --> 00:23:17,680 connecting most of the Burmese people. 313 00:23:20,080 --> 00:23:23,640 And still today it plays a critical role, 314 00:23:23,640 --> 00:23:25,840 often doing the job of the state. 315 00:23:27,760 --> 00:23:29,360 Look at this! 316 00:23:29,360 --> 00:23:31,960 "Social welfare, monastic education school." 317 00:23:31,960 --> 00:23:34,840 My goodness. I think I'd better do my shirt up. 318 00:23:36,520 --> 00:23:39,720 That looks like a reception committee. 319 00:23:43,480 --> 00:23:46,520 Oh, my goodness. Abbot Pyinya Wuntha is head 320 00:23:46,520 --> 00:23:49,880 of this school in Pakokku in the middle of Burma. 321 00:23:49,880 --> 00:23:51,920 Mingalaba. Mingalaba. 322 00:23:51,920 --> 00:23:54,280 Mingalaba. My goodness. 323 00:23:54,280 --> 00:23:56,040 Mingalaba! 324 00:23:56,040 --> 00:23:58,360 ALL: Mingalaba! 325 00:24:45,920 --> 00:24:48,360 This is a school and a clinic, 326 00:24:48,360 --> 00:24:51,480 but also a monastery that's training novice monks. 327 00:24:53,440 --> 00:24:55,160 At any one time, 328 00:24:55,160 --> 00:24:57,920 there are said to be around half a million Buddhist monks, 329 00:24:57,920 --> 00:25:00,000 novices and nuns in Burma, 330 00:25:00,000 --> 00:25:02,560 thought to be the highest proportion in the world. 331 00:25:04,320 --> 00:25:07,920 Every Burmese Buddhist boy is expected to become a monk 332 00:25:07,920 --> 00:25:11,040 for a period of anything from a week to several months. 333 00:25:12,520 --> 00:25:14,840 The monks live an austere lifestyle 334 00:25:14,840 --> 00:25:19,240 and they have to get up at what I personally consider an ungodly hour. 335 00:25:22,720 --> 00:25:24,760 ALARM RINGS 336 00:25:26,240 --> 00:25:27,680 Bloody hell! 337 00:25:37,720 --> 00:25:39,600 Oh, my goodness. 338 00:25:47,600 --> 00:25:49,080 It's 4:30am... 339 00:25:50,600 --> 00:25:52,720 ..and they're heading out. 340 00:25:52,720 --> 00:25:57,360 These young monks are performing their early morning ritual. 341 00:25:57,360 --> 00:26:02,200 Every day, they'll walk sometimes up to two miles in bare feet. 342 00:26:13,200 --> 00:26:15,040 So, we've arrived. 343 00:26:16,800 --> 00:26:20,160 Monks across Burma are supposed to live entirely on donations 344 00:26:20,160 --> 00:26:22,080 from members of the public. 345 00:26:27,680 --> 00:26:30,960 Across the country, monks line up to collect their breakfast 346 00:26:30,960 --> 00:26:33,400 at donation points just like these. 347 00:26:33,400 --> 00:26:35,600 What do you have for the monks today? 348 00:26:35,600 --> 00:26:37,280 Chilli. Chilli. 349 00:26:37,280 --> 00:26:39,280 VOICE OVER TANNOY 350 00:26:41,000 --> 00:26:43,920 And what is this? Is this a sermon...? 351 00:26:46,160 --> 00:26:48,120 An announcement. 352 00:26:49,160 --> 00:26:53,320 In the nicest possible way, can I ask why you all do this? 353 00:26:53,320 --> 00:26:55,280 It's five o'clock in the morning! 354 00:27:17,120 --> 00:27:19,280 Monks also played a very special role 355 00:27:19,280 --> 00:27:21,720 in Burma's transition to democracy. 356 00:27:23,280 --> 00:27:26,880 In 2007, tens of thousands of saffron robed monks 357 00:27:26,880 --> 00:27:31,040 rose up against the military to protest against worsening poverty. 358 00:27:31,040 --> 00:27:34,400 One of the biggest uprisings was here in Pakokku. 359 00:28:02,200 --> 00:28:04,200 The military crushed the uprising. 360 00:28:04,200 --> 00:28:07,000 Thousands of monks were imprisoned and tortured. 361 00:28:07,000 --> 00:28:08,760 Some were killed. 362 00:28:08,760 --> 00:28:11,800 Monks are the most respected figures in the country. 363 00:28:11,800 --> 00:28:14,360 The fact they'd stood up to the military junta 364 00:28:14,360 --> 00:28:17,120 put huge pressure on the dictatorship to change. 