By: Brooklyn Brown
Gua sha[i] and jade rollers[ii] have become increasingly popular as skin care trends continue to go viral on TikTok. Typically used on the face, these tools tend to be made from a jade stone.[iii] Many people purchasing these jade items, however, are unaware of the darkness surrounding this stone. The small country of Myanmar, or Burma, is the world’s largest exporter of jade, generating billions of dollars a year.[iv] But the jade mining industry is “…wracked by conflict, corruption, and environmentally destructive mining practices.”[v] These problems have only continued to worsen since the military coup in 2021 as the industry further “destabilizes.”[vi]
Human rights abuses are rampant within Myanmar’s jade mining industry regarding workers' working conditions and treatment. The industry itself is extremely secretive about the labor conditions of the workers and the majority of mines are closed off to the public.[vii] Child labor is one of the biggest human rights issues that Myanmar is facing. Approximately 1.13 million children, ranging from five to seventeen years old, are forced into child labor in Myanmar.[viii] These children are forced to work in extremely dangerous conditions, “often work[ing] on unstable, steep ground and are at severe risk of being swept away or buried by unexpected mudslides during the monsoon season.”[ix] In 2020, approximately 200 workers perished due to mudslides in the mines.[x] Many of those who perished consisted of children.[xi] Because many of the workers are illegal migrants, addicts, or child laborers; their bodies are seldom recovered.[xii]
In addition to human rights abuses, environmental destruction is another byproduct of Myanmar's jade mining industry. Companies “excavat[e] mountainsides with heavy machinery, carving out massive man-made valleys and discarding the waste into huge piles.”[xiii] One of the biggest concerns is the height of these mining waste deposits. [xiv] These are referred to as tailings composed of “discarded earth and stones.”[xv] The government limits on height are often ignored, and these piles can tower hundreds of feet tall.[xvi] The mining companies also leave trails of cavernous, excavated mining pits in their wake.[xvii] These pits fill with rainwater during the monsoon season and transform into lakes.[xviii] The resulting lakes are adjacent to the waste heaps and result in landslides.[xix] These landslides are a major cause of death in the jade mining industry. Another chief concern is the amount of flooding in residential areas. [xx] Companies dump tailing along the banks of streams, which has caused an increase in flooding due to the sediment build-up.[xxi]
However, each of these problems—human rights abuses and environmental destruction—have only increased in severity since the military coup in 2021. Now the Tatmadaw, Myanmar’s military, has control of the jade mining in the country. The Tatmadaw use the profits from the jade trade to “fund their abuses” and “fuel conflict.”[xxii] “The human cost of the military’s profiteering in the jade sector is immense. Hundreds die each year from landslides because of corruption, lack of regulation, and simple lawless exploitation.”[xxiii] Since the military coup that occurred in February of 2021 the violence has only mounted; with the Tatmadaw having “killed more than 1,700 people, including women, children, and aid workers.”[xxiv] In April of 2021, the U.S. Treasury Department imposed sanctions on MGE (Myanmar Gems Enterprise), citing it as a key economic resource, to deprive the military government of funds.[xxv] However, these sanctions have ultimately failed. This resulted in the U.S.’s recent contemplation of imposing additional sanctions on Myanmar’ oil and gas, calling them a “critical economic lifeline.”[xxvi]
But economic sanctions often fall short of achieving their purpose. Often these sanctions harm the civilian population while elites can hide from them, utilizing their control of the state as a shield.[xxvii] Surprisingly, this can cause a “crisis mentality [which] often bolsters the states sovereignty in the eyes of its people with the state portraying itself as the people’s last line of defense against foreign domination.”[xxviii] The sanctions that the U.S. has imposed on Myanmar have failed to accomplish anything. The jade industry in Myanmar is just as corrupt now as it has been for the last few decades. The U.S. and its allies continue to sit back whilst the people of Myanmar suffer. There are two ways in which the U.S. can provide direct support for the pro-democracy armed forces in Myanmar: providing selective military assistance and offering non-lethal assistance.[xxix] This aid would need to be carefully and meticulously planned. But it is time for the U.S. to offer more direct support to the people of Myanmar. With a new regime, there may be hope for reform in the jade industry. But countries like the U.S. and its allies need to get directly involved.
[i] Tool that is typically used in a scraping motion on the face.
[ii] A facial massage tool used to stimulate circulation.
