Love your neighbor . . .

Today I learned about the oppression in the country of Burma through World Hope's website. For those of you who may not be familiar with the country of Burma, presently known as Myanmar, it is bordered by India, China and Thailand.

In a nutshell, this is what is happening: Burma is ruled by one of the worst military dictatorships in the world. Last month Buddhist monks and nuns began marching and chanting prayers to call for democracy. The protests spread and hundreds of thousands of Burmese people joined in -- but they've been brutally attacked by the military regime.

World Hope encourages us to be a part of bringing peace, justice and freedom to these oppressed people with the following: "Burma's powerful sponsor China can halt the crackdown if it believes that its international reputation and the 2008 Olympics in Beijing depend on it. To convince the Chinese government and other key countries to intervene, Avaaz (The World in Action) is launching a major global and Asian ad campaign including full page ads in the Financial Times and other newspapers to deliver its message. Avaaz needs 1 million voices to be the global roar that will get China's attention."

I was number 789,508 on the way to a million. Click here to sign the petition to help alleviate suffering in Burma. The petition will be advertised in a massive ad campaign all this week, delivered by a Nobel Prize winner to UN Secretary General Ban Ki Moon, and broadcast into Burma over the radio. Let's not let something like Rwanda happen again.

It's a small act for a world dilemma, but wouldn't you want someone to do it for you?

Love your neighbor . . . as yourself.