Are you reading the news?
I'm a member of Avaaz, a non-profit global organization dedicated to helping people caught in the middle of conflict. They are legitimate, I've seen them in action. I also worked with many Burmese refugee children in Salt Lake this summer with the International Rescue Committee... so this situation became quite personal for me.
Here's the latest letter I received from Avaaz.
Please sign the petition if you can. It takes about 30 seconds.
Dear friends,
Our emergency petition to stop the crackdown on peaceful protesters in Burma is exploding, with nearly 500,000 signers from every nation of the world. But the situation in Burma remains desperate, with reports of hundreds of monks being massacred and tortured. Burma's rulers have also killed and expelled international journalists, cutting off global media coverage of their cruelty. China is still the key - the country with the most power to halt the Burmese generals' reign of terror. We're delivering our message this week with a massive ad campaign in major newspapers, beginning Thursday with a full page ad in the Financial Times worldwide, and in the South China Morning Post. The strength of the ad comes from the number of petition signers listed – can we reach our goal of 1 million signatures this week?
The link to sign the petition and view the ad is below, forward this email to all your friends and family! http://www.avaaz.org/en/stand_with_burma/u.php?cl=22003909 China continues to provide key economic and military support to Burma's dictatorship, but it has been openly critical of the crackdown. Now we need the government to match words with actions. Our ad paints a powerful moment of choice for China in its relationship with the world – will it be a responsible and respected member of the global community, or will it be associated with tyranny and oppression? People power, on the streets of Burma, and around the world, can triumph over tyranny.
Our strength is in our numbers, spread the word!
With hope and determination, Ricken, Paul, Ben, Graziela, Pascal, Galit and the whole Avaaz team. For the best local reporting on the situation in Burma, try these links: http://www.irrawaddy.org/ http://www.mizzima.com/
3 comments:
Its not often someone can convince me to sign my name to a cause. i generally have enough problems within my family and myself to focus on these. But living in South Africa and having witnessed certain human tradgeties you get a more personal understanding of some of these issues. Then you have to look in the mirror and ask yourself whether or not you have done enough and your part to the human family. Then it seems rather silly not to take 30 seconds out of my life to add my little voice to the voice of many in an attempt to be heard.
Thanks M
Jason,
This morning on National Public Radio (NPR here... I don't know what they call it in South Africa) I heard a report of how the Burmese government was starting to change its tune just a bit due to the fact that they are more aware that the international community is watching them like never before. That's us!
I've been nervous to put this on my personal blog because people don't come here to watch the news. But this is part of me turning 30. I'm taking 30 quite seriously, and I promised my readers here that I was going to write a letter to them about what 30 means to me. Well, it's a letter that will take a year to write... and being aware and taking part of the global family is a whole chapter.
I'm sure I'll post something like this again... it's all part of the People Experiment...(what happens when I feature the people in my world TO the people in my world?)
UPDATE TODAY, FRIDAY OCTOBER 5, 2007:
Dear friends,
Today, our petition to China and the UN Security Council to stop the brutal crackdown on peaceful Burmese protesters is being delivered to the world in a full page ad in the Financial Times worldwide -- but the ad was rejected by other newspapers like the South China Morning Post and the Singapore Straits Times. Our message is an invitation to China to do the right thing in Burma, not an attack -- yet even that seemed too much for media that fear Chinese reprisals.
We won't let our voice be silenced like this. We're taking our message to the streets, in an international day of action on Saturday -- details are on our petition page, and below. And we're redoubling our efforts to make our voice louder: our petition is approaching 600,000 signatures, closing fast on our 1 million goal.The petition link is below - send this email to all your friends and family and help us reach 1 million voices by Saturday!
http://www.avaaz.org/en/stand_with_burma/w.php
To organize an event for the global day of action, just follow the steps below. To attend an event, scroll down our petition page at the link above for a list of events around the world. Here's some simple steps for organizers:
Choose a public place or landmark in your town, and organize friends to go there all wearing the same maroon red clothing as the Burmese monks. Tell local media about your plans, and email the details and contact information to dayofaction@avaaz.org -- we will try to advertise your event on our petition page.
Ask people attending your event to share their feelings on this crisis and the need for action, and then tie a red ribbon or piece of cloth around fences or trees to leave a more lasting sign of your support for the Burmese.
The worldwide outcry to save Burma's peaceful monks and protesters is one more sign of how the world is getting closer, feeling increasingly responsible to each other, and for each other as human beings. We're bringing a voice of humanity to this desperate situation, and we must not be silenced.
With hope and determination,
Ricken, Paul, Graziela, Ben, Sarah, Iain, Galit, Pascal, Milena and the whole Avaaz Team.
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