burma, humanity and other affairs

This week is Amnesty Freedom Challenge Week and this year's theme is, "Make Some Noise for the Students in Myanmar". Myanmar was originally called Burma and has 50 million people. Although Burma is rich in resources, it is said that its military regime is one of the world's most repressive and abusive regimes. The atrocities that go on in this country have even got the monks, the most peaceful and loving people on Earth, protesting, and therefore facing the violence of the regime. Students our age have been arrested too and imprisoned, some with life sentences. But they are doing it for the BETTER of their people, they are choosing to act out and risk their lives, in the hope that eventually their protesting will lead the innocent citizens of Burma to a better tomorrow. This is absolutely incredible and admirable.

For the Challenge we invited Naing Ko Ko, a Burmese activist and refugee, to our school to speak. He talked about witnessing torture first hand and how he can never go back to Burma again to see his family. His story was utterly inspirational.

What the military regime are doing to their people in Burma is devastating, more than words can describe. Yet there is something going on here, right in New Zealand, that is just as appalling, it is the reoccurring expression of complacency. In our isolation we seem to be dangerously apathetic towards the terrible events going on in many countries around the world. In choosing not to act at all and therefore ignoring these atrocities, do we become worse than say the military regime in Burma? You tell me.

xx

Lou