By Bev Holmes-Brown Special to ASSIST News Service

People flee the Toungoo District

SUNSHINE COAST, QUEENSLAND, AUSTRALIA (ANS) – The Karen, Karenni and Shan people of Burma are despised, persecuted, tortured and displaced and yet when asked what they most need they say, “Love!”

Second on their list is the desire for the outside world to know of their plight, they do not want to suffer silently.

Nathan Willis, the Australian National Director for Partners Relief & Development, has spoken recently at a number of meetings around Australia, of the enduring faith and courage of these people.

In particular, he tells of their ability to endure and their ability to find joy in the midst of turmoil.

“They have not given up on the promises of God,” he said, “even after experiencing 50 years of oppression.”

The Source of their Oppression

Using brute force and systematic annihilation strategies, the Burmese military leaders send their soldiers in to destroy village after village, killing and displacing hundreds and thousands of civilians as they go.

This merciless war endorses rape, torture, enforced slavery, human sacrifice and landmines. The aim is to keep the displaced people on the run, with no place to settle in safety and no opportunity to rebuild what was lost.

Allies in the Fight for Survival

Partners Relief & Development, inspired by the admonition of 1 John 3:18, work amongst the victims of this war which reads, “Little children, let us not love with word or with tongue, but in deed and in truth.”

Their experience in the emergency relief and medical assistance fields enables them to train, equip and provide resources for these people.

“Our relief teams work in concert with other groups, to protect and co-ordinate safe passage for people on the run,” Nathan explained. “The work in Burma amongst internally displaced people is of high importance at this time.” (Internally Displaced Peoples or IDP’s).

IDP’s differ from Refugees in that they do not seek asylum from another country. Essentially, they are people hiding from their own government, unwilling or unable to leave their country.

IDP’s are considered the most vulnerable group of people in the world. Their status is not recognized by the international community and they are therefore unprotected by refugee laws.

There are over 1 million IDP’s in Burma, living without adequate shelter in ‘Hide sites,’ and they are continually plagued by disease and hunger. With Burma’s military leaders’ intent on their extinction, survival is their daily challenge.

The Children Suffer Most…

The children have only ever experienced this kind of life. Robbed of their innocence and their childhood they are the victims of atrocities and witnesses of horrors. Many become parents for their siblings when their parents are killed.

1 in 5 children die before the age of 5

Partners concentrate on providing nutrition, education, orphan care and helping those that are lost or victimized. “1 in 5 children die before the age of 5,” Nathan reports, “Pneumonia and sickness are serious threats.”

“We are able to set up immunization programs and send nurses to help in the IDP ‘Hide sites,’ and are seeing God tapping away at these statistics”

Faith in God, the God of their Ancestors

In 1795, on a mission to smooth the way for the Empire, British diplomats encountered the Karen tribe, a humble people eager for these visitors to lead them. Don Richardson’s book, “Eternity in their Hearts,” describes the meeting: “This is most interesting,” the guide said. “These tribesmen think you may be a certain ‘white brother’ whom they as a people have been expecting from time immemorial!”

“How curious,” replied the foreign diplomat. “Ask them what this ‘white brother’ is supposed to do when he arrives.”

The guide replied, “He’s supposed to bring them a book just like one their forefathers lost long ago.” They are asking with bated breath, “Hasn’t he brought it?”

“Ho! Ho!” the English man guffawed. “And who, pray tells, is the author of whose book has power to charm illiterate folk like these?”
The guide explained, “They say the author is Y’wa – the supreme God.”

God, the Central figure of Karen Folklore

Surrounded by hill tribes entrenched in Animist beliefs, the Karen tribe is uniquely set apart in believing that God is central. Many Karen villages had a ‘Bukhos,’ (teacher), who would represent Y’Wa to them, rather than evil spirits and demons. These teachers also taught them hymns which preserved their concept of the One True God.

In the early 1800s missionaries were received as the ‘lost brother with the book of Y’wa’ and a great revival broke out among the Karen. Many were saved and baptized and Christianity spread quickly until the government stepped in to quench all Christian activity.

Fleeing from Burmese soldiers

Today, Forty percent of the Karen people are Christians in spite of fifty years of war with the current military regime and Nathan tells us that many still regularly request hymnals.

Moses Saving Lives…

Nathan also explained how the Story of Moses has helped save the lives of many children.

