Today, October 4th, is International Bloggers’ Day for Burma.
While I still know quite little about the country of Burma (Myanmar), what I have learned recently of the events there has both moved and shocked me. I am appalled by the violence committed against the Buddhist monks and other peaceful protesters by the military regime. At the same time, I am inspired by their bravery, and that of Aung San Suu Kyi, who was awarded the Nobel Peace Prize in 1991.
She has called on people around the world to join the struggle for freedom in Burma, saying “Please use your liberty to promote ours.”
To learn more about what is going on in Burma, and what you can do, I recommend the following resources:
- A post by Chezzag that is a call to action.
- A post on Bitch, PhD, which gives a brief summary of recent events and of some organizations that are organizaing protests, such as the Women’s League of Burma.
- A New York Times article about the power relationships between the military government of Myanmar and the Buddhist monks.
- Various international websites in support of the Burmese protests, such as the US Campaign for Burma
- You can sign a petition at Avaaz.org which will be presented to the UN Security Council and to the President of China, an ally of the Burmese military regime.
- Saturday, October 6th is being promoted as International Day of Action for a Free Burma. Protests and actions are being organized in cities around the world.
collecting tokens 
I wish I had known about this earlier.
In one of those weird moments of synchronicity, I’m currently reading Amy Tan’s “Saving Fish From Drowning” – about a tour group to China and Burma.
Hey, I’m gonna go pop this into the JP list for next week.
raincoaster-
I think it was only the day before that I saw it myself.
magpie-
I don’t know that one. It’s been a few years since I’ve been reading non-academic stuff. Is it fiction? The Kitchen God’s Wife by her is one of my all-time favorite books.
Mad-
Thank you!