Late last week I noticed that a few of my Facebook friends had joined the group Support the Monks' protest in Burma. Because I have a lot of respect for these friends, a number of questions came to my mind: What kind of monks are these? What are they protesting? Where's Burma again?
Yes, I'm illiterate when it comes to international affairs. But I took the opportunity to do some online research. I was horrified by what I found: an impoverished country subjected to 45 years of violent, oppressive military dictatorships. Three thousand killed in 1988, the last time the Burmese people called for democracy. When the junta allowed the first democratic elections in 30 years, a woman with a long name ' Aung San Suu Kyi ' won 82 percent of the parliamentary seats but was denied the right to govern. She has spent about 12 of the last 18 years under house arrest.
There are unspeakable atrocities and appalling civil rights violations taking place all over the world. We are ignorant of and apathetic toward many of them. Why does this one haunt me so?
I think I figured out why Burma has been keeping me up at night. Maybe it's because I communicate with people for a living, but I find it terrifying that in the 21st century it is still possible for a government to cut its people off from the rest of the world. The BBC reports that, due to military-owned media (including Internet services), it is becoming increasingly difficult to get news out of Rangoon. Anyone caught talking on a cell phone or videotaping anything is risking his/her life ([url=http://www.bbc.co.uk]www.bbc.co.uk[/url], 10/2/07). I can't imagine how isolated, how alone these Burmese holy men and common folk must feel.
A Day of International Action for a Free Burma is being held this Saturday at noon in cities and towns all over the world. Please join us at the Athens County Courthouse to stand in solidarity with the Burmese people. I have to believe that somehow our brothers and sisters in Burma will receive our message of love, peace and liberty.
Please use your liberty to promote ours. ' Aung San Suu Kyi.
Injustice anywhere is a threat to justice everywhere. ' Martin Luther King Jr.
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Letter to the Editor