365 00:28:17,120 --> 00:28:19,040 And it's fascinating to see this. 366 00:28:19,040 --> 00:28:22,440 I suppose it creates an extraordinary culture in a country, 367 00:28:22,440 --> 00:28:25,760 where the monks depend on the people, and to a certain extent, 368 00:28:25,760 --> 00:28:28,280 the people depend on the monks as well. 369 00:28:35,880 --> 00:28:38,560 Buddhism is generally seen as the most peaceful 370 00:28:38,560 --> 00:28:40,400 of the world's major religions. 371 00:28:42,360 --> 00:28:45,160 But there is now a darker side to Buddhism in Burma. 372 00:28:46,920 --> 00:28:49,960 Some Buddhist monks here are turning militant. 373 00:28:54,840 --> 00:28:59,080 So we're just on our way to a very controversial monastery, 374 00:28:59,080 --> 00:29:01,560 and they don't want us to film, 375 00:29:01,560 --> 00:29:05,240 so I think we'll probably put the cameras down now, go in there, 376 00:29:05,240 --> 00:29:07,160 and see if they'll let us film. 377 00:29:11,080 --> 00:29:14,240 We've had some delicate negotiations, but I think... 378 00:29:14,240 --> 00:29:16,800 I think we're going to be allowed to start filming. 379 00:29:16,800 --> 00:29:20,160 I'd gone to visit a group of monks called Ma Ba Tha, 380 00:29:20,160 --> 00:29:23,040 the Committee To Protect Race And Religion. 381 00:29:23,040 --> 00:29:25,000 They're supposed to be banned, 382 00:29:25,000 --> 00:29:27,760 and are controversial because of their rabble rousing, 383 00:29:27,760 --> 00:29:29,800 particularly against Rohingya Muslims. 384 00:29:29,800 --> 00:29:33,200 But they're still active and I was meeting their senior members. 385 00:29:34,640 --> 00:29:36,480 What are your beliefs, then? 386 00:29:36,480 --> 00:29:38,480 How do your beliefs differ 387 00:29:38,480 --> 00:29:42,200 from almost the mainstream of Buddhist philosophy in the country? 388 00:30:39,920 --> 00:30:44,000 Do you view Islam and Muslims as a threat, then, 389 00:30:44,000 --> 00:30:47,000 to Buddhism and Buddhists in this country? 390 00:31:05,400 --> 00:31:09,960 So you're worried that Muslims are breeding very quickly, then, 391 00:31:09,960 --> 00:31:14,240 that they threaten to breed out Buddhism in Myanmar, is that right? 392 00:31:16,040 --> 00:31:17,480 That's right. 393 00:31:17,480 --> 00:31:21,960 Right now, the United Nations says there is an ethnic cleansing 394 00:31:21,960 --> 00:31:24,600 under way in Rakhine State. 395 00:31:24,600 --> 00:31:28,240 What do you say is happening in Rakhine at the moment? 396 00:31:56,280 --> 00:31:58,920 I was really shocked to hear such extreme views 397 00:31:58,920 --> 00:32:01,120 coming out of the mouths of monks. 398 00:32:01,120 --> 00:32:04,160 Ma Ba Tha has operations across the country. 399 00:32:04,160 --> 00:32:07,280 There are at least 600 monks living in just this monastery, 400 00:32:07,280 --> 00:32:10,480 avidly studying the beliefs of their teachers, 401 00:32:10,480 --> 00:32:13,200 one of whom's been called the Buddhist Bin Laden. 402 00:32:20,960 --> 00:32:24,280 There's been violence committed by Buddhists and Muslims in Rakhine, 403 00:32:24,280 --> 00:32:27,120 but the students here are played inflammatory videos 404 00:32:27,120 --> 00:32:29,160 that put all the blame on the Rohingya. 405 00:33:39,200 --> 00:33:42,920 Fake news, social media and videos have played a critical role 406 00:33:42,920 --> 00:33:46,120 in fomenting and spreading hatred in modern Burma. 407 00:33:46,120 --> 00:33:49,760 Millions here have lapped up the propaganda of militant monks, 408 00:33:49,760 --> 00:33:53,720 the Burmese military, and even Aung San Suu Kyi's own government. 409 00:33:53,720 --> 00:33:55,480 In their own country, 410 00:33:55,480 --> 00:33:58,120 the Muslim Rohingya people are now widely hated. 411 00:34:01,360 --> 00:34:04,000 Most Rohingya lived in Rakhine State, 412 00:34:04,000 --> 00:34:06,240 in an area closed to foreigners. 