Tag: burma

Burmese Refugees Need Jobs, Justice, Hope!

Posted on March 22, 2010

Myanmar is a nation of contrasts. In many places children live and grow up without any opportunity to receive an education whatsoever. It is ironic that if you go into any market it is not difficult to find people selling produce who have studied to degree level but they can’t find well paid jobs with qualifications.

Add to this reality that many of the peoples of Burma have been run out of their country, persecuted, and forced to flee into neighboring countries like Thailand. Sadly degrees obtained in Myanmar are not accepted anywhere else but in Myanmar. Refugees from Burma often can’t obtain a work permit. Well educated and trained people are forced into subsistence living. As you can imagine, they find very little hope! – (adapted from a missionary who works in Burma and Thailand)

FYI: We have Burmese refugees right in the city of Austin. You can do something about this now, here! They need old computers.

  • Consider joining a team of people that can go to address these problems long-term. Of all people, Christians should be at the forefront of these issues!
  • Pray that those in authority will not feel threatened by the people but learn how to use their greatest resource for the benefit of the country.
  • Pray for those unemployed or doing menial jobs after spending years in education. Pray that in their depression they would not grow bitter but seek after the one who brings meaning, hope and purpose to life.

To subscribe to regular prayer updates contact pray4burma@bigfoot.com

Read more about the Shan peoples of Burma here.

Yettaw Released by Burmese, but not Aung Suu Kyi

Posted on August 16, 2009

In case you don’t know, in an unexpected show of cooperation the Burmese Junta let John Yettaw go. Yettaw swam a Burmese river to warn Nobel Peace Prize winner and Democratic leader, Suu Kyi, of an impending assassination attempt. Does anyone have any idea who this Mormon Yettaw guy is anyway? CIA? MI-5? Regardless, he exacerbated the situation. Suu Kyi’s almost 20 year house arrest was extended, with the charge of “attempting to escape.” Yeah, right. And who could blame her if she did!

Senator Webb negotiated Yettaw’s release. Perhaps this will open doors for US to work the diplomatic angle to get Suu Kyi released. It’s atrocious how she has been treated. Here’s what Webb had to say on the matter:

“I am not going to apologise for the actions that he took but I believe that it was a good gesture from your government to our country to allow him to return home to his family for humanitarian reasons”

Pray for her release. Pray for oppressed peoples of Burma. Lord have mercy!

Rambo and Mission to Burma

Posted on May 19, 2009

I recently watched Rambo, yes the fourth installment of the sixty-three year old Sly Stallone, who shocked us all with his recent Rocky comeback. Unlike his performance on short-lived The Contender reality boxing show, both of these last Stallone installments were actually quite good. Unlike the previous Rambo movies, Rambo is more story-driven than action-driven. In fact, we see Rambo doing very little hulking “action” apart from a few shots from his bow and a lot of machine gun fire. He doesn’t pop out ponds or trees, and his shirt doesn’t even come off (not that we would want it to)!

Oppression in Burma: The Plot of Rambo

Instead, Rambo is about the plight of Burma. The story focuses specifically on the Karen people, and their long-standing conflict with the oppressive milliatry junta. The opening scene shows a military transport truck pulling up, unloading Karen captives in the middle of the Burmese countryside. The Burmese military force the captives to run through mine-laden rice fields for sport, and shoot the ones that don’t get blown up. This is not exaggeration. In fact, when I was in Burma a few years ago I frequently saw these military trucks, full with soldiers, on their routes to fight with the indigenous peoples of Burma. It is a war-torn country.

Burma’s Need: Gun or Gospel?

As the movie unfolds, Rambo is asked to take some missionaries into Burma to offer medical aid and salvation to the Karen. Rambo is cynical and reluctant to take them, but eventually obliges them. The naivete of the missionaries is striking. Rambo tells them that the only thing that will change Burma is a gun. The missionaries believe in the gospel. Who was right? Rambo or the missionaries? Well, I’ll leave that to the comments but the missionaries are killed and captured, resulting in the need for a rescue attempt, which Rambo is pulled into.

There’s a lot of blood. Not a lot of philosophy or theology (which would be out of place). But there is the simple, powerful impact of the plight of the peoples of Burma. Oppressed, killed, tortured, children conscripted, and recently even monks were shot in Rangoon during a peaceful protest. When I was in Burma I was struck by the corruption, poverty, beauty, and deep brokenness of this largely Buddhist country. I worked with the Shan peoples, who have also been at war with the junta, who have also been oppressed as the Karen. Consider the 10s of 1000s killed by the cyclone last year. Burma needs more missionaries, more gospel, more justice, more mercy, more love, more hope. Go to Surehope to see the project we started with the Shan.

To subscribe or unsubscribe to a Shan-Tai Prayer bulletin contact: maisung@bigfoot.com

Aung San Suu Kyi’s Trial

Now consider the audacious trial of Burma’s unsung hero–Aung San Suu Kyi–Nobel peace prize winner, advocate for democracy who has been under house arrest for years. Her health is waning. And Burma’s hope with it. Pray for Suu Kyi today, the second day of her trial. Pray for Burma. Visit www.freeburmarangers.org and advocate for these people. Check out this article and video from BBC.