Savage Peace

Enduring Myanmar's "Ceasefire"
(part of The Darkness Visible series)

Praying for peace, praying to live.

When every meal is a blessing, and never guaranteed, you don't take a single grain of rice for granted. Every morsel, every last bite, is a step toward survival for the Kachin people of Burma. Their way of life was stripped from them. Their homeland laid to waste as the military of Myanmar grabbed up land and expelled the people it belongs to. Their homes were burned as the hellish minions of Myanmar's leadership trampled their fields and slaughtered their livestock. Where children once played there are now landmines and men in uniform to who the laws of war do not apply.

When every day you get to breath air free of smoke and ash is a blessing you don't take the little things in life for granted. Holidays that were once sacred may come and go without notice for many, but for those who have nothing else, they never pass without the offering of some faint sense of hope. Christmas was once a time of blessings for the Kachin people. It was celebrated in their own unique way. Now it is cherished for it's sweet, if only momentary, release from the cruel monotony of war. Celebrations that may only mirror what they once were are now the moments that Kachin children, born to this hell on earth, will remember for a lifetime. And yet these bitter sweet memories will have to be stored alongside ones that leave scars that time may never fully heal.

Peace is a lofty idea for a nation that has been at war with itself for nearly six decades. It's almost like a carrot at the end of a stick. Persistently dangling just beyond the reach of the people these wars have oppressed for so long. It is a sign of hope that they would continue to look forward towards it. Yet it is a miserable reality that the nation holding that carrot just out reach is the very reason for their suffering in the first place.

The Kachin people seek only for themselves what any other nation of men have sought out throughout all of time. They want the right to self-determination as a people, the right to preserve their heritage and culture. They seek to be recognized as a distinct culture and not forced into assimilation into an amalgamation designed by politicians who detest them on an ethic basis. But more importantly, they seek a better life for their children and a future free from the threat of war and starvation.

No people on the this planet will ever accept for their children a life worse than the one they have already endured. No mother would wish to remain silent as she watches her children waste away from hunger and disease. No father would want to live with the reality that his wife and daughters could be taken away and raped at any moment. And though these may not characterize the politics behind the war, these are the driving fears that fuel a society to resist the heavy hand of a brutal government. These are the sorts of fears that keep militias in the field and a savage military constantly beating at the door.

However despite the natural inclination of man to resist tyranny, Myanmar continues to push for more of it as they tell the world how wonderful this "ceasefire" is for the Kachin State and it's people. Behind the fog of war, which never really left, the military continues it's campaign of rape, pillage, and ruthless slaughter. The intent to intimidate what they view as the underdog is clear once the government's lies are stripped away. No amount of propaganda can hide the scars left upon the victims of this barbarism. Missing limbs and protruding ribs don't speak to peace. Children playing in squalid camps while parents wait for rations that never come doesn't indicate peace. Only the lies coming from Burma's leadership speak of this.

This is made evident when soldiers from Burma's military invade internally displaced peoples' camps (IDPs) and use what little resources these people have for their own profit.

"The FBR (Free Burma Rangers) lists and dates the Burma Army took over a camp for displaced people. On 21 November 2013, Burma Army soldiers – from Battalion 47, 56, 240, 276, and 319 – occupied Nam Lim Pa clinic, in Nam Lim Pa IDP camp, using the building to store weapons and ammunition."

~ Burma News International 1-2-14

Organizations like the Free Burma Rangers, a front line humanitarian group, have helped strip away the lies that Myanmar attempts to portray to the world. Their people on the ground record every movement the Burmese soldiers make against the Kachin civilians. Their atrocities are recorded in detail and accounts from the victims, whose voices would otherwise be silenced, are smuggled out of Myanmar. These records show where Myanmar's official party line and reality so dramatically separate from one another.

When Burma's military sets IDP camps to the torch the world is told that there are million reasons why these squalid camps go up in flames. Myanmar blames anything from a camp fire getting out of control to the refugees themselves. Yet when Nam Lim Pa went up in flames the Free Burma Rangers provided the world with photographic evidence of Myanmar's military's involvement. Unexploded mortar shells and spent rounds proved that the camp was savagely attacked and the refugees driven off as the Burmese soldiers approached in such a manner as to flush the camp entirely.

Civilians are not mentally prepared for combat in the way that soldiers are. Attacks like these are carried out to amplify the confusion and fear that sets in as the military takes camps by surprise. Though the goal is usually to simply drive off the refugees the military takes no measures to prevent casualties amongst civilians. It rather appears that the intent is to maximize the numbers of Kachin refugees killed so as to keep refugees from returning once the soldiers have moved out.

Once the attacks are over the Burmese military takes to exploiting Kachin civilians who can't escape their advance. Taking resources the Kachin people need to live, Myanmar's military deprives desperate refugees of their basic needs. In Nam Lim Pa the soldiers took rice from villagers before opening fire to drive the civilians back as the soldiers carried off their food. Helpless, the Kachin villagers had no way of hiding their rice or keeping it from troops that are still being resupplied from central Burma.

For the outside world these sorts of actions should indicate the end goal of Myanmar's war against the Kachin people. This is not a war to bring the Kachin people into the ranks of Burma's "culturally diverse" society. This is not a war to push the Kachin rebel factions into submission. This is a war to ethnically cleanse as much of the Kachin state as Myanmar possibly can before so called peace is established. The ceasefire is Burma's way of holding up a blank sheet of paper and proclaiming to the world "peace in our time".

There can be no peace with between a government and a people it wishes didn't exist. The carrot at the end of this stick is an illusion. For the actions of the Burmese military more directly reflect the intent of it's government than the words that fall from perverse lips back in Myanmar's capitol. Every drop of blood spilled on behalf of this savage peace speaks volumes to the reason the Kachin people still suffer.

Until the world is forced to realize that genocide needs not war or conflict to be effective then the peoples whose lives it claims can never be saved. The value of their existence amongst us is no more than that of the breath we exhale while proclaiming "never again". Our promise to uphold that vague proclamation falls more rapidly to the grave than the Kachin people themselves.

As a world community we must look past our hope that peace can be achieved without pain. We must realize that as long as there are men who would sacrifice entire races of men to their insanity there will always be a reason to fight. We must realize that those words, never again, so desperately need action to make them a reality.

Putting pressure upon your own government is just a start.

The most direct way to help those who need it most, the Kachin civilians who endure this tragedy, is to put your own resources into the fight. Time, money, and your voice go further than you might realize.

Two organizations to partner with in this fight for the Kachin peoples' future, and two organizations you should research for more info on this topic, are:

The Free Burma Rangers

And...

Partners Relief and Development

When every meal you eat is just another part of your day, you have it better than most of the rest of the world. When every dollar you spend doesn't make you decide between life and death, you have something to spare. And when every breath you breathe is free from fear, you have a voice that can be used to ease the fears of others.

We here at Alder's Ledge make regular donations to Partners Relief and Development. We will never ask that you do something that we ourselves would not. When we ask you to "scream" we will always be there to help amplify your voice in any way we can. When we ask you to donate we are pleading with you to join us in our effort to put our hard earned cash behind our voice. We know that everyone of us is working hard, and those dollars probably have been dogeared for something else, yet when we ask... we ask also that you give it thought (and prayer if need be) to decide what it is you could sacrifice so that those in need don't have to.