413 00:34:06,240 --> 00:34:08,480 I couldn't go on a journey around Burma 414 00:34:08,480 --> 00:34:12,040 without learning more about what's happened to the Rohingya. 415 00:34:12,040 --> 00:34:15,120 So I headed to neighbouring Bangladesh 416 00:34:15,120 --> 00:34:18,200 and on to the river that divides the two countries. 417 00:34:25,320 --> 00:34:28,560 The Rohingya are one of the most persecuted people on the planet. 418 00:34:28,560 --> 00:34:32,440 They've lived under a system described by many experts 419 00:34:32,440 --> 00:34:36,440 as an apartheid system for decades now. 420 00:34:36,440 --> 00:34:40,040 Many Burmese see the Rohingya as illegal migrants, 421 00:34:40,040 --> 00:34:43,640 but there have been Rohingya in the country for centuries. 422 00:34:43,640 --> 00:34:46,920 In recent years, they've been deprived of their right to vote, 423 00:34:46,920 --> 00:34:49,920 their access to health care and education was limited 424 00:34:49,920 --> 00:34:53,760 and they were banned from travelling freely between villages. 425 00:34:53,760 --> 00:34:57,640 The Burmese dictatorship even stripped them of their citizenship, 426 00:34:57,640 --> 00:34:59,960 making the Rohingya the largest group 427 00:34:59,960 --> 00:35:01,880 of stateless people on the planet. 428 00:35:03,600 --> 00:35:05,720 This is about as far as we can go 429 00:35:05,720 --> 00:35:09,320 without crossing the border between Bangladesh and Burma. 430 00:35:09,320 --> 00:35:11,240 It's a part of the country 431 00:35:11,240 --> 00:35:15,000 that we are completely forbidden from visiting. 432 00:35:15,000 --> 00:35:17,480 In fact, if we get too close to that side, 433 00:35:17,480 --> 00:35:21,880 it's quite possible Burmese border guards will start shooting at us. 434 00:35:21,880 --> 00:35:23,880 Holy crap, look. 435 00:35:23,880 --> 00:35:25,680 There's a fire over there. 436 00:35:25,680 --> 00:35:27,560 It could be a normal fire 437 00:35:27,560 --> 00:35:32,400 or it could be the Burmese military burning a Rohingya village. 438 00:35:34,280 --> 00:35:37,120 The most recent violence against the Rohingya 439 00:35:37,120 --> 00:35:40,360 is just the latest phase in a long campaign of oppression. 440 00:35:41,880 --> 00:35:45,800 Waves of Rohingya refugees have been fleeing Burma for Bangladesh 441 00:35:45,800 --> 00:35:49,000 ever since the 1970s, to escape persecution. 442 00:35:50,520 --> 00:35:53,520 Most have been held and housed in refugee camps 443 00:35:53,520 --> 00:35:55,960 just inside Bangladesh. 444 00:35:55,960 --> 00:35:58,440 The largest is called Kutupalong. 445 00:35:59,800 --> 00:36:03,520 I met up with Shamin, a Rohingya guide who grew up in the camp. 446 00:36:03,520 --> 00:36:05,280 Shamin! 447 00:36:05,280 --> 00:36:08,760 Assalaamu Alaikum. Wa alaikum salaam. How are you? 448 00:36:08,760 --> 00:36:11,800 You've been living here in the camp for how long? 449 00:36:11,800 --> 00:36:14,640 26 years. 26 years?! Yeah. 450 00:36:14,640 --> 00:36:16,720 You came across from Myanmar... 451 00:36:16,720 --> 00:36:21,240 1992. An earlier time of crisis for the Rohingya, wasn't it? Yeah. 452 00:36:21,240 --> 00:36:24,240 In August 2017, a group of Rohingya militants 453 00:36:24,240 --> 00:36:27,840 carried out a series of attacks on Burmese police posts. 454 00:36:29,400 --> 00:36:33,040 In response, the Burmese military unleashed an orgy of bloodshed 455 00:36:33,040 --> 00:36:36,440 on Rohingya men, women and children, 456 00:36:36,440 --> 00:36:39,760 burning hundreds of villages and killing thousands. 457 00:36:39,760 --> 00:36:44,760 Nearly 700,000 Rohingya refugees poured out of Burma into Bangladesh. 458 00:36:45,840 --> 00:36:49,480 The population of Kutupalong camp exploded. 459 00:36:49,480 --> 00:36:52,760 This is now the biggest refugee camp in the world. 