Thank you, Burmese citizen journalists

“They came and put the flag, gave us 10 candles but no food.”

“They don’t help, but force us to leave. Where should we go, my young man?”

“Nobody comes (to help)! But they have taken away all the donations from us.”

-- survivors expressing their anger at the Burmese government


We are in trouble, help!
We are hungry!
- written on the road after the storm

Enabled in part, and mediated by today’s internet and networking technologies, citizen journalism—or participatory journalism— has become a more permanent element of the media landscape. Whereas before was a clear delineation between author and reader, news maker and audience; today’s social, networking and collaborative-based applications like blogs, wikis, forums, widgets combined with easy-to-use but hi-tech digicams and mobile computing have blurred the lines between ‘amateur’ and ‘professional’ in the world of journalism.

That average citizens can engage in the writing, production and distribution of news and opinion is not an entirely new concept. It has been rooted in many struggles for change in world history and advocated in recent years by development workers.

Thanks to many ordinary citizens who participate as both witness and storyteller of the world around them, even more people like us get to see the world from a point of view other than that of oragnised media industries. More than this, in the midst of danger and conflict, the world is given the chance to see what’s real, raw and unglamorous — reality uncut. Like the plight of Burma.

Burmese citizen journalists
The devastation of Burma in recent weeks was not really unleashed by Cyclone Nargis. It was its military junta who made a natural catastrophe an unbearable tragedy. This I learned thanks to the Democratic Voice of Burma and its group of Burmese reporters and photo-journalists — all ordinary citizens — working covertly to bring the world the real story of the storm. The DVB is based in Norway and comprises a handful of Burmese activists in exile.

Burma's military junta, with its tightly controlled state media, paint a picture of a country quickly recovering, with mostly upbeat images of the country's military leaders handing out aid to survivors. Photo-journalists are not allowed to take photos of the more gruesome reality: hungry survivors squatting on roadsides, stinking corpses floating in flooded waters, injured survivors waiting hopelessly for help. Local relief organisations and volunteers are threatened to not coordinate with monks, who are once have gathered in the streets not in protest, but merely to help the communities.

The International Federation of Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies has claimed that as many as 127,990 people may have died as a result of the cyclone, while the UN says more than 100,000 may have perished. The UN also estimated that between 1.6 and 2.5 million people have been severely affected by the disaster.

As of this writing, the UN is still unable to mount a full-scale relief effort, because Burma has not yet granted visas to dozens of disaster relief specialists. This despite the fact that US and French ships loaded with aid are in the waters close to the country, but without clearance to port. Even Archbishop Desmond Tutu of South Africa has stood up to say that the junta has committed crimes against humanity in its handling of the catastrophe; that the regime had "effectively declared war on its own population."

Thanks to Burmese citizen journalists, we are not kept in the dark and fed false images of recovery Hopefully, the world can repay them with supporting the Burmese people in their struggle not just to survive this natural catastrophe, but also to regain its freedom and a better quality of life.

Excerpts from Burmese bloggers

After about 200 deaths and 6,000 political detainess, it might be harder now for the world to see through the tinted windows encasing Burma, but thanks to Burmese bloggers, we have a record of their stories that we can re-tell.

Dawn 109, Rangoon… I just saw with my own eyes that more than 500 monks... They were chanting: "To the uncountable living beings living in uncountable universes to the east, May they be free of danger, May they be free of anger, May they be free of sufferings, and May their hearts be calm and peaceful. May there be peace on earth."

Kto Hike… On 26 September, a Buddhist monk was beaten to death by plain-clothed thugs while he was praying at the Shwe Dagon Pagoda in the centre of Rangoon. The dead body was carried back to the Sadu Monastery in Kyee Myindine. My part-time duty is working on Emergency YGH... at about 2 pm, 5 patients were coming to our Emergency... for gun shot wounds... 1 patient died on spot on arriving at hospital... 4 r still bad in Diagnosis... The patient's attendant said he was not in d line of protest... they were chatting and watching d protest line and sitting on Cafe Bar near Shawe Dagon Pagoda... Government military car was crossing to d protest line and randomly shot all of them...