On 22 November 2013, Burma Army soldiers from MOC 21 took 5 sacks of rice from the IDP rations at Nam Lim Pa IDP camp. While Burma Army troops were taking rice rations from IDPs, 23 villagers from Man Dau village were walking to Nam Lim Pa IDP camp. When they encountered the Burma Army troops in the area, Burma Army troops began shooting at the villagers, causing the villagers to turn and run back to Man Dau. - See more at: http://www.freeburmarangers.org/2013/12/11/rangers-help-lead-villagers-to-safety-as-burma-army-enters-nam-lim-pa-idp-camp-takes-rice-rations-and-fires-at-villagers/#sthash.JT10Wp5h.dpuf

On 22 November 2013, Burma Army soldiers from MOC 21 took 5 sacks of rice from the IDP rations at Nam Lim Pa IDP camp. While Burma Army troops were taking rice rations from IDPs, 23 villagers from Man Dau village were walking to Nam Lim Pa IDP camp. When they encountered the Burma Army troops in the area, Burma Army troops began shooting at the villagers, causing the villagers to turn and run back to Man Dau. - See more at: http://www.freeburmarangers.org/2013/12/11/rangers-help-lead-villagers-to-safety-as-burma-army-enters-nam-lim-pa-idp-camp-takes-rice-rations-and-fires-at-villagers/#sthash.JT10Wp5h.dpuf

Have questions for us?

Contact the author on Twitter - @alders_ledge

Contact a team member on Twitter - @AL_Staff

Source Documents
(note: not all listed)

Burma News International
http://www.bnionline.net/index.php/feature/kic/16604-burma-army-looting-intimidation-displacement-in-kachin-state.html

Myanmar Times
http://www.mmtimes.com/index.php/lifestyle/travel/9175-feeling-a-little-myopic-at-the-kachin-cultural-museum.html

Burma Free Rangers
http://www.freeburmarangers.org/2013/12/11/rangers-help-lead-villagers-to-safety-as-burma-army-enters-nam-lim-pa-idp-camp-takes-rice-rations-and-fires-at-villagers/

Gifts Of The Spirit

Family Isn't Always Flesh And Blood
(The Darkness Visible series)

(Shan Refugees In Koung Jor Shan Refugee Camp)

(Image via Al Jazeera)

This post contains spiritual content that may not match the views of all Alder's Ledge's team members. The views contained here are not meant to evangelize or any given faith over another. The sharing of these views is meant only to challenge the notions of what it means to be a "screamer". These are for illustrative purposes and to help those reading get to know our staff a little better.

Every new year brings people around the world a sense of hope and the promise of a fresh start. We celebrate the passing of the old year as we envision a year of endless possibilities just around the corner. In the West we use champagne and long nights of parties to somewhat drown the sorrows that had come our way and forget the pain of the past year. Yet for refugees around the world there is no such relief. The sting of a endless years of sorrow has a way of blurring the line between one year and the next.

The Shan people who comprise the Koung Jor refugee camp, just north of Chiang Mai, Thailand, recently celebrated the Shan New Year for the first time in their camp of about 500 refugees. Some of these refugees have spent decades trying to remain invisible as war has ravaged their homeland. Pushed over the border by ruthless elements of Burma's government, these refugees have suffered every indignity Myanmar could bring upon them. They are victims of ethnic cleansing and yet during this celebration the irony of smiles and sincere moments of joy washed over the faces of these refugees.

We, in our homes halfway around the world, meanwhile prepare for a holiday season of overindulgence and purchasing of gifts we don't necessarily need. We lavish our friends and family with material wealth even when we don't need to. And all the while these displays we so often associate with our holidays have nothing to do with the meaning of those said occasions. No amount of gifts, no amount of food or drink, no amount of time spent shopping, or any amount of time preparing actually can be linked to the reasons we are supposed to be celebrating. All these excesses, however, do just the opposite as they wipe away our smiles and sincere moments of joy we should be finding in those holidays spent with family.

There is nothing noble about the downtrodden, they aren't really any different than you or I. The only difference is what they have been through. They didn't choose to be cast aside and abused by a nation of ideologically driven politicians. They didn't want to be driven from their homes and forced to become aliens in a foreign land. Yet here is the catch... the difference that makes all the difference in the world... they find the meaning of a holiday, a celebration, in the one thing that we all should always remember. Family.

Recently I celebrated Hanukkah with my family. Every year this holiday has the task of giving gifts much like those given at Christmas by our Christian friends. Yet it also has another blessing in it that can't be purchased and isn't received by the family G-d gave me... at least not in the traditional sense. This blessing, this gift of the spirit behind the holiday, is the bringing of light to a dark and cold world. It is the blessing of giving of both my time, money, and any other resources I might have to those in need. It is the part of this holiday that I have grown to love the most. For it is the part of this holiday that reminds me of what family really means.

Over the years I have found family in some of the most bizarre places. A sister in Thailand, China, Burma, Korea, England... A brother in Canada, California, Japan, Croatia... Everywhere I have turned G-d has shown me that there isn't a person alive that isn't my brother, my sister, my beloved family. Our color, our creed, our faith cannot matter to me. For inside my Master has placed a fire that burns without end, a love for a family that knows no borders or limits.

For this reason the chance to give of myself to those who need it most is one that surpasses any gift I could ever receive. That chance to help bring a smile a face that has been missing that feeling for far too long... that is what every holy day embodies. It is in this service to others that we find what G-d meant when He told us to love Him, fear Him, and be of service to Him.

My beloved sister, in all her wisdom for such a young soul, reminds me often that in her practice of Buddhism the idea of serving others is essential to the growth of the spirit. In her work to help others she revels in the opportunity to learn from others' experiences, both bad and good. And by coming alongside them she is able to help those in need as they get back on their feet. But more importantly, she finds what it means to be family even with those who aren't our own flesh and blood.

For our Muslim staff the command in their faith to give charitably is a major part of their holy days. I have always cherished the moments where I have gotten to celebrate with them. To give to their causes and come alongside them as a brother during these holy times.

And for our atheist members, some of our most bold screamers, the notion that we are all a family of sorts is just as relevant. They challenge me to look beyond my faith, my people, and my own limitations to find new ways to serve others. These members remind me constantly that we are all born with a desire to be happy, free, and to feel the love of others.

What better way to show that love than to serve?

The people of Burma are suffering in ways that most of us will never truly be able to understand. Children there have seen things that they should never have had to lived through. Mothers in Burma have had to watch their children die right before their eyes. Fathers have had to live with the humiliation of not being able to provide for their families. Sons have watched their mothers and sisters be raped by a military that uses sex as a weapon. Daughters have had to care for their siblings after their parents were slaughtered like animals by barbaric mobs.

Every minority in Myanmar has a long sad story to tell a world that is hellbent on remaining deaf. Their voices have been stifled by the greed of a world ready to exploit the newly opened up country in which they live. And for many, their very existence is placed in question as countless genocides continue to set Burma's countryside ablaze.

This is why your service to them, your family, is needed beyond what words can fully express.

There are several ways that you can get involved and start serving the Rohingya, Shan, Wa, Kachin, Karen, Chin, and other minorities in Burma. The first is rather simple, and that is to start reading every bit of information you can get your hands on. Learn their stories, learn their plight, and learn what the issues they face mean to them as a people. Take in every article, every report, and every tweet or blog post you can find about the suffering in Myanmar.

