The Story of Burma






Burma, located in the heart of Southeast Asia, is mired in a sixty-year-old civil war. The ruling military regime dominates this relatively small nation that has no external enemies with the 9th largest army in the world. Burma has the highest number of child soldiers of any conflict in the world . More than 3,500 villages have been destroyed, thousands of people executed, and thousands more enslaved. Over 500,000 people are on the run inside the country, and another 350,000 are confined to refugee camps along the Thai-Burma border or illegally residing in neighboring countries. Landmines, ethnic cleansing, rape and torture are just a few of the human rights violations the regime systematically perpetrates against the people of Burma. Nearly two generations of families have lived under government intimidation and oppression. Entire lives are governed by fear. And yet, most of the world remains unaware. The crisis in Burma is not just an internal issue. The regime sells off Burma’s vast natural resources to companies like Chevron and other multinational companies who in turn pump millions of dollars into the regime’s palaces while the people suffer. The regime trades with and benefits from the more suspect nations of the world, including Russia, North Korea, India and China. This governing cadre, called the junta, is one of the most corrupt and oppressive in the world, involved in trafficking people, weapons, drugs, and laundered money, while quickly crushing any protest. While economic sanctions have provided some help and the UN documents human rights abuses, Lovemine believes there are many more options for advocacy. While the junta reigns with complete control, ethnic groups and pro-democracy groups represent the two oppositional groups in Burma. Aung San Suu Kyi, the Nobel Peace Prize winner who has spent most of her time in house arrest, is both the leader and inspiration for democracy in Burma. Though under house arrest for much of the last twenty years, she persistently and courageously advocates for peace and reconciliation between the regime, ethnic groups and pro-democracy Burmans. Reconciliation, in fact, will be essential to the future of a stable and growing Burma, as decades of persecution of ethnic minorities by mainstream Burmans have resulted in deeply rooted distrust and suspicion between citizens of all ethnicities. Therefore, most advocates agree in working toward attitudes of mutual respect, openness, inclusivity, with the goal of establishing reconciliatory dialogue between all three groups.