460 00:36:52,760 --> 00:36:54,960 Oh, my God. Look at this! 461 00:37:13,320 --> 00:37:18,000 Look at the size of this camp, this place, this city. 462 00:37:19,480 --> 00:37:22,600 I think like nothing I have seen 463 00:37:22,600 --> 00:37:27,120 anywhere on planet Earth bespeaks of a biblical exodus... 464 00:37:29,240 --> 00:37:34,320 ..of an entire people terrorised into fleeing. 465 00:37:41,440 --> 00:37:44,080 Can we hop in this? 466 00:37:44,080 --> 00:37:46,400 The attacks by the Burmese military 467 00:37:46,400 --> 00:37:50,360 caused the most rapid movement of people since the Rwandan genocide. 468 00:37:55,800 --> 00:37:58,800 God, it's just enormous, this camp. 469 00:37:58,800 --> 00:38:01,120 It is just enormous. 470 00:38:06,800 --> 00:38:08,680 What's going on here? 471 00:38:09,760 --> 00:38:11,600 Can we stop? Can we stop? 472 00:38:14,200 --> 00:38:17,680 During the exodus, tens of thousands of families were split up. 473 00:38:17,680 --> 00:38:21,720 Many are still desperate to know if their loved ones are dead or alive. 474 00:38:41,800 --> 00:38:43,400 What's happened? 475 00:39:53,360 --> 00:39:58,040 Is this the sort of situation that can result in a reunification? 476 00:40:08,600 --> 00:40:11,160 You think stolen, trafficked? Yeah. 477 00:40:18,480 --> 00:40:22,200 More than half the refugees who have come to Bangladesh are children. 478 00:40:23,600 --> 00:40:25,880 Some lost their parents in the chaos. 479 00:40:25,880 --> 00:40:27,920 Others have been left orphaned. 480 00:40:30,080 --> 00:40:33,360 They need protection and they need support. 481 00:40:39,440 --> 00:40:41,840 So this is a child-friendly space. 482 00:40:41,840 --> 00:40:45,960 This is one of 130 child-friendly spaces in this area 483 00:40:45,960 --> 00:40:48,040 run by the charity Unicef, 484 00:40:48,040 --> 00:40:51,400 a vital safe haven for many of the camp's children. 485 00:40:51,400 --> 00:40:54,920 Shakeel Faisula from Unicef invited me to talk to two youngsters 486 00:40:54,920 --> 00:40:56,640 in the charity's care. 487 00:40:58,000 --> 00:41:00,560 Yousef came to the camp with his sister, Rosina, 488 00:41:00,560 --> 00:41:02,280 after the August attacks. 489 00:41:10,520 --> 00:41:14,080 I promise you, it's not a gun. It's a camera, OK? 490 00:41:14,080 --> 00:41:15,840 I promise you. 491 00:41:15,840 --> 00:41:20,960 What this lad is immediately saying is that Jonathan's camera, 492 00:41:20,960 --> 00:41:26,560 which has a handle on it at the front with almost a trigger, 493 00:41:26,560 --> 00:41:30,400 he's saying immediately, "It looks like a gun." 494 00:41:30,400 --> 00:41:33,160 You can go and have a look. It's OK. 495 00:41:34,200 --> 00:41:36,920 All rights? So you know it's not a gun, don't you? 496 00:41:44,640 --> 00:41:46,520 Why did you have to... 497 00:41:46,520 --> 00:41:49,320 ..why did you have to come here to Bangladesh, do you know? 498 00:42:07,480 --> 00:42:09,600 Do you feel safe here now? 499 00:42:11,400 --> 00:42:13,520 Yes, I feel safe here. 500 00:42:14,760 --> 00:42:17,760 Shakeel, these are horrific stories. 501 00:42:17,760 --> 00:42:22,200 Are you hearing this a lot from children? Yes. 502 00:42:22,200 --> 00:42:25,680 These are kind of common stories that we are hearing 503 00:42:25,680 --> 00:42:27,560 from many of the children. 504 00:42:27,560 --> 00:42:33,040 We kind of feel that their childhood has kind of been stolen from them. 505 00:42:33,040 --> 00:42:35,240 And now, they are here, 506 00:42:35,240 --> 00:42:38,360 we are just trying to make sure that at least they have a future 507 00:42:38,360 --> 00:42:41,360 because in many cases, you really can't claim 508 00:42:41,360 --> 00:42:44,440 that these children will forget these things. 509 00:42:44,440 --> 00:42:46,760 These will remain within themselves. 