For Burma

This past week life has been crazy in a place I love dearly, Southeast Asia. Particularly Burma. When I saw on the news the other morning that the monks were protesting I was happy that they were finally doing something for their people, trying to make a change, but I was also fearful because I new was would come if it continued.
The men that run Burma, the Military Junta and the military are VERY, VERY power hungry and are not going to give up without a VERY large fight. I think deep down these men have always known what they are doing is wrong and that the power they hold over the country is not earned or deserved (the elected Leader of Burma, Ayn San Siu Kyi has been under house arrest by the Military Junta for the past 11 or so years). In my opinion that is why they moved the capital from the countries largest city, Yangon, to some newly created city in the middle of nowhere, so they could hide and keep their secrets. Now though, their dirty laundry is coming out for the whole world to see.
Now the battle has started. There is already reports of several deaths, and so long as the protest goes on there will be many more. In 1988 there were similar protests along the same level and thousands died. I can only pray that that doesn't happen again this time.
My one recommendation is that you see the movie "Beyond Rangoon." It's about an American woman who gets stuck in Myanmar (Burma) during the 1988 protests and it's really powerful.

Here are some pictures from my trip to Burma a year ago:








Also this last week a bridge collapsed in Can tho, Vietnam killing 45 workers and injuring many more. The bridge was going to be a big step for the people in the region and was going to connect the Mekong delta region with Ho Chi Minh City (Saigon). While I was on a Mekong delta trip in Vietnam I was able to see the bridge and our Tour guide raved about it. He was so excited for the new possibilities (currently there are no bridges across the river and everyone takes ferries). I hope that they're able to heal and from what I'm heard they've already started to repair and rebuild the bridge.