To have only just heard of Myanmar?

[staceybeaker]

Watching the news about the coup there and I thought it must be quite a small country but now I've looked it up it's really not. Obviously I am embarrassed about my own lack of geography knowledge. Has everyone else heard of it or known much about this country before?

I wonder why the OP (and others who hadn't heard of Myanmar) noticed it in the news now, but didn't notice the numerous other times it has been a big news story over the years. I thought that Aung San Suu Kyi was world famous too. She's a Nobel Peace Prize winner.

I had heard of Aung San Suu Kyi and the struggles in Burma of course, but as far as I can remember it has always been called Burma in the news hence my confusion.

RuggerHug when I was at school (70s/80s) we were not taught about the empire no, at least not at my school, nor were we taught where anything was on a map.

I do think that since Brexit and now Covid we are not getting anywhere near as much international news as we should on TV. I haven't bought a newspaper since Covid for obvious reasons.

I'm not sure that when countries change their names that it gets in the news enough

To the pp who asked the history taught in English schools ime is shit! It's stuck on "war of the roses" and the tudors but even these are taught with a HEAVY bias towards "English good everyone else bad" very occasionally you might get some stuff on the industrial revolution - again heavy focus on the positives and negatives minimised/dismissed

Don't even get started on how the English treated the Irish and Scots! I'm Scots of Irish Catholic descent and I've had English friends/classmates upon discussing certain periods of history in my home were totally and utterly shocked to hear of the potato famine, the highland clearances etc - often not even mentioned in history lessons in English schools ime and certainly colonialism in Asia, Africa etc is also very rarely mentioned and taught poorly.

yabu

20:47Graphista
No one knows everything, yes.
Someone from the UK that doesn't know about a country that has been in the UK news for decades - shameful!

TrappedandDepressed thanks for answering. I didn't mean it to be a dig I'm just a bit baffled. I'm very much no one can know everything but it's such a huge part of the history I'm a bit surprised at so many people not knowing. Plus out of lockdown finding everything on the internet to waste time doing I did a buzz feed quiz in the last few days of how many countries can you name that were in the British empire in 2 minutes (or something like that). I'm wondering how far most British people would get I suppose.

I've heard of Myanmar and heard of Burma. Wouldn't have a clue they were the same place. However, until a few mins ago I have never heard of Aung San Suu Kyi.

I have never really taken an interest in the news and certainly don't do world politics. Obviously some things you can't escape, but whatever the history is here (I will need to google) I have just avoided - not on purpose.

Then again I didn't realise Chernobyl was in my lifetime and I never heard of the twin towers until 2001. I'm 42 now so I really should have known, but as I said I have never really taken an interest in the news.

Also I don't care what people think about that of me. They can be as superior as they like.

Others ignorance isn't anything to feel superior about - it's a sad state of affairs when someone from the UK asks about a country that has been in the UK news for decades

My point was that not everyone has the same knowledge, and it's pretty crappy to call someone ill educated or a child just because they don't know exactly the same as you might do.
How else do people learn, if not to ask questions, or admit they migth not know something?
No wonder people don't always speak up when they might be ridiculed for it.
Surely better to be nice, or to offer knowledge instead, otherwise might put off asking anything in future.

Thanks smashedavocado and it must be interesting/worrying to hear about it all.

Thanks for all the replies it's interesting. I agree that it can be hard to let go in your mind of old names of countries when they change. It seems Burma/Myanmar can still be interchangeably used from orangenasturtiums link

Not everyone watches the news or reads papers or online news reports, I know a fair number of people like this. Many of whom are like it because of attitudes like yours because they've been made to feel stupid or inferior by supposedly "better educated" folk, sadly education like money clearly doesn't have anything to do with class or manners!

My friend is married to a Refugee from Myanmar, he’s a Karen, you may need to look that up too.

20:53Graphista

I'll agree with you on this.
The amount of English people that don't have a clue about the Irish plight is shocking.
Guy Fawkes night is a disgrace - they don't even attempt to see it from the Irishman's point of view.
Potato famine is covered in schools, was in the 90's/ 00's anyway.
There are people born in this country that don't even know how the first black people arrived i.e. slavery and why they have western names.
It's not the schools it's the parents that should be blamed.
Schools tell you enough to pass exams, but where is people's natural curiosity? Love island crap like TV probably.

