Partners: "Behind the Headlines"

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.

I met a lady at the store the other day. She is a prolific knitter and has made hundreds of warm hats for IDPs hiding in the jungle during the cold season. “I guess I can stop knitting now that things are going so well in Burma,” she said. “Please don’t,” I begged her. “The needs today are as great as ever!"

We still have our work cut out for us, but there is change happening in Burma. Just last week the government signed a ceasefire agreement with the Karen National Union. There are many points that still need to be agreed upon and adhered to for it to have significant meaning, but this may very well be the beginning of the end of a violent conflict in Karen state that has lasted for 60 years. During the same week the government also released about 300 political prisoners, among them some of the most prominent dissidents.>

Partners is cautious yet hopeful about the changes. This is what we have been waiting for, praying for and hoping for for so many years. Could it be that the children of Burma will get to experience free, full lives in our lifetime? Could it be that we soon will be able to visit reconciled communities living in peace?

While we see positive steps, we continue to receive first-hand reports that reveal a very different reality, one that stands in direct conflict to what is being reported in mainstream media. In Kachin state the violence continues. Daily bombings are causing innocent people to flee their homes, schools to close, and thousands to live in hiding and in constant fear. Civilians get killed and women raped. People are starving and suffering from a lack of medicine and warm clothing. This may all change tomorrow, but years of healing and re-building will need to take place.

Our job is far from done! We continue to send much needed emergency supplies to the populations that are in hiding in Kachin state. The need for training of medics and midwives is as great as ever, and we continue to train the local communities. The need for education is ongoing, and Partners continues to build schools all over Burma. The need for development is ever increasing, and Partners staff are working hard to create agricultural methods that will provide the most sustainable life for people in villages. The need to know God’s love is universal – and that is ultimately why Partners staff share it with the people we meet.

Please continue to watch what is unfolding in Burma, reading beyond the headlines to get to the deeper truth. Please continue to give financially so we can continue to help those whom no one is helping; and develop this nation that has been suffering for so long.

Please keep praying for real and lasting change in Burma.

In His service,

Oddny Gumaer
International Advocacy Officer
Partners Relief &Development International