Imagine this scenario. You live in a country that is hostile to your faith and won't allow you to build a place of worship. You work as a day laborer and make $1.50 a day. Your neighbors level accusations and complaints against you because you are a Christian. Since your country has poor infrastructure, traveling to another village is difficult to do. Also your country is overflowing with the illegal drug trade and black markets for jade, which add another level of danger to your everyday life. Sound overwhelming? Some would say it is impossible to be a Christian in Burma because of all these obstacles, but that is not what the Christians in Burma say. Instead they say, "After knowing the true and living God, how could we ever stop loving Him?...We have peace in our hears so that whether we are poor or persecuted, we have this peace." There is a hymn that says, 'Because He lives, I can face tomorrow,' but the Christians in Burma continually show that 'because He lives, I can face anything.' May we draw strength from their devotion, and know that in Christ, all things are possible.--------------------------------------------------
Burma
Basic Info: Since 1989, the military authorities in Burma and the current parliamentary government have promoted the name Myanmar as a conventional name for their state, but the US Government has not adopted the name. Burma is located in Southeastern Asia, bordering the Andaman Sea and the Bay of Bengal, between Bangladesh and Thailand. It is slightly smaller than Texas, and has a strategic location near major Indian Ocean shipping lanes. The Naf River on the border with Bangladesh serves as a smuggling and illegal transit route. Burma is the world's third largest producer of illicit opium with an estimated production in 2012 of 690 metric tons, an increase of 13% over 2011, and poppy cultivation in 2012 totaled 51,000 hectares, a 17% increase over 2011. Shan state is the source of 94.5% of Burma's poppy cultivation. The government's unwillingness to take on major narcotrafficking groups and lack of serious commitment against money laundering continues to hinder the overall antidrug effort. The country is also a major source of methamphetamine and heroin for regional consumption (2013).
Trafficking: Burma is also a source country for women, children, and men trafficked for the purpose of forced labor, and for women and children subjected to sex trafficking in other countries. Poor economic conditions have led to increased legal and illegal migration of Burmese adults and children throughout East Asia and parts of the Middle East, where they are subject to forced labor and sex trafficking. Men are forced to work in the fishing and construction industries, while women and girls are forced into prostitution or domestic servitude. Some Burmese economic migrants seeking work in Thailand are subsequently subjected to forced labor or sexual exploitation. Military personnel and insurgent militias unlawfully conscript child soldiers and continue to be the leading perpetrators of forced labor inside the country. Burmese children are also forced to work in tea shops, home industries, on plantations, and as beggars. Burma does not fully comply with the minimum standards for the elimination of trafficking, but it is making significant efforts to do so. Anti-trafficking law enforcement efforts focus on the recruitment and transport of Burmese women and girls across international boundaries for forced marriages and sex trafficking, but efforts to combat trafficking within Burma remain weak. Forced labor of civilians and the recruitment of child soldiers by both military and private entities remain serious problems. The government continues modest efforts to provide temporary shelter and facilitate safe passage to Burmese victims repatriated from abroad, but its overall victim protection efforts are inadequate. In 2012, the government signed a UN-backed action plan for the identification, release, and rehabilitation of children in the Burmese military. As a result, some child soldiers have been released, but the government has not taken steps to prevent recruitment (2013).
Ethnicity: Various ethnic Burmese and ethnic minority city-states or kingdoms
occupied the present borders through the 19th century. Burmese is the official language, but each
minority ethnic group has their own languages. The ethnic break down is: Burman 68%, Shan 9%, Karen 7%, Rakhine 4%, Chinese 3%, Indian 2%, Mon 2%, other 5%. Over half of Burma's population consists of diverse ethnic groups who
have substantial numbers of kin in neighboring countries. Bangladesh is struggling to accommodate 29,000 Rohingya (Burmese
Muslim minority from Arakan State) living as refugees in Cox's Bazar.