Next comes the work of any and all screamers...

Start spreading the articles and information you gather. By posting this information to your social media outlets you start the process of screaming. This starts by reaching out to your friends and contacts online. Yet it is just the start. You must take this information and start spreading it to people face to face. By having that one on one contact you have the ability to engage the other person not just on an intellectual basis but have the chance to put some heart into it... emotions after all, make the information stick.

Next you need to start contacting your government officials. If you are in America this means that you must contact your representatives in Congress. It means that you need to bombard your officials in your state house and your governor (many states will attempt to forge new economic relationships with Myanmar). You must keep your government officials accountable for their lack of action when dealing with ethnic cleansing and genocide.

This is just a start when it comes to serving of your times and energy. And many of us who scream on a regular basis do most of these things without relent. These are our daily struggle as we serve those the world so often forgets. Yet this isn't the only way we need to be serving our family, our fellow man.

Charitable giving isn't just a part of the holidays. It isn't something that need be waited for. It is something that we should be doing on a regular basis. And if you do, then let me take a moment to thank you for your selfless generosity. But for far too many of us there are times where we hold back and tell ourselves that our actions and effort is more than enough... but it isn't.

In a world where money is a god in it's own right the act of charity must be continuous. No matter how little it might be, the act of giving of our own wealth to those who are without is an act that blesses both the recipient and the donor alike. It is an act that should be done without seeking of recognition. It is an act that should be done without concern for what that money could had been used for in our own financial needs. It should be given freely and without stipulation. And it must be readily given without hesitation.

For those who would wish to do this during the holiday season we here at Alder's Ledge would like to invite you to join us as we give to Partners Relief & Development.

The wonderful people at Partners Relief & Development have been serving the people of Burma for years. Their endless work on behalf of the refugees and oppressed within Myanmar is the sort of service we all should strive for. It is a selfless giving to those most in need that gives freely and without reservation. People like Oddny Gumaer are personal role models to the staff here at Alder's Ledge.

You can learn more about Myanmar and give to Partners Relief & Development by visiting their website: partnersworld.org 

Please join us this holiday season in our efforts to scream for the oppressed and those in need across Myanmar. Your voice can help bring about an end to the suffering of thousands of refugees and internally displaced peoples in Burma. Your efforts can bring hope to those who have lived without it for decades. And your donations can keep vital workers in the field as they bring life saving medicines, food and water, and much needed help to the suffering in Myanmar.

Want to know more about becoming a screamer? 

Contact the author on twitter: @alders_ledge

Or a member of our staff: @AL_Staff

Source Documents 

(note: not all sources listed)

Partners Relief And Development
http://www.partnersworld.org/donate

Al Jazeera 

http://www.aljazeera.com/indepth/inpictures/2013/12/pictures-koung-jor-shan-refugee-camp-2013125114454995239.html

DVB

https://www.dvb.no/dvb-video/the-first-shan-new-year-in-kuong-jor-camp-burma-myanmar/35051

Leave Nothing Behind

Rape, Pillage, and Plunder
(Part of The Darkness Visible series)

(The Defiant Ones)

In Myanmar's northern Kachin state there is a war that seems to never end. Generations of ethnic Kachin have come and gone as the war clouds continue to break up just enough to let a little hope in. Then just as the light of peace begins to shine down upon them, Burma's savage military darkens the sky with mortars and lights up the darkness with machine gun fire. For those who become trapped by the all encompassing hell that is this war the promise of peace is a faint memory now that the fighting has begun once more.

The level of brutality that the Kachin face as the Burmese military pushes them toward the border was once undocumented. It was intentionally kept from prying eyes as the Burmese pushed the Kachin refugees just within sight of the nation's borders. Yet today the barbarism that Myanmar has been practicing in the Kachin state can be hid no more.

The use of "black zones", established rape camps, mass executions, and slave labor have all been exposed as the most savage weapons that Myanmar has used against the Kachin people. These methodical tools of death have left the Kachin as a people without a homeland. When allowed to enter their lands they are treated as outsiders. In the few gaps of peace they have endured under Burma's regime the threat of these abuses has always lingered over their heads. Today these tools of war are back out and being used upon the killing fields that Thein Sein's military has prepared upon Kachin lands.

(Upon their backs, this war is fought. (Bodenham/AFP/Getty Images))

Black Zones

 The killers in black zones aren't always walking around stalking the prey. In these "no man's land" areas the most prolific killer doesn't even carry a gun. Instead it is buried just beneath the surface. Weeds and flowers can often grow up around it covering and concealing it's location. Yet once stepped upon this grotesque mangler of men arises in a ghastly eruption of sheer violence. 

Landmines kill and wound more civilians than any other form of explosive brought upon the battle field in the Burma's embattled northern states. These horrific weapons are the cornerstones of Burma's fatal grip upon lands where they have pushed ethnic minorities out. Through unrestricted placement the weapons make fields of death where crops once grew. Wherever they are placed they stay and wait to either be disarmed or detonated... there is nothing in-between the two.

Women and children who disperse at the sound of approaching soldiers are often the victims of these gruesome weapons. If they attempt to return to find anyone or anything the threat of military patrols, snipers, and the ever present landmine linger. Those who survive are left with scars, missing limbs, and trauma that plays itself out in their minds and dreams. 

Those who cannot flee the violence are treated as combatants regardless of their age or sex. Women and girls are traded as sexual slaves amongst the Burmese military till they are either killed or discarded. Men and boys are used as slave laborers if they are not first killed or killed after. Yet for the most part Kachin are able to flee since the Burmese military is slow and noisy in attempts to scare potential enemies off. 

Yet for all the Burmese military has to offer in these "conflict" (genocide) zones, the Kachin people also have to worry about rebel groups. Atrocities have been recorded on both sides of the battle lines. However for the most part the threat to Kachin civilians is not the gun or the bullet but once again the indiscriminate use of landmines by the rebel groups. 

Had this one weapon of war not been used there would be more Kachin men, women, and children alive today. Had the two sides refrained from this one form of barbarism there would be more children growing up today with parents, with all their limbs, without the trauma of watching people explode. Without this tool of torment the lives of hundreds of thousands of Kachin civilians would be better today. 

Of course the war would still be going on. The stubbornness of Myanmar's military regime and it's genocidal ambitions would not let the war end simply because mines were removed. Yet the ability of relief workers and aid agencies to reach the wounded would be drastically increased. Though the war would have continued to grind the Kachin peoples' hearts and souls the ability to provide hope would be much more available without the threat of landmines all across Northern Burma. 

Without the landmine the "black zones" would had been far more difficult to sustain. Without the ability to maim their victims endlessly the Burmese military would have had to extend itself far wider than it has. The demoralizing factor of endless war would have been far more affective had the landmine not filled the role of sentry on the lonely battle field. 

Yet all that is hard to prove and difficult to believe since we will never know for certain. All we know now is that Burma is continuing to use these black zones and supports them with continued placement of landmines across embattled regions. The silent killer that maims countless civilians remains upon the battlefield and new ones continue to join them there everyday. 

(The Most Vulnerable Victims Of War (Credit AP))

The Weapon Of Sex

In the Kachin State last June there were 18 reported rapes (some resulting in murder of the victim) committed by Myanmar's military against Kachin women. This was initially reported as an "up tick" in such sexual violence during the surge of battle in the Kachin State. However, with the continued violence that initial report has proven to be the least amount of such sexual violence that the Kachin women and girls could expect for the remaining duration of this genocide. 

