Burman Brutality
by Desiree, VOM Intern, Summer 2007
It is surprising how many human rights violations there are in the world. It seems like we are discovering humanitarian crises all the time, but as it turns out they are not new at all, but have been going on for decades.
First, there was the “discovery” that Christians still do suffer for their faith in numerous countries around the world and have been enduring silently for centuries. Then there was Africa with all of its complexities, like the AIDS crisis in the South, the cruel dictatorships in various countries and the displaced people, and the Muslims in the North persecuting the people south of them. Now, it seems the hot topic among Christians and non-Christians alike is the sex trade in South East Asia. People are outraged and are flocking to help, like a moth to the light.
Why do these issues keep popping up without our notice? Is it because the oppressors are so good at hiding what is happening behind doors, or is it because we are purposely blinded to the reality of our world? I ask this question because another human rights violation has been brought to light (for all those human rights taxidermists), except this has been going on for 50 years.
The Burmese people are displaced within their own country, running and hiding in the nearby jungle. Just like Thailand, Laos and other South East Asian countries, Burma—now Myanmar—is made up of several ethnic groups besides the Burman: the Karen, Karenni, Kachin, and Shan. It is these people who are oppressed.
Who is responsible for all this? The government. More horrible than any conspiracy theory we could ever dream up, the government, run as a military dictatorship, sends out its army on a regular basis to harass the people. The army attacks, shooting men, women and children without discrimination. They rape, pillage, plunder, kidnap and maim. And if things couldn’t get any worse, they set fire to the villages and the crops, making them virtually uninhabitable. Then they set land mines around the villages, so the people cannot return.
The tribal people are left in the jungle with nothing. Some of their family may have been shot down or gotten separated from them. They barely have enough food or supplies because they only took what they could carry on the run, which is probably their small children or an elderly family member. They have to scrounge in the jungle and usually get sick from malnourishment and poor hygiene. One out of 5 children does not live to see the age of 5. The people die from basic diseases, like dysentery and malaria, both treatable if they just had access to medicine.
This is all part of the government’s plan to subdue what it believes to be an obstinate people. It has Burma mapped out in zones. White areas signify government control. Brown are somewhat chaotic, and black are totally out of governmental control. Most of the tribal ethnic groups are in the black because the people resist the government, wanting it to be more democratic. Some have joined resistance groups in order to stem government oppression and to protect the people. The government seeks to crush the resistance armies and bring the people under submission. Its strategy is to cut them off from their food, the resistance armies, supplies, and outside contact in order to wear them down.
But the people have an indomitable spirit. Some will try to escape to the border or run to refugee camps that line the coast, but most are reluctant to leave. Once the army moves on, they will go back to their villages and start over again if they are able or will build new villages elsewhere. Burma is their home, they say, and they won’t leave. They just want peace and freedom.
Another factor that keeps them going is organizations and groups like Partners, who come alongside to help them survive. Partners is based out of Thailand, but regularly sends people across the border to provide long and short-term support, discipleship, training, education, basic hygiene supplies, and most of all, hope. Hope that people do know their story and want to help. Hope that God does care and is listening.
But the number of people who know of the plight in Burma is still too few. Why don’t we hear about violations like this? Why does it take us sometimes decades to hear that people have been dying all along, when we can instantly hear about Lindsay Lohan and her DUI? Is our government hiding this information from us? Is it our media that just fails to report about vital issues like these? Or is it true that government—and the media for that matter—reflect its constituency?
To get information on how you can become a VOM intern go to: www.persecution.com/volunteer