Tuesday, March 14, 2006

just a fad?

this last saturday quest hosted a prayer for burma service. every year the world acknowledges this global day of prayer... at least the part of the world that knows about burma, the struggle, the suffering and the oppressed. anyway, the service was really amazing. good line up of speakers, video and best of all an opportunity to share in burmese, karen and chin music and song. what a rich, beautiful picture of culture and connection to story & creativity through dance and song. and each year the burmese army is using their power to destroy these people through slavery, torture, murder and rape. yeah, seems like just another one of those countries facing oppression... in the long line of oppressive practices. you know it's happening all over. but i feel especially burdened for burma because what is happening there is so secret. the oppression and tension has literally been there for so long. burma colonized in the 1800's by the british. in the 1940's a man named aung san (with other leaders) sought the help of the japanese to push the brits out and gain independence only to become a pawn to the japanese. but through aung san and other leaders efforts the japanese were pushed out and burma gained independence. this independence short lived, as thereafter the regime (currently still in power) assasinated aung san and all the leaders while they were seated in their meeting room. then in the 1990's the people in burma were growing restless with the economic situation and began organizing demonstrations on one fateful day their demonstrations were met with gunfire. thousands of men, women and children were killed in the streets, others were chased to the near by river where they were beaten and drowned to death. the regime even opened fire in hospitals that were helping the wounded... political leaders, students, professors and anyone else in opposition to the regime were taken captive: tortured and murdered. the dictator governent turned on their own people the burmese. the other side of the story is that their have been a variety of racial and ethnic tensions in the country, as other tribes and groups have sought to have a voice in the process. these ethnic groups are a target for the regime to be used in slave labor, child labor, sexual exploitation... and many are forced from their homes and killed. The Karen people are a people who has faced much oppression. In fact, 40,000 refugees live on the Thailand/Burma border and many more are IDP's (internally displaced people). They are stuck in the jungle unable to cross the border and unable to return home. do some research... check out humanrightswatch.org they have extensive documentation on the history of burma.

my point in writing all this is to say, is it just a fad to talk about justice and compassion or does this really mean something to us (christians). on saturday, fellow pastor david leong spoke on this issue that the church has a lot to give up to really live out justice and that all the talk is good, but where are our actions? have we just learned the justice and compassion lingo or are we willing to really make a difference and fight for the voiceless in this world? even at quest what is our call?

i don't want to be a j&c (justice & compassion) pastor who just brings these issues to the table to make sure were covering our bases on the realm of morality and ethics. but hopefully we mobilize the church to be more than just rhetoric. even in our dorm rooms, our apartments, our cush jobs can we make a difference? i think we can!

i love sharing the story of burma. not so that i can boast about all that i know, but to see the expressions on people's faces who can't believe this happens in our world. i shared the story with my grandfather and he was like, 'what?' 'how did you find this out?'. most people just don't take advantage of the information that is right at our fingertips. burma is a country of oppression like many other countries in our world. how is it that we as a society are completely unaware? is reality tv really that good?