Refugees across the region have reported either witnessing or being the victims of rape committed by the Burmese military. Their stories routinely indicate the use of gang rapes and organized rape camps by the Burmese soldiers. This form of torment, though at times ending in death, is meant to inflict generational scars upon the victims. And though the stories of survivors it is evident that the intent of the crime is not just effective but growing in the Kachin State. 

Rape as a weapon was well documented in Bosnia. The effects of the crime have been shown to last well after the genocide has been completed. No matter what the remaining portion of the victims life might bring, the rape at the hands of an enemy is both a personal and communal offense. If the woman is able to block the pain from her own mind the community often cannot. And regardless of the time that passes, the shame associated with the rape itself appears to linger in such a way that it can often be passed onto the next generation. 

In Bosnia rape was used to provide a cheap moral boost to the perverted ranks of the Serb militias. It offered the soldiers a chance to release their sexual desires while harnessing their aggression. The aggression came into the equation since rape is never simply about sex but also engages the desire of the attacker to dominate their victim. It then results into a barbaric display of sexualized violence that personalizes the entirety of the overall conflict and places the burden of the war upon the victim's flesh and spirit. 

For the Burmese military the use of rape as a weapon has been no different in the Kachin than it was for the Serbs in Bosnia. The delusion of "diluting the blood" of the ethnic minority still persist in Burmese soldiers as they target Kachin women in particular. The desire to inflict a lasting pain upon the targeted community is then personalized in such a way that the Kachin woman will bare the weight of societies hatred alone. She becomes powerless in a way that Burma's government would wish to apply to the Kachin people at large. 

The effects of rape upon the victim, their family, and community are the added bonus for the perverted society which perpetrates and harnesses this weapon. The scars that are affixed to the victim's flesh, spirit, and mind are the consequences that motivate generals to encourage the use of rape as a weapon of war. It is why the use of rape has been so prolific during broader acts of genocide. 

The Anchor Leg 

For over five decades the Kachin people have been running from these atrocities. Their parents, their grandparents, have run from these battles. Children have grown up and given birth to the next generation of battlefield children. Entire generations have grown up either displaced or continually running from battles imposed upon them by a government that was supposed to represent them. 

This endless war has been the anchor leg for a people that simply want the right to self-determination. They do not want to have their culture, their people, and their way of life taken from them at gun point. The only offense they have ever committed has been to cling to the desire to live free... to live in the way their ancestors had... to live upon the lands that their ancestors had fought to preserve for them. 

For five decades the world has looked away as the Kachin have struggled to cling to the fringes of Burmese society. For five decades the world has ignored the defiance in the voice of the Kachin people as they demand to be treated as humans and not the beasts of burden that Myanmar would make of them. Now they cling to existence as a supposedly reformed government commits the same sins against them that the last one did. Now they wait for the eyes of the world to turn to them, to open up our ears to listen to their cries, and see what they have suffered at the hands of tyrants. 

Once we have seen what they have had to bare under the heel of Myanmar will we look away? Will their cries have fallen upon deaf ears? Or will our hearts open to these oppressed and weary people? 

There are people who are working to bring relief to the Kachin people. Two of the organizations that most directly provide aid to the Kachin are Partners Relief and Development and The Free Burma Rangers. These two organizations provide for the Kachin people a sense of hope that shines through the dark clouds of war that continue to linger over the Kachin State. 

Alder's Ledge as an organization (small as we might be) openly donates to Partners Relief and Development through the pocketbook of the main author here. We donate monthly to the Arakan Relief to aid the Rohingya people. However we urge anyone who is reading this to visit the Partner's website and do your research. Then search your soul and decide how and if you would like to donate to their efforts. 

To donate directly to the Kachin you can select Partner's "Kachin Relief" in the donation tab. 

Doing this will allow you to join the Kachin in their anchor leg. It allows you to partner with the Kachin people and help ease their burden more directly than simply sending your best wishes. It gives you the chance to come alongside the Kachin people and take up a portion of their burden. It allows you to give them comfort in a time when they need it most. 

Want to do more? 

Scream for the Kachin people. By lending your voice to their cause you can spread awareness and increase the possibility that even more people will partner with the Kachin people. Your voice can bring more people into the race to save Kachin lives and ease their pain and suffering. 

All you have to do is share Partner's website and the stories you will find there. You can also share articles found here on Alder's Ledge on your social media outlets. This simple act can help you scream in such a way that those around you (and around the world) will have the chance to hear about the plight of the Kachin people. 

Still want to do more? 

Consider volunteering with Partners Relief and Development. By lending your skills, your talents, and your two hands to the cause you can help in ways that you might not imagine possible. It may very well get you into the race to help the Kachin people, literally.

Want to learn more about this issue or others covered by Alder's Ledge?

Follow us on Twitter: @alders_ledge

Follow us on Facebook: Alder's Ledge

Source Documents 

(note: not all sources listed)

IRIN Asia

http://www.irinnews.org/report/93822/myanmar-military-guilty-of-rape-activists-say 

Burma News International 

http://www.bnionline.net/index.php/news/kng/16116-burma-army-plunder-abandoned-kachin-farms.html 

http://www.bnionline.net/index.php/news/kng/16119-burmese-authorities-block-evacuating-kachin-war-refugees.html

Radio Free Asia

http://www.bnionline.net/index.php/news/kng/16116-burma-army-plunder-abandoned-kachin-farms.html

Times Colonist 

http://www.timescolonist.com/news/world/in-myanmar-s-north-a-persecuted-minority-dreams-of-canadian-style-federalism-1.615903

Kachin News

http://www.kachinnews.com/news/2557-burma-army-troops-plunder-abandoned-kachin-farms.html

http://www.kachinnews.com/news/2558-burmese-authorities-block-evacuating-kachin-war-refugees.html

http://www.kachinnews.com/news/2555-more-than-100-kachin-villagers-trapped-near-putao-after-heavy-fighting.html

Free Burma Rangers

http://www.freeburmarangers.org/reports/

http://www.freeburmarangers.org/2012/01/30/villager-shot-and-beaten-to-death-on-christmas-eve-as-burma-army-continues-to-oppress-people-in-northern-karen-state-2/

Asia Times

http://www.atimes.com/atimes/Southeast_Asia/MB18Ae01.html

The Epoch Times

http://www.theepochtimes.com/n2/world/burmas-kachin-people-in-crisis-318035.html

Beneath The Black Flag

Myanmar's Military Not Prepared To Give Up The Fight
(The Darkness Visible series)

(Image via Irrawaddy News, June 2013)

When the Shan people practice drills to defend their homeland against the aggressive Burmese military they practice with wooden rifles. In a war for survival the only bullets the Shan are able to obtain are saved for the Myanmar soldiers who stalk the Shan forests. In many cases the Shan people hug the border in hopes that the pugnacious Burmese military will avoid conducting their attacks in view of the outside world. In a war for survival the Shan civilians are left with only a remnant of their homeland upon which to live.

This is the "war on drugs" in the far north of Myanmar. Utilizing cheap excuses that will buy themselves favor in the West, Myanmar's generals commit ethnic cleansing against the Shan people. There has been no real effort on the part of Burma's government to actually end the transportation and growing of opium. Instead the excuse is simply kept alive so as to give the Burmese military a reason to maintain their genocidal campaign against the Shan people. This is a war fought beneath the black flag... no surrender, no ceasefire, no peace. 

