July 22, 2010

This has been quite an exciting week for the Burma community: import restrictions on Burma were renewed by Congress, Extractive Industry Transparency regulations were passed with the financial reform bill, and a Dear Colleague letter requesting a Commission of Inquiry into war crimes and crimes against humanity in Burma began circulating in the Senate.

This Dear Colleague letter, addressed to Secretary of State Hillary Clinton, calls on the United States to publicly support a United Nations Commission of Inquiry into war crimes and crimes against humanity in Burma. A number of other democracies including the United Kingdom, Australia, Czech Republic, and Slovakia have already made this public statement in favor of a Commission of Inquiry. Now U.S. Senators have a chance to sign the letter in support of this much-needed investigation.

In October 2009, Lovemine launched its first campaign and asked participants to write personal letters to their Senators expressing why they care about Burma and why their Senator should support a Commission of Inquiry into crimes in Burma. People, both young and old, from around the country wrote to their Senators demanding that the U.S. pay attention and do something about the grave human rights crisis in Burma. For some, it was their first time being a political advocate. For others, this was another step in a long personal struggle of bringing justice to Burma. Student participant at Pepperdine University, Caroline Mobley remarked: “There are so many injustices, cruelties, and unnecessary casualties in the world that it’s hard to keep up with them. That’s why many people do not. But it so essential, so critical, for us to see the reality of what is really going on in our world and to use our freedoms to assist those who have had their freedoms taken away and to aid those who have never known what it is to be free. The people of Burma have suffered for so long without the world noticing. I believe the time for intervention passed long ago, which means we must work harder and faster to help put an end to these crimes against humanity before any more can be committed.”

On July 15th the campaign came full circle as the hundreds of letters written during The Ignite Project made their way down the streets of Washington D.C. and into the Senators’ hands, delivered by Lovemine staff and volunteers.  Senators have now heard the urgings from their constituents to support the letter thanks to the participation of countless citizens from around the country and the hard work of many partnering organizations.
Lovemine exists to help stop the oppression of all peoples in Burma by challenging underlying power structures that enable injustice. Lovemine, in partnership with other like-minded organizations, puts on campaigns to achieve these goals. As the first of these campaigns, The Ignite Project yielded hundreds of letters that will shape the political dialogue in our nation’s capitol concerning Burma. Thank you to all the participants – it is your voice that is making the difference.

Senators still have the opportunity to sign the letter until Wednesday, July 28th. Please call or write your Senator and ask him/her to sign the letter requesting a Commission of Inquiry into crimes against humanity in Burma!

We’re stoked the guys are repping the shirt and of course supporting the cause.

From the Hello Destroyers Website…

Thats a lot of words on a shirt. But I wanted to make this shirt to remind people to follow our dreams. Some people draw, some dance, some sing, some speak, some are great at finances, or are farmers, there are a ton of things. We all have gifts. The question is, what do we do with these gifts and talents?

10% of this Shirt will go towards our friends at Eleho: Compassion for the Afflicted. Co-founded by Bryan Monzon and Ryan Sisson in California, Eleho is composed of people who have a huge passion to help and reach the people inside the borders of Burma.

Below is from his personal blog which you can visit at: http://bryanmonzon.com/blog or follow him on twitter @bryanmonzon

After a long couple of days of travel, I’ve yet to arrive in Haiti but I’m one step away. I’ve flown across the United States to Tampa, Florida and drove in the rain through a tornado warning into Miami. We’re at the Marriot where, on Super Bowl weekend, we have 6 rooms for one night at $40.00 total! Jared Brown, Co-Founder of Project 81 and organizer of this trip, somehow managed to pull this feat off.

I’m rooming with Greg and James, two native Haitians making the journey along with the team. The team is quite a crew. There’s 18 total of us and team members skills vary from neurosurgeon to journalists. I am the team’s videographer.
We leave tomorrow on a US military aid plane at 1:30pm EST. The flight is less than 2 hours long and we will certainly be inserted into a world like we’ve never imagined. I was in the San Bernadino mountains during the ‘94 Northridge earthquakes and I remember the images of the 1989 San Francisco quake. It’s hard for an economic powerhouse like California and America to recover from such destruction, let alone a nation already impoverished before the catastrophe.

