Steve and Oddny Gumaer started Partners Relief & Development in response to the needs of refugees and displaced people from Burma. This blog is meant to be a more personal stream of conversation than newsletters allow for. The opinions expressed here may not be those of Partners Relief & Development.In the midst of suffering, they laughed with us
"In January 2009 I travelled on foot in North Eastern Burma with three staff members, 8 FBR relief teams, a handful of pro-democracy resistance soldiers, and a group of villagers our group paid to help carry loads of medical and relief supplies.
While I was packing for my trip, I received the following report:
While I was packing for my trip, I received the following report:
On 27 December, 2008, a Burma Army soldier abducted, raped, and killed 7-year-old Ma Ne Mya of Ma Oo Bin village in the area close to Kyauk Kyi Town, Nyaunglebin District. According to a report from teams in the area, upon entering the village at around 6 pm, a soldier from LIB 350, abducted the girl and proceeded to take her outside the village and began to rape her. The soldier shot and killed her when she began to cry loudly. LIB 350 is under the command of Captain Thet Khaing.[1]
In obscure jungle ravines and discreet places in Burma, that 7-year-old girl’s family and more than 1 million people hide today from the Burma Army. I met hundreds of them. I hiked to within an hour of where 7 year old Ma Na Mye was raped and killed. They are hungry, without security, struggling to survive in pockets of fragmented families and communities. They are the survivors of burned homes, stolen property, and broken dreams. They are separated from their loved ones by patrol lines and roads constructed by the Burma Army to deliberately divide communities and village tracts from one another –often keeping them from tending their rice fields, their only means of survival. We visited their hide sites, one with as many as 697 displaced villagers, walked through the abandoned, destroyed, and land mined villages they came from, and sat sipping tepid tea from dented tin cans while hearing their stories first hand.
Right now Partners helps support 66 relief teams who are helping people like Ma Ne Mye’s family. This January alone, more than 10 more villages were burned down and 2000 villagers joined the fleeing and hiding displaced population in North Eastern Burma. Our teams are with them now with medical and material aid, praying for them and serving them –showing them, not just talking about the love of God.
Their experiences are a catalog of human misery. They described their homes being burned down, their loved ones being abused, killed, or otherwise molested by Burma Army soldiers, and the brutal end to their way of life. Many of them bear the physical scars of the abuse they described for me.
In stark contrast to their stories of suffering, these are some of the most hospitable people I have ever met. When we showed up they brought us vegetables, chickens, or dogs, very precious forms of food, for us to eat. They came to laugh with us, show off their newborn babies, and challenge us to a game of soccer. Their smiles, faith, and dedication to community were inspiring. I wanted to stay with them.
Ma Ne Mye’s mother and father don’t need my pity today as they fight to stay alive in their jungle hide site; they need my solidarity, help, and prayers. I pray that your heart is moved as mine is by the story of the people of Burma and join us in our audacious faith venture to help them and turn the tables on evil with unstoppable good. Thank you for being a part of our team and bringing bring free, full lives to the children of Burma."
Right now Partners helps support 66 relief teams who are helping people like Ma Ne Mye’s family. This January alone, more than 10 more villages were burned down and 2000 villagers joined the fleeing and hiding displaced population in North Eastern Burma. Our teams are with them now with medical and material aid, praying for them and serving them –showing them, not just talking about the love of God.
Their experiences are a catalog of human misery. They described their homes being burned down, their loved ones being abused, killed, or otherwise molested by Burma Army soldiers, and the brutal end to their way of life. Many of them bear the physical scars of the abuse they described for me.
In stark contrast to their stories of suffering, these are some of the most hospitable people I have ever met. When we showed up they brought us vegetables, chickens, or dogs, very precious forms of food, for us to eat. They came to laugh with us, show off their newborn babies, and challenge us to a game of soccer. Their smiles, faith, and dedication to community were inspiring. I wanted to stay with them.
Ma Ne Mye’s mother and father don’t need my pity today as they fight to stay alive in their jungle hide site; they need my solidarity, help, and prayers. I pray that your heart is moved as mine is by the story of the people of Burma and join us in our audacious faith venture to help them and turn the tables on evil with unstoppable good. Thank you for being a part of our team and bringing bring free, full lives to the children of Burma."
Steve Gumaer
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