Where ever the boots of Burmese soldiers go in regions populated by ethnic minorities they raise this black flag. Taking what they want from the ethnic states before burning what they can't carry off as plunder. Villages that are razed are turned into "black zones" as the Burmese military plants landmines around their victims' homes. There is no right to return to normality for those who are unfortunate enough to live in the path of this cannibalistic military. These victims are turned into fodder for future exhibitions by Burma's legions. 

Life Within The "Black Zones"

(Image via Irrawaddy News, April 3 2013)

In World War One there was the "no-man's land". A long stretch of scorched earth that separated hostile enemies. Over the years of conflict this stretch of land became filled with craters from artillery and barbed wire, both meant to slow advancing troops. It was on either side of this wire and blackened ground that the opposing forces dug their way into deep (and complex) trenches. From these hellish gashes in the earth the two sides launched failed attack after failed attack. And yet the war dragged on and on. With each side "going over the top" and out into no-man's land only to die. 

For the ethnic minorities in eastern and northern Burma there is little land that they could dub "no-man's land". However there are plenty of places that are openly refereed to as "black zones". For the ethnic minorities these were once places that they had called home. Kachin villages, Karen homes, and Shan fields... all planted with landmines. This tactic is meant to keep the targeted ethnic group on the run. It keeps those from the village and any refugees within it from returning. And at the same time prevents migration of minorities back into lands claimed by the invading Burmese forces. 

In a world that claims to be for the downtrodden and the underdog we once again see the failure of the world community in securing the right to return for internally displaced peoples living on the edges of these black zones. Despite murmuring by NGOs and UN secretaries, the Burmese military continues to actively lay new mine fields. These anti-personnel mines create the tragic images like that listed above. Yet all the world can afford these victims is lip service? 

For those trapped in the black zones there is little hope for life or liberty. When trapped behind these lines the civilians in the Kachin and Shan state are hunted like animals by ever diligent barbarians (Burma's Army). They face coordinated assaults that often involve aerial bombardment or artillery strikes just before the machine gunners lay siege to villages and camps. Advancing Burmese soldiers then sweep the village in hopes of finding only women and children. Those caught in the dragnet are systematically tortured then slaughtered. Anything that can walk or ever hold a weapon is killed. For those trapped in the black zones every day is a struggle to survive. 

Yet like Mr. Rogers once said, "look for the helpers. You will always find people who are helping." 

Traveling into the areas that appear to be kill zones, the Free Burma Rangers put their lives at risk when they infiltrate enemy lines. Once in the black zones the Free Burma Rangers are open to reprisals and ambush by an enemy that is determined to cleanse the state of "inferior" ethnic groups. And yet these brave souls cross over the land of the damned to bring the innocent to safety. Standing in the gap between the beast and it's prey the Free Burma Rangers document the atrocities and save those left behind.

In stories that echo those of the American Underground Railroad, the Free Burma Rangers lead refugees out of areas that appear to be next in line for the Burmese army. In other trips the Free Burma Rangers bring food, water, and medicine to the IDP camps nearest to Burmese military activity. It is in these trips that the Free Burma Rangers provide aid and training to the refugees that have been victimized by Burma's brutal campaign of genocide. 

This is the little glimmer of hope in a land blackened by a military far from willing to lower it's black flag. 

The Penis As A Weapon Of Genocide

(Image via Burma Campaign UK)

What is the one thing every Burmese soldier carries into the field that doesn't need replaced or reloaded in order to ruin lives? 

Rape has long been a trademark of war. It has plagued the fairer sex every since the first testosterone fueled army took to the field. Yet for all our time affiliated with such sins, for all the time that we have spent fighting against it, this crime has only increased in as our hatred for one-another has grown. It allows the savage an opportunity to dehumanize their victim. It offers the soldier an outlet for the rage that their master has put in place. And yet there is no justification one can present for this horrific act of violence. 

In Burma the use of rape as a weapon of war and genocide has been prolific, to say the least. Myanmar's military leaders readily look the other way as their minions utilize this most perverse weapon to implement Burma's campaign of "Burmanization". Thus utilizing one perverse weapon to bring about a perverse ideology. 

Like the Turks of the Ottoman Empire, Burma's soldiers are given free reign when entering an ethnic minority's village. Men who flee into the forest to evade slave labor therefore risk leaving their wives and daughters open to rape and mutilation. Any woman who attempts to flee makes themselves an almost certain target for rape and torture. Once the Burmese soldiers enter the village they become the law... their words, their actions, their crimes... this is the reality of what "Burmanization" means to those it most directly affects. 

In the Kachin this method has been used both to demoralize the targeted population and in an attempt to destroy the families within the victimized community. Raiding IDP camps, the Burmese rape women in front of their husbands and children so as to make the violence blatantly clear to the Kachin community. In the black zones of the Kachin State the Burmese army uses rape to motivate women to stay away from the claimed territories. 

For the Rohingya of the Arakan State the uses of rape is specifically utilized by Nasaka and Burmese military members in an attempt to isolate Rohingya women. Rohingya girls are known to be rounded up and taken to Burmese military installations where soldiers use the girls as sex slaves. This is used as a way to permanently scar the Rohingya girls both mentally and physically. On the Burmese side it permits the soldiers a rather perverted moral boost that can keep soldiers motivated and in the field longer. 

In the end the use of rape as a weapon of genocide is viewed through the perverts' eyes as way to "pollute the blood" of the targeted community. It doesn't matter that the children that are bore out of this violence will be viewed with just as much contempt as their victimized mothers. It doesn't matter that Burma will never accept responsibility for their soldiers' actions. In the eyes of the perverted architects of these genocides, the weapon's damage is justified due to it's effectiveness in destroying cultures, communities, and the very fabric of the minorities' societies. The only desire and rationalization for this horrific act is that of destruction. 

For the victims these weapons of genocide... this black flag... will forever be lifted above their heads. As long as the perpetrators of these crimes are allowed the impunity currently given to them by both the West and Burma alike, there will be no peace. There can be no surrender, no ceasefire, nor any hope as long as criminals are allowed to walk away from the fight unmolested. 

Cutting Down The Black Flag

We here at Alder's Ledge don't claim to have all the answers. Post like this one are not meant to offer a clear path to the end of this wretched darkness. They are only meant to shine a light on the darkness so as to make it visible for all to see. We don't want to tell you what to think, we just want to make you start thinking... thinking critically... questioning why. 

With your help, your voice, we can continue to shine a light upon this darkness that has for far too long masked the ethnic minorities of Myanmar. With your help we can show the world what they have been so willing to ignore. Forcing those in a position to end these things, dragging the fight back to those who tolerate this evil, we can create a noise that the world cannot tune out. A scream, if you will...

We need you to scream with us. The victims of these genocidal campaigns need you to scream for them. Their voices have been silenced for decades. The voice of their ancestors has been muted by the heels of oppressive tyrants. The voice of their children is threatened by our silence. 

This isn't an activist blog... this is the front line for those who cannot travel to the fields and forests of Burma. It is here that we stand against the complicity of our own governments. It is from this ledge that we bring our voices to the forefront of our own portion of this blackened world. It is with our voice that we do our best to wage a war, if all be it a war of words, against those who would kill in the name of G-d, country, race, or greed. 