510 00:42:46,760 --> 00:42:48,480 Forever? Forever. 511 00:42:48,480 --> 00:42:51,480 For the time being, we can just tell them that, 512 00:42:51,480 --> 00:42:54,400 yes, this has happened, this has happened, 513 00:42:54,400 --> 00:42:56,400 but you have to continue. 514 00:42:56,400 --> 00:42:59,560 What are the things that you do here or in life 515 00:42:59,560 --> 00:43:02,680 that really make you laugh and smile? 516 00:43:15,720 --> 00:43:18,320 Have you got a favourite team? Barcelona. 517 00:43:18,320 --> 00:43:22,320 Barcelona is your favourite football team in the world. 518 00:43:22,320 --> 00:43:25,480 You're a good man. Thank you for talking with us. 519 00:43:25,480 --> 00:43:27,200 Big guy! 520 00:43:34,520 --> 00:43:39,040 Oh, wow! Look what we've been offered, Shamin! 521 00:43:39,040 --> 00:43:41,080 Oh, this is very nice. 522 00:43:42,560 --> 00:43:44,640 Oh, what a VERY kind offer. 523 00:43:44,640 --> 00:43:47,160 Do you like cake? This is cake. 524 00:43:47,160 --> 00:43:49,240 We've got some cake. 525 00:43:49,240 --> 00:43:51,000 This is biscuit. Biscuits! 526 00:43:51,000 --> 00:43:52,880 Oh, I love biscuits. 527 00:43:52,880 --> 00:43:56,560 You've brought us some tea and some biscuits and some cake! 528 00:43:56,560 --> 00:43:58,560 Yeah. Delicious! 529 00:43:58,560 --> 00:44:03,600 There we go. In my country, we love putting our biscuits in our tea. 530 00:44:03,600 --> 00:44:05,360 Yeah. 531 00:44:05,360 --> 00:44:07,920 Can you cut me some cake, please? 532 00:44:09,240 --> 00:44:11,640 Because if I cut it, I'll have it all! 533 00:44:11,640 --> 00:44:13,640 Thank you. 534 00:44:13,640 --> 00:44:16,200 What do you like most about coming here? 535 00:44:20,520 --> 00:44:23,960 One of the many wonderful things about a centre like this, 536 00:44:23,960 --> 00:44:26,080 a sanctuary like this, 537 00:44:26,080 --> 00:44:30,240 is that it gives children who often have very little 538 00:44:30,240 --> 00:44:32,720 and many of whom are traumatised, 539 00:44:32,720 --> 00:44:35,520 it gives them a chance just to be children again. 540 00:44:35,520 --> 00:44:37,160 Her brother is calling her. 541 00:44:37,160 --> 00:44:39,840 Her brother is calling her, all right. 542 00:44:39,840 --> 00:44:43,080 They've been through more than most people can comprehend, 543 00:44:43,080 --> 00:44:44,840 haven't they, some of them? 544 00:44:50,400 --> 00:44:53,120 The scale of the killings, rape and torture 545 00:44:53,120 --> 00:44:56,400 committed against these people by the Burmese military 546 00:44:56,400 --> 00:45:00,240 has led the United Nations to label it as ethnic cleansing. 547 00:45:01,600 --> 00:45:05,440 Burma's leader, Aung San Suu Kyi, a Nobel Prize winner, 548 00:45:05,440 --> 00:45:08,360 has not condemned the army's actions. 549 00:45:08,360 --> 00:45:10,640 She has blamed the crisis on tensions 550 00:45:10,640 --> 00:45:13,720 between the Buddhist and Muslim communities in Rakhine 551 00:45:13,720 --> 00:45:15,720 and violence on both sides. 552 00:45:17,080 --> 00:45:19,480 International observers have not been allowed 553 00:45:19,480 --> 00:45:21,280 to freely visit the area. 554 00:45:30,040 --> 00:45:33,240 I'd heard that people were still trying to flee Burma 555 00:45:33,240 --> 00:45:36,240 and that thousands were still stuck at the land border 556 00:45:36,240 --> 00:45:38,080 between the two countries. 557 00:45:40,080 --> 00:45:42,960 Bangladeshi border guards were closing crossing points 558 00:45:42,960 --> 00:45:46,840 and setting up checkpoints to stop more Rohingya entering the country. 559 00:45:49,640 --> 00:45:51,240 Let's go. 560 00:45:58,000 --> 00:46:00,160 How close to the border are we now, Shamin? 