What’s Really Happening Inside Burma?

An article by James    No Comments

Burma (also known as the Union of Myanmar) is a country we hear little about. Under military rule since 1962, the country is dominated by an oppressive regime resulting in a State of fear.

Democratic elections have been planned for 2010, but they are a farce, or – as described by the US government – a mockery.  The leader of the democratic movement Aung San Suu Kyi has been under house arrest for many years, and is banned from taking part in the elections.

In a nation ruled by fear, the truth is very hard to come by.  Burma is a closed country with no independent media, and opposition to the ruling generals is brutally suppressed. The 2007 anti-government protests demonstrated how activism is dealt with (see Burma VJ for an award-winning documentary of attempts to film the truth).

However very little is known about the situation further away from the cities, out in the provinces that are home to Burma’s ethnic minorities.

This month, Christian aid and development organisation Partners released Displaced Childhoods – a rigorous and carefully documented account of the human rights abuses that are occurring inside Burma at the hands of the military. Such information is very difficult (and risky) to come by and paints a grim picture.

Mother and children sleeping in jungle after fleeing from the Burma Army (Jan 2010)

There are over 1 million displaced people inside, with over 3,000 villages destroyed since 1997. Forced relocation, forced labour (including children), and horrific landmine injuries abound. On top of that Burma’s government has one of the smallest health budgets in the world (source). Life for those hiding in the jungle is desperate:

“We didn’t have any rice or food; we only ate banana stalks and occasionally some mushrooms. The biggest problem was not having enough food. We slept on the ground without blankets. We often woke up in the night and had to run from approaching soldiers. We knew if they saw us, they would shoot us. Every morning, we awoke very early and quietly moved through the jungle.”

Partners Relief and Development is based in Chiang Mai, Thailand (but are also a registered charity in New Zealand). They work to bring practical aid to displaced families, training and capacity building, and above all hope: “Through holistic action, we demonstrate God’s love to children and communities made vulnerable by war in Burma.”