Gross human rights abuses by the Burmese government have prompted the outflow of hundreds, thousands of refugees to Thailand. Burma also exploits more child soldiers in its on-going internal conflict than any other country in the world, with an estimated 75,000 children-in-arms right now.
I have seen first-hand victims including elderly, children, ex-child soldiers, fleeing this persecution and I know that after 60 years of little to no change for these innocents it's time for all of us to do more.
The situation in Burma has become an obsession of mine. I know that most of you reading this right now are thousands of miles away, but even from afar we can do our part to help. When I'm not working in camps along the Thai/Burmese border, I do weekly documentary viewings and hold educational group discussions with every single one of my volunteer groups (regardless if they are directly or indirectly working with Burmese people.) It's a small task for me, but I can honestly say I have educated hundreds of young minds about the plight of the Burmese people, and it is my hope that maybe 1 person out of a 100 will be inspired to take action in the near future.
This is the most recent documentary I've started showing my volunteers, and now you can view it online for free! So please, spend the next 45 minutes being moved, and hopefully moved to action!
The Road « Road of Resistance
"In the summer of 2006, four friends from San Diego, California set out on a mission to expose the atrocities being done to the people of Burma, more specifically, the Karen people – one of the country’s largest ethnic groups. Burma has quietly been host to the world’s longest running civil war – waged between the country’s military dictatorship and detractors from the regime.
Burma is a closed country known for strong penalties including imprisonment for people found inside its borders without the proper documentation. However, they knew that in order to capture the story they needed, they would have to sneak across the border through Thailand. With backpacks filled with borrowed film equipment they set out without a clue of how they would break inside a countryside filled with landmines, Burmese soldiers, and wet season torrential weather. They didn’t know what they would find, or if anyone would listen to their story when they returned."
-- Road of Resistance: A Journey into Burma's War-Torn Karen State.
Inspired to do more? Start here:
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