Floridians from Myanmar hope Rubio has not abandoned their crippled country | Opinion
Sen. Marco Rubio is an independent thinker, unimpressed by partisanship. This is his image — and often the reality when it comes to international human rights. Burma policy is no exception. In April, Rubio joined Democrats to cosponsor legislation to address the genocide of the Rohingya and condemn the recent military coup.
When other Republicans were afraid to challenge the oil and gas lobby, he reached across the aisle to call on the president to sanction Myanmar Oil and Gas Enterprises, the junta’s primary source of foreign exchange. Also, in September, Rubio joined Democrats to urge President Biden to support democracy in Burma.
That is why the Burmese community in Florida was disheartened when the most consequential piece of Burma legislation since the early 2000s was introduced earlier this month without Rubio as a co-sponsor. More surprising, he seems to be snubbing The Burma Act of 2021 for partisan reasons.
Large numbers of Burmese refugees began moving to Florida in the early 2000s, with thousands of us settling in Jacksonville, Orlando, Tampa, Sarasota and Miami. Thoroughly grateful for the freedoms that we enjoy in America and deeply tied to our Christian and Buddhist faiths, many of us have found a home in the Republican Party.
When the military staged a coup in our homeland in February, we watched in horror as our friends and family members were arrested, tortured and even killed. Government crackdowns against doctors who expressed their opposition to the coup opened the door for the Delta variant to run wild, inflicting increased anxiety and agony in our communities as nearly all of us lost friends and relatives to the virus.
Worse, we aren’t able to go back to see our beloved ones one last time. As if the ruthless killings and rampant spread of the virus are not enough, the Burmese people also are victims of a severely crippled economy. Many activists are losing hope and giving up their pro-democracy efforts so that they can survive and make ends meet for themselves and their families. The international community must support and encourage these activists and civil societies in the strongest ways possible.
Recently, Thantlang, a small town in Northern Burma, was terrorized by a ruthless military that burned more than 160 houses to the ground in one day. We watched this horror from afar, with sadness and sorrow. We feel helpless, wondering what more we can do and who will help. At the same time, Congress has given us a rare reason for hope.
Introduced on Oct 5 by Sen. Benjamin Cardin, D-Maryland, the Burma Act provides some hope to our communities through increases in humanitarian aid and targeted sanctions on key sectors and individuals. The bill is a beefed-up version of one that was introduced into the previous Congress to address the humanitarian situation in the country following the Rohingya crisis.
Republicans in the House have lent their support through cosponsoring and allowing the bill to pass through committee with the unanimous consent of all of both Democrats and Republicans on the House Foreign Affairs Committee. While we wait for the Senate to agree on this bill, our families in Burma are dying. We need Rubio to live up to his image and reach across the aisle to bring a resolution to the gridlock in the Senate over what should be an easily bipartisan bill. He, along with other Republican senators, can benefit by showing their sense of decency, fairness and responsibility toward humanity by being co-sponsors of the Burma Act of 2021. Otherwise, he stands to alienate thousands of Burmese Republicans in Florida on the issue that is most dear to them.
Daniel Nay Hlaing is the founder of the Jacksonville Myanmar Association. He has lived in Florida his home for more than four decades.
This story was originally published November 22, 2021 at 4:14 PM.