Earth Day Campaign April 2021
The students and youth that lead GM4MD are also part of the generation fighting for action on climate change, so it was an easy choice to get involved in Earth Day activities that linked Myanmar’s pro-democracy movement to the environmental movement. Many of us are young people whose families come from Myanmar, and it is important to impress upon the world that Myanmar does not exist in a vacuum, and that the negative impacts of the coup will ripple outwards. For this reason, we chose Earth Day on April 22 to highlight the links between democracy, indigenous autonomy and climate change action. Our aim was to raise awareness of how the Myanmar military junta’s destruction and capitalization of the environment has put Myanmar in grave danger of a climate crisis that has a global reach. International action must help re-establish the democratically elected civilian government for Myanmar in averting an ecological crisis.
Our campaign was carried out through four major activities:
- Boycott Chevron Campaign
- Parachute Strike
- Participating in the Earth Day Citizen’s Forum
- Art Auction
Boycott Chevron Campaign
Chevron and partner Total pump natural gas from deep sea wells in partnership with government-controlled Myanmar Oil and Gas in Enterprise (MOGE), which is now directly funding the military’s violent crackdown on protesters. It is estimated that this venture generates over 150 million USD for the government annually. Chevron and Total have ignored calls to cut business ties with the junta-controlled Enterprise, choosing profits over people, making them complicit in hundreds of deaths, thousands of arrests and entire villages of displaced people. Check out this TikTok video for even more information.
Protests were carried out in cities across the USA:
- 25 people rallied at Chevron’s lobbying office in Washington, DC
- protests were held at the US Treasury Building and Diversity Plaza in New York City
- 60 people rallied at Chevron’s Corporate Headquarters in San Ramon near San Francisco
- A protest took place in El Segundo, near Los Angeles
Protests were also held several weeks earlier at the following locations:
- A protest took place at Chevron’s Texas Headquarters in Houston and was attended by Member of Congress Sheila Jackson Lee
- Around 100 people rallied in Denver, Colorado
In addition to protests, activists and concerned citizens signed a petition to Chevron CEO Michael Wirth to stop bankrolling the Myanmar military’s violence towards civilians. This petition is still active and it’s not too late to add your name!
This campaign helped to strengthen the coalition of organizations advocating for democracy in Myanmar and cessation of all ties to the military junta. The protests attracted media attention both in the US and in Myanmar, with Myanmar Now publishing videos of the protests on their Facebook page, a popular source of news in the country. Similar actions have been taken in Europe to hold oil and gas company Total accountable, and the mounting pressure has had an impact. On May 26, Chevron and Total announced they would be stopping some of their payments to MOGE. Although this is only a partial victory, it is strong encouragement to keep up our activism. GM4MD’s advocacy advisor Mike Haack suggests that the best way to advocate for legislative support for Myanmar is to get out your phone and actually speak to your representatives, asking them to support upcoming legislation on Myanmar. You can find your representative here.
Parachute Strike
GM4MD joined forces with Citizen’s Climate Lobby (CCL) and the Mother Earth Project for a virtual #ParachuteStrike, for which participants decorated a parachute (any large white circle of fabric or paper) with messages about Myanmar’s democracy and/or the environment. Participants were asked to submit photos of their parachutes and the most unique and special parachutes won $100 to donate to their favorite Myanmar charity.
We had 15 entries to this contest, and a lot more engagement from votes and shares than we anticipated. Some entries even came from within Myanmar, and the campaign was covered by two Myanmar news sources — DVB news and RFA Burmese. Here are some of the runner-ups:
The winners of the competition came from a team of youth within Myanmar who chose to donate their winnings to a local group supporting the pro-democracy movement. We are very grateful to all those who participated.
This was the first year that any group from Myanmar participated in the global campaign, and it increased awareness of the environmental impacts of military rule without accountability.
Earth Day Citizen’s Forum
GM4MD participated in the Earth Day Citizens Forum, a global event organized by the Citizen’s Climate Lobby (CCL)where people from around the world share stories of the effects of climate change and organize towards environmental protection. GM4MD Executive team members Sandra Kong and Jan Jan spoke to 93 attendees about the impact of Myanmar’s military coup on climate change. We are excited about developing a partnership with CCL because their mission is to connect people power, democracy and the environment; all of which are very important values to GM4MD. We look forward to working with them on lobbying workshops and their youth conference this year.
“The Earth Day Citizens’ Forum provided a platform for GM4MD to raise awareness of Myanmar among climate change activists events and express our solidarity for their work to create a livable climate future. In our efforts to empower any citizen to support Myanmar, GM4MD is inspired by the global citizen engagement in empowering governments to be more ambitious about climate action.” — Sandra Kong, GM4MD Executive Team
Art Auction
GM4MD partnered with Insight Myanmar to host an Earth Day-themed art auction to support the Civil Disobedience Movement in Myanmar. 36 artists from around the world donated 40 pieces about the environment and/or Myanmar’s spring revolution. Artworks included paintings, drawings, graphic art, books, poetry and music performances. The artists were very enthusiastic about donating their pieces and showing solidarity with the people of Myanmar, and we received even more submissions than we were able to include in the auction. Part of the auction included a live Zoom event to meet artists and hear about their inspiration for the pieces, and this was attended by 58 people. 32 different buyers have received their artwork either digitally or through the mail when possible.
The auction raised 6000 USD, which we split between 3 fundraisers: Mutual Aid Myanmar, Better Burma, and our own medical supplies fundraiser.
Three of our featured artists share a special bond. Father Mehm Than Oo and sons Paul and Justin all contributed artwork to the auction. Paul describes what participating in the art auction meant to him:
“I would describe myself as emotionally detached on subjects like social justice. I grew up volunteering at my church. This process eventually became more of an obligation than an act of service. I think many of us burn out when we don’t know what the fruits of our labor are. The connection I have to Myanmar has always been blurry. I never really attempted to understand what it meant to be a Burmese American. The coup triggered moments of reflection and grief. Monetary donations, at least for me, seemed to further define the degrees of separation I felt from the issues in Myanmar. Volunteering for the art auction was one of my early steps towards managing my mental and spiritual health. In many ways, I still feel detached from Myanmar. The biggest difference now is a matured sense of duty and obligation. I am fortunate to be surrounded by so many like-minded individuals. They have made me understand that the fruits of my labor aren’t always external. Volunteering for organizations like GM4MD has given me a sense of community that I’ve always wanted to be a part of.” — Paul Oo, artist and activist
This campaign was important to establish the connection between military rule and accelerated environmental damage in Myanmar’s unique forest and coastal areas that could contribute to global climate change. We are especially pleased with how it brought together groups like activists in Myanmar, the Myanmar diaspora, and international allies to advocate for democracy. We give thanks to all the individuals in our network as well as partners that worked hard to make all of these events possible. We are grateful to all those who chose to participate and contribute in some way to this campaign. We look forward to continuing to build and strengthen our coalition to support the people of Myanmar in their fight against militarization and dictatorship.
This update was compiled by the story-collecting team with input and contributions from many people who worked tirelessly for weeks to make these events a success. Thank you to everyone who volunteered their time and energy to organizing and participating in these events!