561 00:46:00,160 --> 00:46:03,040 This is also Burmese fence. Look. INAUDIBLE 562 00:46:03,040 --> 00:46:05,800 Just there?! Yes, this one. 563 00:46:05,800 --> 00:46:09,360 This is the main. Can we stop? Can we stop? 564 00:46:09,360 --> 00:46:10,400 Let's just hop out. 565 00:46:12,360 --> 00:46:13,840 OK, let's have a look. 566 00:46:16,720 --> 00:46:18,760 This is the border. 567 00:46:18,760 --> 00:46:21,000 Myanmar and Bangladesh border. 568 00:46:21,000 --> 00:46:22,160 This is the border? 569 00:46:22,160 --> 00:46:23,480 Yeah, this is the border and... 570 00:46:23,480 --> 00:46:26,160 Right here?! Yeah. Not the water? 571 00:46:26,160 --> 00:46:27,920 Yeah. The water is the border? 572 00:46:27,920 --> 00:46:30,280 Yeah, this is Bangladesh and that is Myanmar. 573 00:46:32,760 --> 00:46:36,280 This is the fence and pillar of the Myanmar. 574 00:46:36,280 --> 00:46:40,520 OK, so they are trapped on almost a no-man's land, almost... 575 00:46:40,520 --> 00:46:43,920 Yeah. ..between the Myanmar fence and the Myanmar border, 576 00:46:43,920 --> 00:46:46,080 which is just here. 577 00:46:46,080 --> 00:46:50,480 So they're being allowed to come to this side just informally? 578 00:46:50,480 --> 00:46:55,480 Informally, to take medicines and to take food, 579 00:46:55,480 --> 00:46:58,920 to take aid and just to bring water also. 580 00:46:58,920 --> 00:47:00,320 OK. So... 581 00:47:02,520 --> 00:47:04,560 This little bridge here... Yeah, bamboo bridge. 582 00:47:04,560 --> 00:47:08,000 ..is one of a very few sort of actual crossing points? 583 00:47:08,000 --> 00:47:10,400 Yes. An informal crossing point. 584 00:47:10,400 --> 00:47:11,760 This is utterly horrific. 585 00:47:13,520 --> 00:47:18,120 I mean, thank God the Bangladeshis are letting the Rohingya come across 586 00:47:18,120 --> 00:47:20,800 to pick up aid, otherwise these people would have nothing. 587 00:47:20,800 --> 00:47:22,720 But, of course, you may well be asking 588 00:47:22,720 --> 00:47:26,560 why won't they let everybody cross into the safety of this side? 589 00:47:26,560 --> 00:47:29,120 It's a very fair question. 590 00:47:29,120 --> 00:47:31,400 Obviously, Bangladesh is a desperately poor country. 591 00:47:31,400 --> 00:47:35,120 They've already absorbed and are housing tens and tens of thousands 592 00:47:35,120 --> 00:47:36,920 of Rohingya refugees. 593 00:47:36,920 --> 00:47:41,200 But there are tensions starting to develop between the community here, 594 00:47:41,200 --> 00:47:43,160 of course, and the people coming in. 595 00:47:46,280 --> 00:47:49,280 Then we spotted Burmese soldiers watching over the camp 596 00:47:49,280 --> 00:47:50,400 from the hill above. 597 00:47:53,520 --> 00:47:54,920 What happened? One is running. 598 00:47:54,920 --> 00:47:57,080 One has just run up. Over there. 599 00:48:07,560 --> 00:48:08,760 Bloody hell. 600 00:48:20,080 --> 00:48:21,560 So she stepped on a land mine? 601 00:48:21,560 --> 00:48:23,840 No... Yeah. She... 602 00:48:25,480 --> 00:48:27,760 Lost both her legs. Yes. 603 00:48:30,240 --> 00:48:35,360 Relations have never been good between many of the Burmese 604 00:48:35,360 --> 00:48:37,480 and the Rohingya, but this is... 605 00:48:37,480 --> 00:48:38,840 this is apocalyptic. 606 00:48:38,840 --> 00:48:41,680 It is a completely, erm, 607 00:48:41,680 --> 00:48:43,720 devastating situation. 608 00:48:43,720 --> 00:48:44,960 How can you ever go back? 609 00:48:46,240 --> 00:48:48,600 TRANSLATION 610 00:48:54,280 --> 00:48:58,000 What did you do before you came here, before you had to flee? 611 00:49:01,200 --> 00:49:02,960 You studied psychology? 612 00:49:25,880 --> 00:49:29,200 The Rohingya see themselves as part of Burma. 613 00:49:29,200 --> 00:49:32,200 Everyone I spoke to wanted to return home. 614 00:49:32,200 --> 00:49:34,680 The Bangladeshis want them to go. 615 00:49:34,680 --> 00:49:36,400 But clearly it's not safe. 616 00:49:38,920 --> 00:49:40,480 HORN BEEPS 617 00:49:42,240 --> 00:49:45,120 Yeah, we've got some stuff. We've got some stuff. 