Inside a Muslim Ghetto
The first known ghetto was created for the Jews of Venice in 1516. There, guards locked the gate at night and opened them in the morning, but after that, the residents could move around. Visitors came and went. In Aung Mingalar, however, no one can leave, no matter what time of day, without permission, and no one can come in without permission.
Aung Mingalar is a Muslim neighborhood in Sittwe, the capital of Rakhine State in western Myanmar. About 4,000 people live there in low-slung concrete houses. There is a main road, a school, a clinic, a mosque, a small lake, and a market. There are also checkpoints guarding connections to other neighborhoods, and armed police stationed at the busy cross street that constitutes the entrance. For nonresidents, special permission is required to get in. For residents—even for a trip to the hospital or a larger market outside of town—special permission is required to get out. For the past several years many people have left only a handful of times. By any definition of the word, Aung Mingalar is a ghetto.