Myanmar: Global Day of Prayer for the “forgotten conflict”
By Kielce Gussie
After 4 years of conflict in Myanmar, 20 million people are in need of basic humanitarian aid, 15 million need food, and 3.5 million have been internally displaced. Yet, the ongoing civil war in Myanmar is largely forgotten.
“We have the impression that it's a forgotten conflict, that the people are no longer aware, or maybe were not even aware at the beginning, that there is this terrible civil war going on in Myanmar,” explains Regina Lynch, Executive President of Aid to the Church in Need International.
To ensure that the people living this conflict and its consequences are not forgotten, on February 1, people around the world are joining Aid to the Church in Need (ACN) in dedicating time to prayer for peace.
Prayers for peace
Chosen to mark this fourth anniversary of the start of the country’s current civil war, this Global Day of Prayer consists of 24-hour Eucharistic Adoration—starting with the International Headquarters in Germany and continuing with 23 ACN offices worldwide.
Ms. Lynch says everyone is invited to join in the vigils and in reciting special prayers for the victims, young people, families, and priests and religious affected by the violence.
The mission continues
Even in the midst of the raging violence, the priests, religious, and lay catechists in Myanmar continue to travel the country, bringing the sacraments to people who have been displaced.
Ms. Lynch describes how “they walk for hours and hours through jungles, over mountains to bring comfort to the people—spiritual comfort—and to bring the sacraments, at great danger to themselves.”
The witness of these priests, religious, and catechists mirrors the mission of Aid to the Church in Need and the Church as a whole. Rather than stay safe in the local parish or leave when the conflict began, “the Church stays with the people.”
Never lose sight of hope
Ms. Lynch notes how important it is to keep countries like Myanmar—living with ongoing conflicts—in our minds.
“I think the world is not aware of how many victims there are from this conflict, how many people are dying, millions made homeless as refugees,” she states, while stressing the need to continue to hope and pray for an end to the violence and the start of an era of peace for Myanmar and the world.
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