This guide offers information on the mental health considerations, healthcare, beliefs, customs, language and history of Burma (Myanmar). Burma has experienced substantial political unrest since the military junta took control of the government in 1962. Under the oppressive military rule, the country’s Muslim Rohingya ethnic minority population was stripped of their citizenship, the Kachin people were banned from taking part in national politics, and hundreds of thousands have been forced to flee their homes. Ethnic rebel army groups have been fighting the government’s rule and discriminatory practices for decades. The ongoing fighting has displaced families and entire villages who have sought refuge in neighboring countries where some are able to apply for resettlement to a third country. Approximately 150,000 refugees are currently living in camps on the border of Burma and Thailand; 400,000 individuals are internally displaced within Burma; and many others have sought refuge in China, Bangladesh, India, and Malaysia.
