21 July 2011
If Myanmar (Burma) features in the mainstream news much these days, it often has to do with the pro-democracy campaign and the Nobel Laureate Aung San Suu Kyi.
But probe a bit deeper and other issues demand our prayers.
For example, Myanmar has experienced internal ethnic-based conflict since it gained independence in 1948. Fighting has escalated since elections in November 2010 and there are no signs of a permanent peace settlement. Around 20 armed groups are still fighting, trying to get autonomy or in some cases independence.
Myanmar is also one of the world’s poorest countries. However, foreign investors are waking up to its rich natural resources as the following figures starkly illustrate.
Over the last 20 years, foreign investment in Myanmar totalled US$16 billion. In the last 12 months, foreign investment has totalled $19 billion, with money flooding in from China, India, Thailand, South Korea and Hong Kong.
Drowned out
Some 16 hydro-electric projects are currently under construction, with 27 more being planned. China’s burgeoning economy needs such sources of power and China is also investing in an oil and gas pipeline which will stretch across Myanmar from the Bay of Bengal.
Vast tracts of land need to be cleared but the voices of those living on them are being drowned in the rush to build. It is thought that four-fifths of affected people, most living in poverty, don’t receive compensation for loss of land or property.
Civil society groups are present in Myanmar and are showing interest in environmental issues, as is the local church, but they lack education and awareness to engage with them.
Tearfund works with partners and local churches in Myanmar to combat material and spiritual poverty, addressing issues such as food security and HIV as well as responding to disasters.
- Please pray that the needs and rights of ordinary people in Myanmar are not overlooked as the country develops.
- Pray with One Voice that land ownership rights are recognised, environmental awareness grows and that civil society learns how to successfully engage the authorities on such issues.
- Pray for greater ethnic harmony in Myanmar and a peaceful resolution to long-standing conflicts.
One Voice
We pray because we're desperate for God - to walk with him... in step with his will for the world.
Join our global poverty prayer movement. Click here for more information