Supporting the monks in Burma

Events are unfolding in Burma with a strange sense of inevitability and it all feels a bit voyeuristic. In 1988 thousands of protestors were killed in Rangoon as they protested against the military dictatorship and noone heard about it but this time is different and I am hoping and praying that there will be a peaceful transition to democracy in the country - the Junta know that the world is watching and decisive action must be taken by the global community. This throws up a whole number of issues for democratic socialists who are pro-peace and anti-fascism. I've had some thoughts on this going around my mind ever since I read What's Left by Nick Cohen - fundamentally, Nick Cohen argues, the Left should be defined by their determination to stand in solidarity alongside our brothers and sisters fighting fascism, wherever they may be in the world. I was first introduced to the tragedy of military rule in Burma when I spent a university summer working in Northern Thailand amongst Karen refugees. We could only stare at Burmese border, unable to cross because of the severe fighting - at the time the Burmese Junta had stepped up their campaign in Karen state, burning villages and raping women. Whilst we were there, our hosts told us the most horrendous stories of rape and murder, and we met children who had been orphaned, some of whom had seen their parents killed. At the time it was too much for me to cope with and returning to England I didn't really know what to do with the knowledge. I found out about some of the advocacy work that Christian Solidarity Worldwide were undertaking (www.csw.org.uk) and started writing letters to Total, a French oil company who have been major investors in Burma and making use of the Yadana pipeline that has been constructed using forced and child labour. I also spoke to an old school friend who had started an educational charity working with the Karenni following a gap-year experience that had transformed her life. Steph tragically died in Thailand but the work of her charity, the Karenni Student Development Programme continues and an article appeared in the Telegraph a few years back:
http://www.telegraph.co.uk/global/main.jhtml?xml=/global/2003/03/04/elsteph04.xml

I don't really know what the answer is but we need to support and pray for those protesting in Burma, stand in solidarity and don't whatever you do, fill your car up at a Total petrol station.

CSM Youth Residential: On Earth as it is in Heaven

Am taking a bit of a break from packing for party conference and realised that I hadn't blogged for a while. Wanted to write a bit about the CSM Youth Residential that took place a couple of weekends ago now but also thought I'd draw your attention to this article written by Tristram Hunt in the New Statesman about the contribution of Protestantism to the Labour movement. He ends the article by urging a return to Christian Socialist principles and is well worth a read: http://www.newstatesman.com/200709060025

So onto the residential - I really enjoyed this weekend, probably even more than last year and a wide-range of people bringing quite different perspectives to our discussions. We had several key-note speakers, including Skills Minister David Lammy. Sorry to bring up Jon Cruddas again but Jon also joined us and I was impressed by the way in which he was able to engage everyone there, particularly those who were Christians on the Left, but not members of either CSM or the Labour Party. Jon talked about churches in his consituency being 'on the frontline of political action' and drew on the work of London Citizens in addressing the issue of migrant workers who need to have their immigration status regularised in order to work legally. The Lib-Dems have actually just agreed to a one-off regularisation for people who have been here for more than ten years. This is laudable but is really too long. We're not talking about people on benefits - we're talking about people who want to work, often with children who have been born in this country, who cannot earn a living legally. Ten years is too long to live in limbo - for more info visit the Strangers into Citizens campaign website: www.strangersintocitizens.org.uk