Help us. 

Scream.

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Source Documents 

(note not all sources are listed)

Irrawaddy News

http://www.irrawaddy.org/archives/38596 - June 26, 2013

http://www.irrawaddy.org/archives/31344 - April 3, 2013

One Million Bones 

http://www.onemillionbones.org/burma/

Free Burma Rangers

http://www.freeburmarangers.org/

Burma Campaign UK

http://www.burmacampaign.org.uk/index.php/burma/campaigns/crimes-against-humanity/142/132

Kachinland News

http://kachinlandnews.com/?p=21797

http://kachinlandnews.com/?p=21125

http://kachinlandnews.com/?p=21164

A Liar's Promise

Fate Of Kachin Still Hangs In Thin Air
(The Darkness Visible series)

"A lasting solution, the possibility to begin a new life, is the only dignified solution for the refugee himself."

~ Poul Hartling

What is the value of a promise made by somebody who has lied to you time and time before? How much weight do those words carry with you? Trust is not a measure of how much that person is respected by others but by how much they have earned it from you personally. It cannot be purchased through goodwill gestures offered at the expense of someone else. It can't be manipulated by the assurances of others. It must be earned by the person who has betrayed you in the past. For history is the best indicator of future behavior. It cannot be ignored even by the most credulous of individuals. And it most certainly is never ignored in the heat of battle.

For two years the Kachin people have been fighting a brutal war against the aggressive Burmese military. In June of 2011 a 17 year old ceasefire fell apart as war returned to their lands. Children who had been born into the uneasy peace were now ripped away from the homes they once knew. Their families, their neighbors, their villages; all was put in jeopardy by the callousness of Myanmar's generals. For two years the Kachin have simply been trying to survive.

This month a rickety agreement was reached and for the time the Burmese government seems willing to hold back it's old military rulers. In the meantime the Kachin people are forced to hold out on the other side of battle line. 100,000 internally displaced peoples remain under the fog of war. Food remains scarce and water is still a daily struggle for most. Despite agreements, these internally displaced peoples cannot return home.

Two years of war has meant that Kachin children have had no real access to an education. Some 40,000 estimated Kachin children have not received a formal education since the fighting broke out two years ago. Those who have received any form of schooling have received only minor support from NGOs and charity organizations who work around Myanmar's restrictions on the Kachin people. And yet even with the peace plan still holding, these 40,000 (est.) children are still suffering from a lack of teachers and schools in the Kachin region.

The outbreak of war in the Kachin region has led to increased vulnerability of Kachin women and children to the crime of human trafficking. With a price tag running up to $6,500 USD for each victim, the traffickers that operate along the Burmese-China border have stepped up their operations since June of 2011. Utilizing illegal trade routes the criminals transport Kachin women and girls as far as the eastern shores of China, selling them into slavery or forced marriages. Those who manage to escape are at times assisted by Chinese authorities in their attempt to return home to the Kachin region. Myanmar on the other hand does nothing to help Kachin victims, the Burmese anti-trafficking liaison office along the border does not even appear to be manned. Thus not one case of a Kachin trafficking victim contacting Myanmar authorities has yet to be reported.

Continued occupation of Kachin lands has led to confiscation of Kachin farms and villages by the Burmese authorities. These plots of valuable land have been turned into state sponsored mass agricultural projects (plantations), unregistered and unregulated gold mining operations, and foreign investment projects. One NGO even managed to document cases that have led to around 3,500 Kachin people being evicted forcibly by the Burmese military in the past few years alone. These villagers now have very limited options on how to provide for their families and future. All as a result of the seemingly lawlessness of the Kachin region under Burmese military occupation.

All of these things are promised to end soon. That is if we are to believe the government of Myanmar. This would mean that we are to believe a government that has continuously lied when talking about the Kachin region and it's people. Where the Burmese government has promised peace it has delivered unmitigated brutality and aggression. When the government promised to combat the exploitation of minorities, especially when dealing with human trafficking, it has created the "perfect storm" for criminal enterprise. To those Burma promised protection, education, and social services it has offered only homelessness, helplessness, and neglect in the worst degree.

The only token of goodwill that Myanmar has given the people of the Kachin in two years was the small gesture of allowing a UN convoy to pass through the front lines of the Kachin conflict zone. This week members from the United Nations Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (UNOCHA), UN Refugee Agency (UNHCR), UN Children's Fund, UNICEF, and World Food Programme managed to break the siege for the first time in over a year. Delivering food, water, medical aid, humanitarian supplies, and urgent care the United Nations convoy pushed into the Kachin region unmolested. This was the first sign that Myanmar could tolerate some form of compassion being shown to it's enemies. It was the first token of goodwill shown by Burma in two miserable years of fighting in the Kachin.

But once again, what is the value of a promise when it comes from a liar? How much weight can one put to the words of a bitter enemy? Can trust be earned by flimsy documents and cheapened promises? Or will only time be capable of telling whether or not the government of Myanmar is lying once again?

"It is not the oath that makes us believe the man, but the man the oath."

~Aeschylus

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Source Documents
(note: not all sources listed)

Democratic Voice of Burma
http://www.dvb.no/news/aid-push-to-stem-kachin-refugee-crisis/19035
-
http://www.dvb.no/news/un-convoy-delivers-aid-to-idp-camps-in-rebel-territory/28809

United Nations OCHA
http://www.unocha.org/top-stories/all-stories/myanmar-un-aid-convoy-crosses-kachin-frontlines

Mizzima News
http://www.mizzima.com/news/ethnic-issues/9511-kachin-refugee-children-in-desperate-need-of-schools

Thomson Reuters Foundation
http://www.trust.org/item/20130605081951-jpk6z/

Kachin Women's Association Thailand
http://www.kachinwomen.com/advocacy/press-release/37-press-release/110-burmas-war-against-kachin-creating-perfect-storm-for-human-trafficking-.html
-
http://www.kachinwomen.com/images/stories/publication/pushed_to_the_brink.pdf

Irrawaddy News
http://www.irrawaddy.org/archives/35684

Open Society Foundations 
http://www.opensocietyfoundations.org/voices/women-violence-and-burma-reporting-frontlines-kachin-state

Upon The Backs Of The Downtrodden

Pepsi's Return to Burma
(Boycott Burma series)

(By Leaving Burma)

Imagine that back during the breakup of Yugoslavia that American companies were investing in Serbia. What a picture it would have made to see a Serbian soldier sipping a Pepsi with a couple dead Bosnian victims on the ground behind him. That would have been a damning photo indeed. It most certainly would not have reflected Pepsi's current slogans of "Hope" and "Do Some Good". Yet Pepsi was in Yugoslavia and remained so during the entirety of the Bosnian Genocide. Pepsi (much like Coca-Cola) was active in Nazi occupied Europe. The company ventured into apartheid ridden South Africa (just like Coca-Cola). And has been present in almost every area of the world where genocide has occurred and/or present in countries that suffer under repressive regimes (only exception is that of North Korea). 

But why shouldn't dictators and brutal genocidal regimes be granted the privilege of having a nice refreshing Pepsi? After all, they are paying customers... right? 

Whose money are they paying with?