618 00:49:45,120 --> 00:49:46,360 There's a guy been injured. 619 00:49:49,240 --> 00:49:51,120 HE SPEAKS OWN LANGUAGE 620 00:49:51,120 --> 00:49:53,560 Yeah, we've got bandages. 621 00:49:53,560 --> 00:49:55,080 Here. I'll try and find a better one. 622 00:49:56,120 --> 00:49:57,640 That's probably the best thing. 623 00:50:00,640 --> 00:50:02,800 Not far. Yeah? 624 00:50:02,800 --> 00:50:06,400 OK. If you go on here. 625 00:50:06,400 --> 00:50:08,800 Oh, man, he's been badly beaten. 626 00:50:08,800 --> 00:50:12,120 Kairo went back into Burma to check on his farm. 627 00:50:12,120 --> 00:50:14,040 He was caught by Burmese soldiers. 628 00:50:14,040 --> 00:50:15,640 Why did you want to go back? 629 00:50:38,160 --> 00:50:40,400 CAR HORN TOOTS 630 00:50:41,480 --> 00:50:43,760 HE SPEAKS OWN LANGUAGE Patient, patient. Yes, yes. 631 00:50:43,760 --> 00:50:45,000 Just here? Yes, yes. 632 00:50:53,880 --> 00:50:57,000 OK. How often is something like this happening, 633 00:50:57,000 --> 00:50:59,920 where people have been across the border, 634 00:50:59,920 --> 00:51:04,400 are being still brought in now, beaten up, attacked, tortured? 635 00:51:04,400 --> 00:51:05,920 Daily. Every day? 636 00:51:05,920 --> 00:51:06,960 Yeah. 637 00:51:08,520 --> 00:51:10,640 He's lucky to be alive. 638 00:51:10,640 --> 00:51:12,400 They could've killed him. Mm. 639 00:51:19,200 --> 00:51:21,920 They want the Rohingya to stay out of Myanmar? 640 00:51:29,040 --> 00:51:32,560 It's hard to know how the Rohingya will ever be able to go safely back 641 00:51:32,560 --> 00:51:33,760 to Burma. 642 00:51:36,440 --> 00:51:37,520 30 minutes ago. 643 00:51:39,240 --> 00:51:40,720 There is a small fracture. 644 00:51:40,720 --> 00:51:42,160 He's got a fracture in his skull? 645 00:51:42,160 --> 00:51:44,680 Yeah, a small fracture, no need to operate right now, 646 00:51:44,680 --> 00:51:46,600 but we'll just take him to the observation 647 00:51:46,600 --> 00:51:48,720 and see through the night how he goes. 648 00:51:53,240 --> 00:51:54,720 After all that's happened, 649 00:51:54,720 --> 00:51:58,240 surely the Rohingya would need cast-iron guarantees 650 00:51:58,240 --> 00:52:01,040 and an international force to protect them if they returned. 651 00:52:02,160 --> 00:52:03,400 Wouldn't you? 652 00:52:17,800 --> 00:52:21,120 The Burmese government has always blamed Rohingya militants 653 00:52:21,120 --> 00:52:23,600 for starting the latest bout of violence. 654 00:52:29,600 --> 00:52:32,880 There is a small, violent Rohingya resistance movement 655 00:52:32,880 --> 00:52:36,400 called the Arakan Rohingya Salvation Army, or ARSA. 656 00:52:37,680 --> 00:52:41,800 In August 2017, they coordinated a series of attacks, 657 00:52:41,800 --> 00:52:45,960 mostly with knives and sticks, on remote Burmese police outposts. 658 00:52:48,680 --> 00:52:50,880 We're in a blacked-out vehicle because we're heading 659 00:52:50,880 --> 00:52:54,280 to try and meet some of the militants 660 00:52:54,280 --> 00:52:56,920 behind the initial attacks. 661 00:52:56,920 --> 00:52:59,520 I heard about a guide who could help take me to the group. 662 00:53:00,560 --> 00:53:02,600 I couldn't be sure what I was getting into. 663 00:53:02,600 --> 00:53:05,440 Are these the guys here? Assalaamu Alaikum. 664 00:53:05,440 --> 00:53:08,760 VOICEOVER: ARSA has been accused of receiving support from foreign 665 00:53:08,760 --> 00:53:10,360 terror groups. Assalaamu Alaikum. 666 00:53:10,360 --> 00:53:11,880 Wa alaikum salaam. 667 00:53:11,880 --> 00:53:14,840 What inspired you, what forced you to join the group? 