21
Dec

Blood donation as civil disobedience

On the 12th of December Kyemon (Mirror) published an article: "Donating blood, saving life" by Padaung Than Kywe. In legal groups of four or five, people have started coming forward to donate blood. This is a brilliant nonviolent act of civil disobedience. What if the queue, in groups of five separated by a short space, stretched around the block? Wearing a "I donated blood today" badge has become a political act. Congratulations to the people who thought of this creative move.

[him] moderator

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Blood donation in memory of September protesters
Maung Dee
Mizzima News
18 December 2007

In memory of those killed during the September protests in the Burmese
military junta's brutal crackdown, students, family members of political
prisoners and at least 49 residents in Rangoon today donated blood at the
Rangoon hospital.

In order to avoid commotion and rush at the hospital, the donors today
went to Rangoon hospital's national blood bank in batches of four and five
and donated blood on Tuesday morning, the organizer of the blood donation
programme told Mizzima.

"We are donating blood in memory of those killed during the protests and
to our brothers and sisters who are still being held in various jails
across Burma," Yut Thit, organizer of the blood donation programme told
Mizzima.

While the group had planned to donate blood at private clinics from early
December but as private clinics do not accept blood donation in groups,
they had go to the Rangoon general hospital. They donated blood without
mentioning the cause they were donating for, Yut Thit added.

While at least 70 people recorded their names for the blood donation, only
49 people turned up until Tuesday afternoon, he added.

Though the organizers were unable to provide any supplementary food to the
donors, the Rangoon hospital provided them with egg and milk as a token of
gratitude.

"We are not doing this as an organization. We, who have the privilege of
freedom, are doing this in solidarity with those who are detained and to
those who have sacrificed their lives. We cannot offer anything to the
donors, so the least we could do was arrange vehicles for them to head
back to their homes," added Yut Thit.

He also urged all the people of Burma to express their solidarity to those
who are detained and to those who have sacrificed their lives for the
cause of freedom by donating their blood.

http://www.mizzima.com/MizzimaNews/News/2007/Dec/50,%20Dec,%202007.html

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