Many of whom are like it because of attitudes like yours because they've been made to feel stupid or inferior by supposedly "better educated" folk, sadly education like money clearly doesn't have anything to do with class or manners!*

Exactly
Will be interesting to see if yours goes for saying this, I said basically the same but with "why do people have to be dicks to others for not knowing the same" and that must have been a step too far as see it's gone now!
Oops

An interesting article about the terrible situation of the Rohinga Muslims in Myanmar for anyone that feels they would like to know more .
www.google.com/amp/s/www.bbc.com/news/amp/world-asia-41566561

@Finfintytint

I knew it as Burma, where my grandfather suffered terribly during WW2.

My Father did too (born in 1920). He was forced to build railway bridges and weighed 8 stone at one point.

20:58RuggerHug

I didn't see it as a dig and I'm not English so I'm not offended.

I'm British Asian (shit way to describe myself but it's what we're known as here), what I've noticed is second generation of any nationality and you can have a good conversation about world history maybe not Americans. However, natives of these islands especially working class and lower classes the education is shocking, even when they pass exams they don't have the depth, maybe it's being born poor and the parents don't have time to educate or expand, I don't know, but the OP's question just made me think of all those ignorant people that were at my school. They didn't even know about their neighbour Ireland let alone Africa, Asia.

The amount of English people that don't have a clue about the Irish plight is shocking

Because it's not always taught in school.
I dropped history when you got to choose your options for GSCES at 13 (and it definitely wasn't taught before then.)

Potato famine is covered in schools, was in the 90's/ 00's anyway.
No, not here

There are people born in this country that don't even know how the first black people arrived i.e. slavery and why they have western names

Also not learnt at school, never did anything about black history.
I know about it now though, as I've read up and taught myself as an adult on various subjects.

Schools tell you enough to pass exams, but where is people's natural curiosity

Depends on the person, surely? As I said earlier, I read and teach myself as an adult, but not everybody has the same interests or inclination to do so.
Doesn't mean they're any less.

@MaryIsA

My friend is married to a Refugee from Myanmar, he’s a Karen, you may need to look that up too.

I wonder if we have the same friend as one of my friends is too.

21:00Graphista

No it's because they are lazy and would rather watch celebrity shows - how hard is to to watch the news? Even rubbish like BBC?

@staceybeaker thanks . We are worried especially as today they have suspended all domestic & international flights until 31st May.
Perhaps there will be repatriation flights but not sure how he would get to Yangon which is 1000km.away.
On the plus side he still had internet today 😀

@TrappedAndDepressed

21:00Graphista

No it's because they are lazy and would rather watch celebrity shows - how hard is to to watch the news? Even rubbish like BBC?

this is true but sometimes i wonder if blissful ignorance is better?

what good does knowing do you if you can't change a thing?

She is back under house arrest, Myanmar under military rule, its like the last 5 years didn't happen.

I do find it weird that people don't notice stuff. I mean, you don't need to know anything about a country, but given that names are mentioned all the time, I find it odd that there isn't at least an awareness of the existence of a place. But maybe we tune into different things.
I'm not interested in politics at all, and I don't really focus on the news these days, but I kind of absorb stuff from the 'background noise'

There are definitely holes in my knowledge, but I suppose I have a superficial awareness of things, so I'm surprised when others don't.

21:09Quaagars

What years did you go to school?
State school?
Potato famine was taught before year 10/11 it was on the curriculum in the 90's.

Surely you've heard of the ethnic cleansing that's been going on there for a good few years now ? Just awful, it's been in the press a lot :(

@TrappedAndDepressed

21:00Graphista

No it's because they are lazy and would rather watch celebrity shows - how hard is to to watch the news? Even rubbish like BBC?

I think many people are avoiding it at the moment. I stopped actively watching the news a few months ago. It wasn't doing me any good. I check the news online when I'm feeling up to it, but not in any detail at all.

I'm not proud of it, but right now just getting through this crap time with my mental health is more important.

You're clearly very interested (and a bit snobby? BBC news rubbish?) in current affairs. Not everyone is. Maybe they have better people skills though.

That must be scary Smashedavacado I hope he can get back