Pepsi's Return

The fact is Pepsi has been in Burma much longer than Coca-Cola. In 1996 Pepsi announced that it was only reducing it's operations in Burma by 40%. The next year Pepsi stopped sending the syrup for it's signature drink to the legacy it left behind in Myanmar, Star Cola. Thus Pepsi never really left Burma. It simply left its offspring to carry on it's dirty work in Burma as the mother laid in wait across the border in Thailand. For Pepsi, returning to Myanmar was somewhat like simply flipping on the light switch.

While Coca-Cola builds new bottling plants in Yangon, Pepsi simply walks into Star Cola plants and reclaims what it left behind just over 15 years ago. There is no justice for the Rohingya, Shin, Chin, Kachin, and other repressed minorities in Burma. Companies like PepsiCo simply return to help raise the Burmese upper class even higher by building upon the backs of the downtrodden minorities. And in doing so Pepsi and Coca-Cola help fund the ethnic cleansing of Burma's borderlands. 

"Myanmar is a market with great potential, and our agreements with Diamond Star and UNESCO are important first steps towards expanding our presence in the country.  Over time, we believe we can build a strong business in Myanmar and play a positive role in the country's continued development."

~Indra Nooyi, PepsiCo Chairman and CEO

Pepsi is trying to hide its investments in the still (unofficially) military regime by investing in the "positive" future of Myanmar through organizations such as UNESCO. Yet by partnering with Diamond Star and other companies that have a long history in Burma, Pepsi promises to avoid hiring ethnic minorities. Thus leaving the Rohingya and other minorities in their current state of despair while the upper class grows fat.

#BoycottBurma

Once again we are faced with the fact that we can't change PepsiCo's actions. While the faceless corporation works hard to exploit the suffering of ethnic minorities around the world we must face our initial decision of what to do. If we cannot change Pepsi's decisions to exploit tragedy for economic gain then we must decide on how we view our investments in Pepsi. Just as with any other purchase we make in a free market economy we are casting a vote of approval for that company and all it does with our hard earned cash. By withholding our investment and deciding to avoid purchasing of Pepsi products, we cast our vote of dissent. 

However at the same time we must be vocal about why we are not going to purchase a product we may have otherwise purchased. If we simply stop buying Pepsi without making our intentions known then our actions are only self-serving in the fact that only we know why we are doing them. We must share our reasons with others and we must do this without relent. 

If you are serious about boycotting Burmese products and the companies that invest in Myanmar's regime you will soon find there is far more to give up then you first expect. So you must ask yourself just how far you are willing to take this. You must decide if you really care where your money goes and to whom it is given. 

The decision is up to you and you alone.

Source Documents 

(note: not all sources listed)

PepsiCo 

http://www.pepsico.com/PressRelease/PepsiCo-Announces-Myanmar-Distribution-Agreement-with-Diamond-Star08092012.html

Global Post

http://www.globalpost.com/globalpost-blogs/southeast-asia/pepsi-myanmar-burma

VOA

http://www.voanews.com/content/as-us-sanctions-against-burma-ease-american-campanies-start-investing/1549041.html

ABC News

http://abcnews.go.com/International/wireStory/coca-cola-opens-myanmar-bottling-plant-19317970

Has Burma Crossed Obama's "Red Line"?

Chemical Weapon Claims In Kachin
(part of The Darkness Visible series)

(Myanmar Military Firing Mortars)

“Our military never uses chemical weapons and we have no intention to use them at all. I think the KIA (Kachin Independence Army) is accusing us wrongly,” presidential spokesman Ye Htut. 

When talking about Syrian President,  Bashar al-Assad, Obama said that the use of chemical weapons would have "consequences and you will be held accountable". This was the "red line" that Obama had laid out in his warning to Assad. It appeared by the end of Obama's speech that killing people with bullets and bombs was perfectly acceptable as long as more unconventional weapons did not enter the conflict. This speech also laid out a clear line in the sand for all tyrants that might be interested in slaughtering their own citizens. 

Burma is no exception to that long list of tyrannical regimes interested in committing genocide and ethnic cleansing. The one difference is that the Junta in Burma has no desire to exercise restraint. Unlike Iran or China, Burma is starting off with a virtually clean slate when dealing with the West. They are free from the sanctions that bind Iran and lack the economic leverage that currently binds China's hands. 

When dealing with what the West affectionately calls "ethnic clashes", Burma has used every weapon in their arsenal thus far. The "reform" party has engaged in mass starvation of the Rohingya, carpet bombing of the Kachin, and illegal deportations and mass executions of the Rohingya in the Arakan. Now the Kachin rebels claim that the Burmese military is and has for some time been using chemical weapons to push the Kachin people over the border and into China. 

As with most "ethnic clashes" the UN and Western governments has once again hopped into the conflict on the side of the ruling power... in this case Burma. 

(Laiza Citizens Build Bomb Shelters)

In 2011 the KIA made claims that the Burmese military had used chemical weapons. Back then the world seemed a little more interested since at the time Burma was still closed off to the outside world. However today with Burma ready to allow foreign economic investment the rest of the world seems painfully unwilling to admit that there might be chemical weapons being used. Once again money overrides human suffering. 

According to the KIA rebels the Burmese military has been using chemical weapons to push their soldiers off key outpost along the front line of the conflict. The soldiers that have claimed to survive the attacks say that the blast occur with a large wave of heat and then people loose consciousness. However the one flaw in their claims is the fact that nobody seems able to provide physical evidence of the bombs or the their affects. 

While dead bodies are easy to come by along the battle front the evidence of gassed soldiers or civilians seems impossible to find. For the most part chemical shell fragments and what appear to be cluster bombs are the only pieces of evidence provided. And while cluster ammunitions are illegal for use in any form of conflict their use has not been punished by the UN or ICC in either Syria or during the Iraq-Iran war. So there is no reason to believe that the UN will even enforce the law when dealing with Myanmar. 

As with most cases of war crimes the UN proves itself incompetent when facing the crimes as they occur. Even if Myanmar is found innocent and has not used chemical weapons it has committed several war crimes during this conflict. Evidence of mass executions, arbitrary arrests, and intentional targeting of civilians have all been documented in the conflict with the KIA. Myanmar has also committed several crimes against humanity when dealing with the Rohingya and other minority groups across Burma. And yet the UN refuses to act. 

So the question remains, has Burma crossed Obama's "Red Line"? And if so, what will the UN or US do to enforce these said "consequences"? Or will the West simply look the other way as yet another genocidal regime perpetrates horrific crimes against humanity?

Source Documents

(Note not all sources are listed)

CNN

http://www.cnn.com/2012/12/03/world/meast/syria-civil-war/index.html

The Express Tribune 

http://tribune.com.pk/story/492081/myanmar-denies-using-chemical-weapons-on-rebels/

The Democratic Voice of Burma

http://www.dvb.no/news/burma-denies-using-chemical-weapons-in-kachin/25671

Mizzima 

http://www.mizzima.com/special/kachin-battle-report/8707-burma-govt-denies-using-chemical-weapons-on-kachins.html

The Guardian 

http://www.guardian.co.uk/world/video/2013/jan/03/burma-air-strike-kachin-rebels-video

Death From Above

Hell's Flames Rising Up From Below
(part of The Darkness Visible series)

(Kachin Woman Wounded In Burmese Air Strikes)

For the past two years a war has been growing out of control in the Kachin state of Myanmar. Its brutality has been escalated time and time again by the Burmese generals as they simultaneously attempt to hide the conflict from the world. The carnage this war has left across the northern most state of Burma is largely undocumented due to restricted access. What information is leaking out must go through Myanmar's own government or be smuggled out over the border into China (a strong supporter of Myanmar). 

