"Wage Slaves for Jesus"

Hightower begins his editorial with this statement:

"If the poor are truly blessed, then God must be smiling on those Chinese workers forced to make crucifixes and other religious articles while toiling in deplorable sweatshop conditions."

In the editorial, Hightower refers to a report by the National Labor Comittee called "Today Workers Bear the Cross: Crucifixes Made Under Horrific Sweatshop Conditions in China," published in November of 2007. The report details the conditions in a sweatshop factory in China that produces, among other things, crucifixes that were being sold in the U.S. for $29.95 apiece. The workers making these items were being paid about .26 cents per hour, and were being forced to work extremely long hours in sweatshop conditions.

I have deplored the amount of "Jesus Junk" found in religious "book" stores for years. Most of these stores stock shelf after shelf with junk - plastic "Jesus" trinkets, "Jesus" jewelry, "Jesus" mints, "Jesus" wall plaques and pictures, "Jesus" t-shirts, "Jesus" everything-you-can-think-of-that-can-be-made-for-cheap-and-sold-for-a-high-profit. 99.9% of this junk comes from China, and it is my guess that most of it comes from sweatshop factories like the ones detailed on the above website.

The "Christian Retail Industry" rakes in about five billion a year - that's BILLION with a "B." I wonder how many of our Christian brothers and sisters could be fed, clothed and cared for with that five billion.

The next time you saunter into a "Christian" book store, and you are tempted to purchase that piece of Jesus Junk on the shelf, turn it over and look at the bottom. If it says "Made in China," ask yourself if you really need another piece of Jesus Junk cluttering up your life. Even if it doesn't say "Made in China," ask yourself the same question. Then take the amount that you would have spent on the Jesus Junk and give it to an organization that feeds and clothes poverty stricken Christians in countries like Myanmar.

CSW met representatives of several Kachin organisations, based in Thailand. This follows two visits made by CSW to the Kachin on the China-Burma border. According to these Kachin groups, the SPDC is pursuing a policy of slow, systematic genocide. The Kachin Independence Organisation (KIO) has had a ceasefire with the SPDC since 1994. As a result, the Kachin are not experiencing the same extensive, overt violence from the Burma Army as the Karen, Karenni and Shan, in terms of the destruction of villages and mass displacement of civilians. However, the SPDC continues to oppress the Kachin, through the widespread use of forced labor, forced relocation, rape and religious persecution, and through more subtle, covert and indirect means. For example, due to the regime’s lack of investment in education and economic opportunities, and the deliberate distribution of narcotics, thousands of young Kachin have become addicted to drugs. Since 1997, according to Kachin sources based on research from international NGOs, over 100,000 young Kachins have died from HIV/AIDS and drug-related causes.

Poverty and economic deprivation in Kachin State is widespread. People in Kachin State live on an average income of 1,500 kyats ($1) a day. According to Kachin sources, basic food supplies and household goods are virtually unaffordable. For example:

• A kilo of rice (in 8 condensed milk cans) costs over 1,000 kyats
• One egg costs 100 kyats;
• One pineapple costs 300 kyats;
• A bunch of bananas costs 600 kyats;
• 1.6kg (a “viss”) of pork costs 6,000 kyats;
• 1.6lg (a “viss”) of chicken costs 3,000-4,000 kyats;
• A longyi costs 2,000 kyats;
• A plain blouse costs 3,000 kyats;

In other words - the government is making it nearly impossible to live in Myanmar, unless you are one of the favored few who are 1) Burmese; 2) Bhuddists; 3) have an "insider" connection to the military / government.

Read the whole report here:

CSW visit to the Thailand-Burma Border

btw, provider telpon seluler untung berapa milyar dari sms semacam ini ya?

Jujur saja orang-orang islam (termasuk saya) baik yang kaya maupun yang miskin di Indonesia, masih hanya sebatas "kemauan di bibir" buat membantu saudara-sadara muslim lain yang hidupnya susah, di bawah kemiskinan. Tidak ada upaya atau gerakan nasional yang bisa membujuk supaya orang-orang islam mengumpulkan harta secara teratur (bulanan) yang kemudian dana yang terkumpul digunakan untuk pemberdayaan umat baik membantu mengkuliahkan anak-anak tukang becak, atau sekedar memberikan kursus supaya anak tukang becak tidak lagi sekedar menjadi tukang becak seperti Bapaknya.

kira-kira akan terkumpul berapa puluh/ratus milyar ya? Silahkan baca tulisan terkait:
http://akusuka.wordpress.com/2007/11/09/mengkaji-ulang-ibadah-haji-di-indonesia/

Agama (Islam kek, Bahai kek, Kong Hucu kek) seharusnya bisa membuat pemelukanya kaya (hidup berkecukupan) baik di dunia maupun di akhirat. Agama yang menjanjikan kesejahteraan di akhirat doang, agama omong kosong! Waktu jaman Nabi Muhammad hingga jaman Dinasti Abbasiyah, semua orang Islam di jamin kesejahteraannya di dunia. Kalau sekarang Islam tidak lagi dapat menjamin kesejahteraan baik batin dan juga jasmani pemeluknya, silahkan siapa saja pindah agama ke agama lain yang dapat menjamin kesejahteraan pemeluknya.