What to expect from this trip would be impossible. It’s such an awkward thing for people who want to wish us well and say “have fun” or “oooh that’ll be exciting”. While the adventure is an adventure, I would much rather visit on different terms. The quake happened, I have skills that could be used and the opportunity was available. I’m thankful for that and look forward to meeting more wonderful people.

With all of this I realize more and more that this is where I want to be. Traveling to meet people, hopefully meet their needs and gain a fantastic friendship that lasts a lifetime.

Healing wounds through art and story

Partners staff and volunteers work closely with Burma’s refugees and internally displaced people. One particular community along the Thai-Burma border is Shan Town*.

At Shan Town, Partners has built health clinics, provided emergency supplies to families, built dorms for orphans, and trained teachers and health care workers.

In November 2008, we traveled to a school of 700 students in Shan Town. We asked the children to help us understand their life experiences. Though we only had acrylic paint and paper, the results were incredible.

We were so moved by their hope and courage, we knew their stories had to be shared with the world.

Thanks to the generosity of friends in Midland, Texas, funds were provided to develop their artistic works into an experiential war zone exhibit.

Get intimately acquainted with Burma’s children of war. Their stories will move and inspire you.

Upcoming Events

Downtown Riverside, January 22 – 23
Azusa Pacific University, February 8 – 19
Biola University, March 17 – 19

Visit the exhibit website

Unfortunately my film was left unfinished. All of the children I met were barefoot and after several hours of filming I made the ‘mistake’ of buying them sandals in the market. I soon attracted a sizable crowd of street children hoping for handouts, rendering my fly-on-the-wall documentary approach obsolete. I had to leave Mae Sot the next day and returned to the states without a film. More frustratingly, I didn’t have a plan to help Kimboee, Nezo, and the other children like them.

Fortunately, the story doesn’t end there…

eleho is partnering with our friends at Compasio to help them build a drop-in center in Mae Sot. During my upcoming trip back to Mae Sot, I will be creating a short documentary film telling the story of these street children and highlighting the amazing work Compasio is doing to provide these children with safety, education, and opportunity. This film will be the centerpiece of ‘twenty4hope’, social media and monthly giving campaign, which will give individuals the opportunity to partner with Compasio, for as little as $20 a month, and help give hope to the street children of Thailand.

I am excited to announce that Cinevate has generously offered to provide some their amazing gear for the shoot. If you know anything about filmmaking, they make the best lens adaptors and camera accessories money can buy, and we am very, very grateful for their support.

In addition, this film wouldn’t be possible without the support of Pray With Africa, a Nashville-based non-profit, and my dear friends. Please check out the website and the documentary (which I created): “Listen: A New African Narrative.”  We’d love to book a screening at your church or school—contact info is on the website.

I look forward to updating you from the field in the next few weeks. As always, your prayers and support are vital. Thank you for reading this.

If you would like to support my trip you can donate here

with hundreds of people illegally imprisoned and over a million people displaced within the country and millions displaced on the Thai-Burma border – not to mention the executions, murder and rape – enough is enough. on October 28 – we’re binding together to educate one another and act now to pressure our Senate and President to urge the UN to take immediate action against the Burma regime.

time is short so we need you on board now. if you’re a student and are ready to lead, order a lovemine toolkit here. it will give you all the info to run the ignite project at your school (on oct 28).

what the ignite project is
on october 28, college and universities across the country will host an ignite project on their campus. the event will comprise of:

• Screening a documentary on Burma, it’s called “Crossing Midnight.”
• Educating one another about Burma, the history, the people, the regime. Understanding why the regime is oppressing it’s people and why the world tolerates it’s actions.
• Action: each person who attends will call or email their Senator, urging President Obama and Secretary of State Clinton to pressure the UN to act on Burma.

ignite project is designed to do what it name says: ignite. it’s a starting point to raise further awareness on your campus. it’s one of many lovemine events designed to equip and support your voice getting heard in the Burma conversation.

questions? comments? email lovemine team.
order a lovemine now.