Roughly half of the Kachin community consider themselves to be Christians. A large portion of the other half call themselves Buddhist. While the remaining follow local customs and religions found in Burma for centuries. It appears to many outside of Myanmar that the old Junta has decided that as long as any of the Kachin call themselves Christians they all must be crushed into submission. This falls in line with the old style of law in Burma, military dictatorship. 

Forty plus years of communist influence and absolute power has obviously left its mark on the leaders in Burma. The generals have had control over everything from the distribution of food, the cost of everything from oil to water, the freedom of speech both public and private, and the right to associate openly with one's own religion. The tactics used to enforce the rule of law over these past decades were derived from old world leaders such as Stalin, Lennon, Mao, and even Hitler. And yet today the outside world looks at Burma as the new poster child for Democracy? 

(Seven Year Old Victim of Burmese Military)

The Kachin Independence Army (KIA) rose up to defend the Kachin people against what it saw as the imminent annihilation of its people. Yet today it seems that every action they take in fighting back only assures the Kachin more death and more suffering. On the other hand any surrender would subject the Kachin minority to the same hellish reprisals that have been witnessed all across Myanmar. And all the KIA have to do to reassure themselves of the reason they are fighting is to simply look south toward Sittwe at the starvation and desperation of the Rohingya plight. 

For those of us half way around the world the situation in the Kachin state looks odd at best. It has been over 200 years since we have truly had to fight such tyranny on our own soil. Yet even then it was not a war that could be boiled down to "convert or die". And once we strip this conflict down to even that it seems bizarre to many that a Buddhist regime, the people many associate with peace and harmony, would or could be capable of such horrific atrocities. But here we are... watching it all happen right before our eyes. 

The Kachin are just one more minority on the brink of genocide in a land where genocide is the favored tool of oppression. The Junta still lives in Myanmar through the use of this weapon. The old military wing of government still controls its people through this horrific act of degradation. The Kachin are simply attempting to fight back, and for that history will most likely record this as a war and not the genocidal efforts of a government to ethnically cleanse its territory. 

As for the Rohingya, death has taken on a slower pace as it walks them to the grave. A slow and painful existence of a living death can be seen on the faces of their old and young alike. Children are the first to die as their young and fragile bodies simply give way to starvation. The old amongst them take their last breathes every minute as they struggle to cope with easily preventable diseases. The once able bodied are now damned to send their own parents off the grave alongside their children. Such is life in a land where only the ethnically pure are allowed food, water, and medicine. 

Even as 24 tons of humanitarian aid arrive from Iran today, the Rohingya are nearly guaranteed that the food, clothing, blankets, and medical supplies will not reach those who need it most. In past months such aid has either been left on the docks to rot or dispersed to the Rakhine Buddhist instead. And even if the Junta do pick a camp to allow the Red Crescent Society to disperse the aid to, there is no guarantee that the police will not just come and collect it once the Iranian officials leave.

In the 90's we watched as the Serbians attempted to create a "Greater Serbia". For this to occur the Serbian military and its militia counterparts simply had to kill anything that wasn't "Serb". We gave this genocide the title of "ethnic cleansing". Today we are watching as the Burmese Junta commits the same sin over again right before our eyes. 

So why is it that not one government official, not one Western nation, not one news media outlet, not a single voice is being raised to call for an end to this crime? 

Oil...

Money...

Natural Resources...

Cheap Labor... 

Fishing Rights...

Tourism... 

Politics...

 (In Bed With The Enemy)

Perhaps its a little of all these things that drives the greed of modern man. After all, the "gold rush" is on once again.  Burma is the new frontier for the stagnate West. It is the spur to help keep China's economic boom afloat. It is the next proxy battleground for the saber-rattling mother Russia. As far as the Junta is concerned... Burma is whatever the outside world wants it to be, as long as they mind their own business. 

President Obama visited Burma late last year and upheld it as the symbol of what "the people" of a nation can achieve when they "affect change" in the way their government is ruled. His speeches were persistently praising people such as Aung San Suu Kyi and Thein Sein. His words were purposefully vague when talking about the struggle the people (better put, the ethnically pure) of Burma face on the road ahead. Yet more importantly, his actions aligned the United States with the genocidal leaders of Myanmar. 

When Suu Kyi was paraded around Europe last year the leaders of France, Germany, and England all made certain to get their pictures taken with the modern "Bitch of Buchenwald". Sweden, Norway, and the Danish leaders made sure that their voices were heard amongst the choir of European leaders singing the praises of Suu Kyi. Yet not one single voice was ever raised amongst the throngs of EU leaders in questioning Suu Kyi as to how she intended to deal with the humanitarian issues plaguing her nation. 

Of all the places, of all the nations, countries such as Iran were the amongst the first to question the Nobel Prize holder about her views on the Rohingya. Given Iran's failures in the area of human rights, Suu Kyi easily brushed off any and all question arising out of the Middle East. And for the most part, the West followed in line with Burma as they too ignored any concerns of the treatment of the Rohingya. Once again the West showed their backsides as they sided with one genocidal regime over the other. 

Today we have little time however to focus on such reasons for the political failures of our own countries. Today we have only the plight of those whom these failures effect most to worry about. If no action is taken to stop the genocide against the Rohingya it could easily be complete by the end of this year. With little access to food, all of which is gained illegally, the Rohingya are starving to death. Their lack of water ironically will drive more to the sea this year than ever. And the flight from Burma will achieve the Junta's original goal... and ethnically pure Rakhine state. 

The diaspora of Rohingya trapped outside their homeland will be the only remnant of a once vibrant culture. Children who would have once farmed the land their ancestors lived on or fished the waters their fathers had will then be forced to live as refugees in Malaysia and other foreign lands. The Rohingya will forever be stateless, homeless, and helpless living in countries that, much like Burma, do not grant them citizenship. This disturbing reality of a future existence as exiles is the only hope most Rohingya have for the future.

That is unless we, the world community, do something to stop it. 

Please join us here at Alder's Ledge in our attempt to raise our voices as one against the atrocities Myanmar's government is currently carrying out. With your help we can affect change for the reason it is really meant to happen. With your help we can stop the slaughter and force the killers out into the open. 

But for this to happen we need you to take a few simple steps. We need you to scream. 

Screaming is a simple action that amplifies the voice of one person, one cause, to a level that can not be ignored. In the modern age we often scream without ever opening our mouths. And that is where you come in. 

As a screamer you will be admitting that you have seen or heard about the genocide in Burma. You will be telling everyone you know what you have seen. And you will be relentless. In Obama's words, you will get in their face. 

To do this as a modern day screamer is easy. Take the link to this post and others here on Alder's Ledge and share them on your Facebook page. Spill your heart out in the description of the link. Say what needs to be said to get others to do the same. Then if you have Twitter, do the same in your tweets. And if you have Tumbler or Blogger use our content and our links in your blogging. Post what needs to be said as often as you can. Share this information as often as you can. 

That is how a modern day screamer screams without ever opening their mouth. That is just how easy it is to start amplifying the voice of the helpless to a level that the world cannot ignore. 

So once again we ask... please help... please scream!