Buat para pemimpin partai islam, para pemimpin organisasi islam, Sudahkah Bapak-Bapak melakukan tindakan untuk mensejahterakan Umat Islam secara nasional? Kira-kiran kapan Umat Islam dapat hidup sejahtera lahir dan batin?

Saya mencoba mengingatkan saudara-saudara muslim dengan kalimat bijaksana dari Sahabat Nabi terpandai, sayidina Ali bin Abi Thalib: "kalau kemiskinan berupa mahluk hidup, aku akan membunuhnya!" Maksud Ali adalah "kemiskinan dekat dengan kekafiran". Ali tahu bahwa mustahil orang yang lapar, orang yang dipenuhi dengan was-was dan kekhawatiran (akan masa depan pendidikan dan kesejahteraan keluarganya) bisa beribadah dengan baik.

Update 17 Des 2007:

Saya bukan Ustadz, bukan Kyai, bukan Syaikh.... hanya orang Islam biasa yang masih banyak mempunyai kekurangan (lebih besar dari kelebihan). Maksud saya nulis post di atas, marilah kita ukur diri Umat Islam.... sudahkah kita All Out dalam membantu dan menguatkan keimanan saudara-saudara muslim kita yang miskin sehingga mereka tidak mudah terbujuk pindah agama?

OpinionJournal - Featured Article

Way to go, Mrs. Bush! We are with you ONE HUNDRED PERCENT!!!

Akyab Water Distributors Sentenced to Two Years

A shop owner who gave water to thirsty monks who were protesting outside his shop was sentenced, without so much as a hearing, to two years in prison for the crime of "creating unrest among the people."

The military government, in another show of desperation, has cut off the phones of dozens of people they refer to as "activists." A personal source told me that one member of parliament had his phone cut off because he spoke with a member of the foreign media.

They can cut the phones all they want, the story will still get out!

Read the story...

Read the Story Here...

The Buddhist monks play a huge role in the nation of Myanmar. Lately they have become even more involved in the protests sparked by the recent fuel price hikes. Now they have given the military junta until September 17th to meet their demands, after which they will no longer accept alms from the military, nor offer religious rites for the families of the military.

Since the vast majority of the military are Buddhist, this would be a major blow against the junta. Read the full story here: http://www.rfa.org/english/news/politics/2007/09/11/burma_monks/

Yesterday they interrupted the state television broadcast to issue a warning to the protesters. They did not give any details, but if the past is any indication of the future, the people are in for a rough ride.

The one difference between 1988 and today is the Internet. In 1988 hardly anyone in the west heard about the crackdown in Burma, save perhaps for a few sound-bites on CNN and the other news networks. Today, anyone with Internet access can get nearly up-to-the-minute news on what is happening over there. Hopefully that will deter them from just spraying the crowds with machine-gun fire like they did last time...but since they are not accountable to anyone, maybe they don't care.

When will the West really stand up to these thugs? When will the US freeze the assets of the Burmese Junta the way they did to Sadaam's Bathist regime? When will companies like Unical and Daewoo stop propping up the dictators with their oil and natural gas billions?

Yesterday some government officials confronted the leaders of a prominent Buddhist monastery, but the monks in the monastery locked them in and proceeded to burn their vehicles. This was after some Burmese soldiers had earlier fired their weapons over the heads of protesting monks. The monks also accused the soldiers of beating some monks.

Some of the leaders of the 1988 democratic uprising, who spent 15 years in prison, and were just released last year, led a few small protests. Many of them are now back in jail, and face up to 20 years in prison.

The vast majority of the people are against the military government, but are fearful for their lives. Burma now has one of the largest, most well equipped armies in Southeast Asia (thanks to the billions of dollars poured into the country from other countries and companies who are eager to exploit Burma's rich natural resources).

My wife and I, along with a pastor/friend from Myanmar, have established a new non-profit corporation for the purpose of assisting our brothers and sisters in Myanmar.

I'll be posting more about this later. We have also put up an initial site at http://www.myanmarhope.org/

I hope that you'll take a few moments to check it out!