Burmese border authorities are constructing a 200 km (124 mi) wire fence
designed to deter illegal cross-border transit and tensions from the
military build-up along the border with Bangladesh in 2010. Burmese forces attempting
to dig in to the largely autonomous Shan State to rout local militias
tied to the drug trade, prompts local residents to periodically flee
into neighboring Yunnan Province in China; fencing along the India-Burma
international border at Manipur's Moreh town is in progress to check
illegal drug trafficking and movement of militants; over 90,000 mostly
Karen refugees and asylum seekers fleeing civil strife, political
upheaval, and economic stagnation in Burma were living in remote camps
in Thailand near the border as of year-end 2013
IDPs: 640,900 (government offensives against armed ethnic minority groups near its borders with China and Thailand) (2013)
stateless persons:
808,075
(2014); note - Burma's main group of stateless people is the Rohingya,
Muslims living in northern Rakhine State; the Burmese Government does
not recognize the Rohingya as a "national race" and stripped them of
their citizenship under the 1982 Citizenship law, categorizing them as
"non-national" or "foreign residents"; native-born but non-indigenous
people, such as Indians, and children born in Thailand to Burmese
parents are also stateless; the Burmese Government does not grant
citizenship to children born outside of the country to Burmese parents
who left the country illegally or fled persecution.
Government:In the 1800s, Britain conquered Burma and incorporated the country into its Indian Empire. Burma was administered as a province of India until 1937 when it became a separate, self-governing colony; in 1948, Burma attained independence from the British Commonwealth. Gen. Ne Win dominated the government from 1962 to 1988, first as military ruler, then as self-appointed president, and later as political kingpin. In response to widespread civil unrest, Ne Win resigned in 1988, but within months the military crushed student-led protests and took power. Multiparty legislative elections in 1990 resulted in the main opposition party - the National League for Democracy (NLD) - winning a landslide victory. Instead of handing over power, the junta placed NLD leader (and Nobel Peace Prize recipient) Aung San Suu Kyi (ASSK) under house arrest from 1989 to 1995, 2000 to 2002, and from May 2003 to November 2010. In late September 2007, the ruling junta brutally suppressed protests over increased fuel prices led by prodemocracy activists and Buddhist monks, killing at least 13 people and arresting thousands for participating in the demonstrations. In early May 2008, Burma was struck by Cyclone Nargis, which left over 138,000 dead and tens of thousands injured and homeless. Despite this tragedy, the junta proceeded with its May constitutional referendum, the first vote in Burma since 1990. Parliamentary elections held in November 2010, considered flawed by many in the international community, saw the ruling Union Solidarity and Development Party garner over 75% of the seats. Parliament convened in January 2011 and selected former Prime Minister Thein Sein as president. Although the vast majority of national-level appointees named by Thein Sein are former or current military officers, the government has initiated a series of political and economic reforms leading to a substantial opening of the long-isolated country. These reforms have included allowing ASSK to contest parliamentary by-elections on 1 April 2012, releasing hundreds of political prisoners, reaching preliminary peace agreements with 10 of the 11 major armed ethnic groups, enacting laws that provide better protections for basic human rights, and gradually reducing restrictions on freedom of the press, association, and civil society. At least due in part to these reforms, ASSK now serves as an elected Member of Parliament and chair of the Committee for Rule of Law and Tranquility. Most political parties have begun building their institutions in preparation for the next round of general elections in 2015. The country is the chair of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) for 2014.