668 00:53:14,840 --> 00:53:17,040 TRANSLATION 669 00:53:42,920 --> 00:53:43,960 What did you do? 670 00:54:13,600 --> 00:54:14,640 Oh, my God. 671 00:54:18,080 --> 00:54:22,040 During one of the attacks that the Burmese say was responsible 672 00:54:22,040 --> 00:54:26,240 for causing their...their military crackdown, as they put it? 673 00:54:41,720 --> 00:54:45,200 Do you have any regrets about the attacks that you launched? 674 00:55:02,040 --> 00:55:03,640 What is it that you want us to know? 675 00:55:16,760 --> 00:55:20,240 Are you part of an international group 676 00:55:20,240 --> 00:55:21,840 or organisation 677 00:55:21,840 --> 00:55:24,200 or are you just for the Rohingya? 678 00:55:36,000 --> 00:55:38,720 Are those international fighters, are they Al-Qaeda? 679 00:56:13,400 --> 00:56:15,560 Well, look, I'm going to go out on a limb here 680 00:56:15,560 --> 00:56:19,560 and I'm going to say that if you or I had been through what these people 681 00:56:19,560 --> 00:56:20,800 have been through, 682 00:56:20,800 --> 00:56:23,280 there is every chance that many of us would at least 683 00:56:23,280 --> 00:56:24,640 sympathise with that group. 684 00:56:26,400 --> 00:56:29,120 What an appalling situation this is. 685 00:56:30,600 --> 00:56:33,960 I tell you, what worries me is that international jihadi groups 686 00:56:33,960 --> 00:56:36,560 are starting to latch onto this situation. 687 00:56:36,560 --> 00:56:39,400 If they get involved in the conflict, 688 00:56:39,400 --> 00:56:43,120 they will poison relations around this region 689 00:56:43,120 --> 00:56:46,200 between the different ethnic groups and different religions. 690 00:56:47,200 --> 00:56:54,080 Unless the Rohingya are given safety and security and their land back, 691 00:56:54,080 --> 00:56:59,400 then I fear for the safety of Myanmar and of this wider region. 692 00:57:03,480 --> 00:57:06,760 The Burmese government claims they'll welcome the Rohingya back 693 00:57:06,760 --> 00:57:11,120 into Burma, but from everything I'd seen, that seems more than unlikely. 694 00:57:13,240 --> 00:57:16,560 Evidence suggests the Burmese army attacks were systematic 695 00:57:16,560 --> 00:57:18,000 and organised - 696 00:57:18,000 --> 00:57:19,280 possibly in advance. 697 00:57:20,840 --> 00:57:23,200 Many of the Rohingya villages attacked by the soldiers 698 00:57:23,200 --> 00:57:25,440 have now been bulldozed. 699 00:57:25,440 --> 00:57:29,960 The state-run media in Burma is busy spreading fear of Muslims. 700 00:57:29,960 --> 00:57:33,560 And anti-Rohingya feeling inside Burma is shockingly widespread. 701 00:57:35,120 --> 00:57:39,240 I confess, I hadn't realised how bad things are for the Rohingya until 702 00:57:39,240 --> 00:57:44,040 coming here. The point is they've been bad for decades. 703 00:57:44,040 --> 00:57:46,760 I can't really understand why the rest of the world hasn't spoken up 704 00:57:46,760 --> 00:57:49,520 about their treatment more assertively. 705 00:57:49,520 --> 00:57:52,520 I think it was because recently 706 00:57:52,520 --> 00:57:55,720 we've been a bit blinded by the fact that Burma is supposed to have 707 00:57:55,720 --> 00:57:57,680 changed into a democracy. 708 00:57:57,680 --> 00:57:59,240 And we haven't wanted to criticise it 709 00:57:59,240 --> 00:58:03,040 and we haven't wanted to criticise the country's de facto leader, 710 00:58:03,040 --> 00:58:04,240 Aung San Suu Kyi. 711 00:58:05,520 --> 00:58:08,480 We thought she was an Asian Mandela. 712 00:58:09,840 --> 00:58:11,280 How wrong we were. 713 00:58:16,480 --> 00:58:19,800 Next time, I journey deeper into Burma to discover a land 714 00:58:19,800 --> 00:58:21,920 that's been cut off for decades... 715 00:58:21,920 --> 00:58:24,840 Well, this is like Burma's version of Venice. 716 00:58:24,840 --> 00:58:27,520 ..and I travel secretly to one of Burma's conflict zones 717 00:58:27,520 --> 00:58:30,720 to meet a rebel army who have waged a long war against the brutal 718 00:58:30,720 --> 00:58:31,760 Burmese military.