And We Must Not Be Silent.

In a new YouTube video, actor Jim Carrey makes a very important public service announcement on behalf of the Human Rights Action Center and the U.S. Campaign for Burma. He speaks of unsung heroes, of imprisonment, of conflict, of rape, of terror…

He speaks of Burma.

And he reminds all of us that we are needed.

The Who
Burma, officially re-named “Myanmar” in 1989, is located in Southeast Asia and for the past fifteen years has been under the control of one of the most repressive governments in the world. This government, what is known as a military junta, is responsible for the destruction of over 3,000 villages in eastern Burma, the brutal rapes of countless women, the deaths of countless more, and the imprisonment of over 1400 dissenters- including Carrey’s “unsung hero”, Nobel laureate Aung San Suu Kyi, whose political party, the National League for Democracy, won an astounding 82% of the seats in the country’s parliament but was never allowed to assume any office.

The Why
Traveling across Burma, I ask people why they want democracy. Very often the answer is, “We just want to be free.” -Aung San Suu Kyi

Burma has seen a complete deterioration of human rights. Headlines read like horror novels or long ago history lessons of terror and mayhem. Unfortunately, these tales of Burma are neither fiction nor long ago: Brutal rapes, child soldiers, bloody protests, peaceful demonstrations turned murder, imprisonment, hopelessness… These tales are very real and very terrifying and must be put to an end.

The How
Be not silent.

To become involved in the campaign to free Aung San Suu Kyi and the people of Burma or to learn more about their combined history and struggles, contact the United States Campaign for Burma, a U.S.-based membership organization dedicated to empowering grassroots activists around the world to bring about an end to the military dictatorship in Burma.

The When
You’re needed Now. We all are.

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