Sein Khaloke
Buddhist monks are chanting: "All humans be free from killing and torturing, Our compassion and love spread all over country" and "Peace on earth".

Mya, Rangoon
A monk who took part in the protests came to us and told us about his experiences. He said: "We are not afraid, we haven't committed a crime, we just say prayers and take part in the protests. We haven't accepted money from onlookers although they offered us a lot. We just accept water. People clapped, smiled and cheered us." The monk seemed very happy, excited and proud. But I'm worried for them. They care for us and we pray for them not to get harmed.

Thila, Rangoon
Riot police and soldiers are beating monks and protesters at the east gate of Shwedagon Pagoda. They are starting a crackdown by all means. Regardless of this, just after noon, about 1,000 monks from a nearby monastery started a march to Shwedagon Pagoda.

Yi, Rangoon
I saw a truck full of police with guns, which looked like AK47. The military junta has been making us miserable for nearly two decades.

Eyewitness, Rangoon
Riot police started to chase the monks and beat them up. Then about 200 were hauled off onto the trucks and driven away. About 80 monks were taken away.

Source:
http://news.independent.co.uk/world/asia/article3001622.ece

Internet keeps Burma real for the rest of us

When the military opened fire on pro-democracy protesters in 1988 - killing thousands of monks and students - the world only got to learn about it via their TV screens a few weeks later. But now all eyes are on Burma. The world is watching intently as news, images and stories about its oppressive regime and democracy-famished people are delivered to our monitors and phones.

The Democratic Voice of Burma runs TV, radio and internet broadcasts round the clock to keep the world abreast of the latest democratic uprisings. It is run by 12 exiled Burmese in Norway. They get their information from 20 citizen journalists who use the Internet and cell phones to funnel news out of Burma. Using proxy computer servers, encryption programs and YouTube, these citizen journalists try to outfox the military regime which controls the country’s communications. They are in hiding as they transmit one video frame at a time over the web or conceal information within seemingly harmless e-mails.



It goes without saying that the repressive conditions in Burma elevate blogging to a subversive and deadly activity – this is a country where you can be imprisoned for merely putting up pro-democracy posters, let alone broadcasting images to the world of what’s really happening in Burma. The Democratic Voice of Burma already reported that the military is now cutting off mobile phone connections as this is an essential channel for bloggers to report from the ground. Interactive media is really a politically charged terrain.

It is political as much as it is a creative, commercial and technological endeavor. Its radical and subversive potential has found its way in many political campaigns, used by government, politicians and civil society alike. In the 2004 Philippine elections for example, mobile phones and ringtones played a major role in fanning the flames of protest. An electoral scandal and crisis began when “…audio recordings of a phone call conversation between President Arroyo and then Election Commissioner Virgilio Garcillano allegedly talking about the rigging of the 2004 national election results “ was made public. Suddenly, ‘Hello, Garci' ringtones (Garci is the nickname of Garcilliano) spread like wildfire on the web and thousands of people downloading it to their phone. It was a spontaneous reaction, created by individuals who thought the whole affair was either comical or outrageous if not surreal.

It was nine years ago when I had the chance to take part in the making of the book 'Burma for Beginners' with some friends of mine. It was a project for the Initiatives for International Dialogue, Philippines. That was how my eyes were opened to the history of Burma. Their stories resonated loudly in the Filipinos own struggles. I hope the civilian journalists of Burma remain safe and able to continue keeping the rest of the world in touch with the struggles of the Burmese people.

LOLCAT awardee: Buddhist monks and nuns of Burma

Barefoot they marched, leading 100,000 protestors, praying and chanting for peace. After more than five hours of marching over at least 12 miles, about 1,000 maroon-robed Buddhist monks and 400 sympathizers walked up to an intersection where police blocked access to the street where democracy leader Aung San Suu Kyi is under house arrest. They prayed and chanted, “May there be peace,” and then dispersed.

Tears welled up in my eyes and the hair stood on the back of my neck. I felt proud, I felt defiant. Fear gripped my heart, aware of the warnings by the military regime and the measure they're willing to take to crush those who oppose them.

More than anything, my heart goes out to Aung San Suu Kyi and to the Burmese people -- my own people's kindred in suffering, hope and the quest for freedom.