How is it we do this to each other?
Posted by Audrey Chin on December 5, 2013 · 5 Comments
I meant to write a post today about Will Schwalbe’s New York Time Best-seller, The End of Your Life Book Club. Instead, I direct your attention to this special Reuters report about how Muslim Rohingya refugees on the Thai-Burmese border are being trafficked and sold into bondage.
http://uk.reuters.com/article/2013/12/05/uk-thailand-rohingya-special-report-idUKBRE9B400920131205
It is perhaps apt that the Reuters article should take the place of a review of that book. The End of Your Life Book Club ais a memoir of Schwalbe’s and his mother Mary Anne’s conversations about life, love, belief and dying guided by the books they read during her pancreatic cancer treatments. Schwalbe’s mother was a director of the Women’s Committee for migration who visited many refugee camps all over the world. Despite the desperation of the situations she encountered, she always held on to the belief that one had to do what one could. Schwalbe’s mother, the author noted, believed in the power of prayer. But, she was also one who thought that if we wanted Our Father’s Kingdom to come and His Will to be done on earth as in Heaven, then we’d have to do something about it!
It is in the spirit of that wonderful woman whom Schwalbe introduced us to that I ask you to click on the link to the Reuters story.
http://uk.reuters.com/article/2013/12/05/uk-thailand-rohingya-special-report-idUKBRE9B400920131205
Like me, you may be befuddled how we humans can still be doing this to other humans. Like me, you may well become angry. I hope too that like me, you will be able to pray for both victims and oppressors. And if the Spirit moves you, then please, send the Reuters link along and ask others to pray with you.
Filed under POSTS · Tagged with Africa, Burma, Human trafficking, Man's inhumanity, Muslim, Praying for his kingdom, Rakhine State, Reuters, Rohingya people, Thailand
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Horrifying. The news story quotes Tarit Pengdith, chief of the Department of Special Investigation, Thailand’s equivalent of the U.S. FBI who said. “We have heard about these camps in southern Thailand,” he said, “but we are not investigating this issue.” This is reprensible. If the Thai govt won’t do anything, why doesn’t the UN step in?
Kathleen, you’ve triggered something. I’ll try to get together a list of email addresses that we can write to. Meanwhile, we can always twitter the report.
Audrey this story made me feel so helpless and sad. I could not believe the plight of these people. Thank you for making me aware of it and hopefully something can be done if enough people shout out!
Kath, in the next post there’s a list of organizations we can write to. As I said there … the outrage is fizzling out because of the civil unrest in Bangkok. If only we did unto others what we would have others do unto us, and didn’t do to others what we wouldn’t want done to us. I’m really beginning to understand Nelson’ Mandela’s words – Your freedom and mine cannot be separated – much better.
As long as we do what we can Kathleen, it will help some …