“The people have heard that Moses was placed in a basket, and hidden from those who wanted to kill him. Often, when they know the soldiers are coming they leave their babies under bushes, trusting God to take care of them.”

“Our Relief Teams pick up these children and take them to children’s homes where we can look after and educate them.”

What can we do for these people?

Partners Relief and Development have a number of programs listed on their website, the following offers a sample of the ways we can help:

Keep 5 Alive
When their scouts alert them, the Burmese people have to run. They run for their lives and carry only essentials. They know that anyone or anything found in the way of the soldiers will be destroyed.

Partners asked them to list their most important items, these are:
1. 75 kilograms of Rice, 5 kilograms of salt.
2. 1 Cooking Pot
3. 1 Lighter
4. 1 Machete
5. 1 Large Plastic Sheet for making a roof in the jungle.
$50.00 will cover the cost of providing these life saving essentials for 5 people.
(More details below)

LAMB – Life Abundant for Mothers and Babies
International agencies list Burma’s national figures for infant and child mortality amongst the worst in Southeast Asia. The regime has made access to modern medical assistance impossible. Mothers and babies are forced to try and find dry, sheltered ground, cutting umbilical cords with a strip of bamboo or a sharp rock.

Poverty, lack of nutrition, education and knowledge contribute to the mortality rate but Partners are working to change this.

Their LAMB program is part of a maternal health training program which puts skills, resources and understanding back into the hands of the people.

At the same time, they say, “we offer a message of HOPE from a source far greater than what we ourselves can give … a hope in God through Jesus Christ.

You can give towards this program (more details below) and also pray … pray that the Lord would make Life Abundant a reality among the mothers and babies of Burma.

A Global Day of Prayer for Burma
March 11 2007
A special opportunity to unite for concerted prayer and action on behalf of those from Burma who are being oppressed.

Visit the Pray for Burma website for prayer points and more information at: www.prayforburma.org

You can also download the Global Day of Prayer booklet from the Partners website: www.partnersworld.org.au/index.html

Background Notes for your information:
Burma vs. Myanmar

After gaining independence in 1948 the people chose the name of Burma for themselves.

The name Myanmar has been promoted since 1989 by Military authorities who do not recognize the will of the people or democratic processes and is therefore not accepted as the conventional name for this nation.

Australia, The UK, USA and Canada are amongst the many nations that have chosen not to approve a name change authorized without any sitting legislature.

Elected but Imprisoned and Rejected

Daw Aung San Suu Kyi

Daw Aung San Suu Kyi was democratically elected in 1990 with a landslide win of 82% of votes despite being held under house arrest by opposition. The Military Junta refuses to recognize her as the rightful leader of Burma and rejects any thought of transferring power to her National League for Democracy. You Tube Videos

Burma’s Secret War (48min 45secs – Listed November 2006)
Exposing the new surge of violence inflicted on the Burmese people by their own regime. . Journalist Evan Williams, who is banned from entering the country after reporting on Burma for more than 10 years, goes undercover to investigate

Link: www.youtube.com/watch?v=l-YVdpQHdqo

Steps to Freedom – Free Burma Rangers (18min 33secs – Listed December 2006)
Outlining the work of the FBR, a predominantly Christian group. The video includes footage of training camps designed to equip them to deal with situations they will have to face. Link: www.youtube.com/watch?v=h-XZqVmgMvk

Oppressive Government in Burma (3 mins 03 secs – Listed October 2006)
A BBC Television News report from May 2006 which details the atrocities carried out by the military government in Burma. Link: www.youtube.com/watch?v=F2xBZi-EkZw

In Hiding – Free Burma Rangers (12 mins 41 secs – Listed December 2006)
Warning there are some graphic and disturbing images in this video. A video showing the displaced people, those forced to flee from Burmese Army attacks. Link: www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZfdQwy9TR4E

Links:

Partners Relief & Development is registered as a non-profit charity in Australia, the United States, Canada and Norway. Visit their website for more historical, statistical information & blogs is www.partnersworld.org.au/

Contact Nathan Willis, Australian National Director at: nathan@partnersworld.org

Background Notes are excerpted from the CIA World Factbook website www.cia.gov/cia/publications/factbook/geos/bm.html

‘There shall be no home where the Christian religion is practiced’ by Dan Wooding, Founder of Assist News Ministries, January 2007 which can be found at www.link-zone.net/generalnews/burma.shtml

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