[iii] Tahmina Begum, What are Gua Sha and Jade Rollers? The Emerald Beauty Tools Taking Over Your Instagram Feed, Huffington Post (Sept. 04, 2018, 12:02 AM), https://www.huffingtonpost.co.uk/entry/whats-better-for-your-face-the-jade-roller-or-a-gua-sha-tool_uk_5ac4efece4b063ce2e5819b6 [https://perma.cc/XL7Q-4DDP].
[iv] Emily Fishbein & Aung Myat Lamung, How a Beloved Gemstone Became A Symbol of Environmental Tragedy In Myanmar, NPR (Sept. 29, 2020, 10:45 AM), https://www.npr.org/sections/goatsandsoda/2020/09/29/915604532/how-a-beloved-gemstone-became-a-symbol-of-environmental-tragedy-in-myanmar [https://perma.cc/C9UX-MYMF].
[v] Helen Regan, Myanmar’s military has tightened its grip on the jade industry, report says, CNN (Jun. 30, 2021, 9:35 PM), https://www.cnn.com/2021/06/29/asia/myanmar-jade-military-report-intl-hnk/index.html [https://perma.cc/8EXS-8QGJ].
[vi] Id.
[vii] Kathryn Sharkey, Jade Mining in Myanmar Poses Severe Human Rights Abuses to the Health and Safety of its Workers, Impunity Watch (Feb. 26, 2021), https://impunitywatch.com/jade-mining-in-myanmar-poses-severe-human-rights-abuses-to-the-health-and-safety-of-its-workers/ [https://perma.cc/J42A-EDFS].
[viii] Child labour in Myanmar’s jade mines is a deadly gamble, Int’l Lab. Org. (Jan. 10, 2021), https://voices.ilo.org/stories/child-labour-in-myanmars-jade-mines-is-a-deadly-gamble [https://perma.cc/JD32-3P9J].
[ix] Sharkey, supra note vii.
[x] Id.
[xi] Id.
[xii] Id.
[xiii] John Sai Luu, Myanmar: Poorly regulated jade operations lead to massive human casualties and environmental damage, Bus. & Hum. Rts. Res. Ctr. (Apr. 25, 2022), https://www.business-humanrights.org/en/latest-news/myanmar-poorly-regulated-jade-operations-lead-to-massive-human-casualties-and-environmental-damage/ [https://perma.cc/3YY9-TUQF].
[xiv] Fishbein & Lamung, supra note iv.
[xv] Id.
[xvi] Id.
[xvii] Id.
[xviii] Id.
[xix] Id.
[xx] Fishbein & Lamung, supra note iv.
[xxi] Id.
[xxii] Ted Regencia, Myanmar army ‘tightens grip’ on multibillion dollar jade trade: Report, Ali Jazeera (Jun. 29, 2021), https://www.aljazeera.com/news/2021/6/29/global-witness-report-jade-in-myanmar [https://perma.cc/4VKB-QANY].
[xxiii] Id.
[xxiv] Anthony Blinken, United States and Allies Impose Additional Sanctions on the Burmese Military Regime, U.S.Embassy in Burma (Mar. 25, 2022), https://mm.usembassy.gov/united-states-and-allies-impose-additional-sanctions-on-the-burmese-military-regime/ [https://perma.cc/P29R-FD35].
[xxv] Myanmar: U.S. hits state-owned gem company with sanctions, BBC (Apr. 9, 2021), https://www.bbc.com/news/business-56685106 [https://perma.cc/6RNN-CJBD].
[xxvi] Robbie Gramer & Mary Yang, U.S. Eyes New Energy Sanctions on Myanmar After Execution of Activists, Foreign Pol’y Mag. (Aug. 2, 2022, 5:51 PM), https://foreignpolicy.com/2022/08/02/myanmar-burma-energy-sanctions-biden-execution-democracy-activists/ [https://perma.cc/6PKQ-V3NZ].
[xxvii] Arta Moeini & Christopher Mott, Economic Sanctions: A Failed Approach, Inst. for Peace & Dipl. (Sept. 16, 2021), https://peacediplomacy.org/2021/09/16/economic-sanctions-a-failed-approach/ [https://perma.cc/Y4FH-FXPG].
[xxviii] Id.
[xxix] Michael Martin, Time for a New U.S. Policy in Myanmar, Ctr. for Strategic & Int’l Stud. (Mar. 9, 2022), https://www.csis.org/analysis/time-new-us-policy-myanmar [https://perma.cc/WKJ8-HGTR].