Economy: Since the transition to a civilian government in 2011, Burma has begun an economic overhaul aimed at attracting foreign investment and reintegrating into the global economy. Economic reforms have included establishing a managed float of the Burmese kyat in 2012, granting the Central Bank operational independence in July 2013, and enacting a new Anti-corruption Law in September 2013. The government’s commitment to reform, and the subsequent easing of most Western sanctions, has begun to pay dividends. The economy accelerated in 2012 and 2013. And Burma’s abundant natural resources, young labor force, and proximity to Asia’s dynamic economies have attracted foreign investment in the energy sector, garment industry, information technology, and food and beverages. Canada, in response to human rights improvements, eased sanctions against Burma in 2012 and opened an embassy there in March of 2013. American-based companies are required to report regularly regarding their policies and practices on the protection of human rights within their operations in Burma. Despite these improvements, living standards have not improved for the majority of the people residing in rural areas. The majority of people live on less than $1 a day. Burma remains one of the poorest countries in Asia - more than one-fourth of the country’s 60 million people live in poverty. The previous government’s isolationist policies and economic mismanagement have left Burma with poor infrastructure, endemic corruption, underdeveloped human resources, and inadequate access to capital, which will require a major commitment to reverse. While 32.7% of the population is below the poverty line, the country claims a 92.7% literacy rate. Telephone service is very poor. The system is barely capable of providing basic service, and the mobile-cellular phone system is grossly underdeveloped. The government controls all domestic broadcast media. There are 2 state-controlled TV stations with 1 of the stations controlled by the armed forces. There are also 2 pay-TV stations which are joint state-private ventures, and access to satellite TV is limited. Transmissions of several international broadcasters are available in parts of Burma, such as the Voice of America (VOA), Radio Free Asia (RFA), BBC Burmese service, the Democratic Voice of Burma (DVB), and Radio Australia use shortwave to broadcast in Burma. VOA, RFA, and DVB produce daily TV news programs that are transmitted by satellite to audiences in Burma.
Religion: Buddhist 89%, Christian 4% (Baptist 3%, Roman Catholic 1%), Muslim 4%, Animist 1%, other 2%
Despite Burma’s recent transition to democracy, its government is still nominally Communist and will do anything to keep control of its people. Christians are actually facing increased persecution. Being Burmese is synonymous with being Buddhist, and anyone who deviates from this heritage is viewed as a
Burma's Christians
are singled out for particular persecution not only for their minority
status in a Buddhist dominated culture, but moreover because certain
ethnic minorities such as the Karen and the Shan have been fighting the
central government for recognition and the right to self-determination
(both Catholic and Protestant communities are found in concentrated
numbers among the ethnic Chin and Karen groups). Whether active
or only caught up in the tensions between warring parties, all
Christians are labeled dissidents by the regime and hence suffer
intimidation and outright persecution. The military government restricts
evangelization work as well as initiatives to import and distribute
Christian books. All publications are subject to controls and
censorship. "Even though we can pray, celebrate Mass and recite the
Rosary, there is no true religious freedom," said a group of Yangon
(Rangoon) Catholics. They went on to state that priests were not allowed
to discuss or pray for peace, justice or improved human rights. The
group added that people were living in fear of arrest or torture.
Despite these difficulties, there are hopeful signs, such as the recent high-level US visit by Secretary of State Hillary Clinton as well as a visit by Cardinal Renato Raffaele Martino on December, 2011, marking the 100th anniversary of Rangoon Cathedral. Nobel peace laureate Suu Kyi, a Buddhist, was in attendance. On this occasion, Pope Benedikt XVI called on Martino to transmit "a message of goodwill" to political and religious authorities in Myanmar, where the military dictatorship has made a number of gestures of greater openness in recent months. It is too early to tell, however, whether the goodwill gestures by the military regime indicate a serious political will for reform and full respect for human rights, or simply a shift towards state-controlled capitalism.
Despite these difficulties, there are hopeful signs, such as the recent high-level US visit by Secretary of State Hillary Clinton as well as a visit by Cardinal Renato Raffaele Martino on December, 2011, marking the 100th anniversary of Rangoon Cathedral. Nobel peace laureate Suu Kyi, a Buddhist, was in attendance. On this occasion, Pope Benedikt XVI called on Martino to transmit "a message of goodwill" to political and religious authorities in Myanmar, where the military dictatorship has made a number of gestures of greater openness in recent months. It is too early to tell, however, whether the goodwill gestures by the military regime indicate a serious political will for reform and full respect for human rights, or simply a shift towards state-controlled capitalism.
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Connecting Myanmar
The Situation of Christians in Myanmar/Burma (Dec 2011)
Burmese Christians Honor First Missionary (July 2013)
