The Dominican Month for Peace began on the first Sunday of Advent and extends through the end of December with a focus on Myanmar, a Southeast Asian nation of more than 100 ethnic groups that borders India, Bangladesh, China, Laos, and Thailand. The Month of Peace is an excellent way for all Dominicans to stand in solidarity with members who are struggling to relieve the marginalization and persecution of various human populations.
Our sisters and brothers in Myanmar have been subjected to atrocities and human rights violations that have gone largely unreported in the main media. Recently, the military broke into the Dominican Sisters’ convent in Loikaw and encamped there while others moved into the friars’ convent. Luckily, neither the sisters nor the friars were home at the time when the soldiers ransacked the rooms and took whatever was valuable.
Since last year’s coup, at least 1,900 killings by the military have been reported and the UN has registered one million internally displaced people (IDPs), and some 14 million remain in urgent need of humanitarian assistance.
The Dominican Sisters of Sparkill are participating in the Month of Peace in solidarity with our Dominican family in Myanmar. We are praying each week for our sisters and brothers in Myanmar who continue to face threats daily to their lives. We ask that you also remember our sisters and brothers in Ukraine who likewise face life-threatening situations and the destruction of property.
Will you join with us in this Myanmar Month of Peace as we prepare for the Prince of Peace? Be on the lookout for more materials, resources, and ways to help us focus on this prayer intention.
We invite you to view this short video from our Dominican Family on the ground. Some of the brothers’ faces have been blocked to protect their identities. https://youtu.be/eBgMarLS5W0