So, how many people have seen Rambo 4? I got to see part of it in South America when it was coming out. I was really suprised when it was centered around Rambo and a group of missionaries who were trying to get into Myanmar aka Burma to spread the gospel and provide medical assistance. The movie starts when Rambo is in Thailand I think and is approached by the missionaries to drive them up the river in his boat to Burma. He refuses at first because Burma is war torn and the military have strict control and like to kill Christians but then he is convinced. The movie is very graphic in its portrayal of the violence, but from what I have heard from the Burmese refugees here there is a lot of violence.Apart from being Christians, the Burmese people suffer many problems. A few years ago they had an election and the candidate who won assumed their presidency. The military didn’t like this so they put this person under house arrest and took strict control of the country. In each state of Burma a few rebel groups have been formed to fight the national government because of this. The way that these rebels finance their armies is by going into a village and demanding money from the people who live there. So the chief of the village will assign each of the village families how much they will pay. This kind of thing will happen a few times a year. If they have found that they have been supporting the national army they will persecute that village.
Now the government army also does the same thing with a tax. They will demand money from a village and I think it is in the form of a tax. Now the army will also try to find out if the village has been supporting rebel armies too and if they have been, they will be arrested or even worse. If the rebel armies have found that you have supported the national gov they will be angry. So there is constant persecution from both rebel and national armies in Burma and many people have decided to escape and live in other countries, but this is a problem too.
Burmese people who live here in Delhi India face constant persecution because they look different and don’t speak Hindi, although they know English. Because of this they are hated. (Will racism ever end?) When these people try to find jobs, they usually can only make about half of the minimum wage in India, which is $75 a month. So them make hardly any money and usually it isn’t even enough for the rent that they have to pay and may face getting evicted.
They also are persecuted by people in and around their apartment complex and face the constant dangers of beatings or being raped because they look different and can’t speak Hindi. So even when they are walking around to the market or to their job they have to be careful. Some of the Burmese teenagers I have met have told me about the beatings they have gotten, so this information is first hand.
Not only all of this but they have to get a United Nations certificate that lists them as a refugee so that they can travel to other countries where there are settlements for refugees. A lot of the people we have spoken to have been waiting for months to get this certificate. With it they can go to Australia or other countries where they are going to be treated better.
So I just want to tell everyone about this so that you can pray for them and their protection. Also pray that their certificates are processed quickly.
This year has taught me that a lot of the world does not live as comfortably or pleasantly as we do in America. We have it very well and don’t even know it. Life is hard here and people have a lot less. It is given me such a great appreciation for what we have and an appreciation for people everywhere in the world. I am learning to be less materialistic and find more of my validation more in God and less in stuff and the people around me. I don’t care as much what people think of me because I know I am really God’s son and have an inheritance in heaven and a new life here on Earth.
