ABSTRACT
This chapter documents consciousness-raising and empowerment work amongst ethnic Rakhine Buddhists in Rakhine State, Myanmar, by the local nongovernmental organization (NGO) Community Development Education (CDE). Rakhine State is the poorest and most neglected part of the country due to geographical isolation, systemic marginalization and violent conflict, which further compounds the disempowerment experienced by rural villagers. This case study looks at the forms of disempowerment amongst the Rakhine; the work of CDE in training and resourcing local community development facilitators; and the ways this has addressed the dehumanizing effects of poverty, ethnic domination, conflict and scapegoating. The chapter explores the personal change and community outcomes achieved by CDE via approximately 30 facilitators, each of whom worked within their own rural villages to plan and lead small-scale, asset-based community development to achieve better lives and higher levels of well-being. The analysis presented here is drawn from data collected during training workshops conducted by the authors and includes analysis of novel arts-based components as well as focus group debriefings about the work. This analysis highlights significant new awareness by these local facilitators and communities, not only of the opportunities and process for implementing effective community projects but also of their human rights, the human rights of “the Other” (their Rohingya Muslim neighbors), and what this means for their relationship with both authorities and one another. The chapter concludes with insights relevant to community development work more broadly.
