In light of the release of all of DVB's jailed journalists on 13 January, the Free Burma VJ campaign has decided to cancel the postcard exhibition planned from 20 to 27 January 2012 at the Minimal Art gallery of Chiang Mai
We are very grateful to all of you who gave your time and creativity to fight for the release of our journalists.
How do you see your square of freedom and hope?
What would you like to receive?
What would make you feel better?
Take a square of white paper. This is your square of freedom. Use your imagination, and express your own vision of freedom and hope.
Everything is possible: drawing, painting, collage, text, folding, cut-out, photos ... You don't need to be an artist, you just need to be you.
If you were alone and isolated, in a very difficult situation, hopeless and depressed, what would make you feel better? What kind of message would you like to receive?
A postcard is a simple and honest way to communicate. We are always happy to receive a postcard from a friend, a lover, a relative, and even someone we've never met.
I know some people in Burma who would be more than happy to receive your square of freedom. They are some of the loneliest people in the country. They are far from their families and friends; they are stock in a small dirty room and can't get out. They are sometimes tortured, deprived of food, and humiliated. They also know that they are going to be in this situation for years and years.
These people are video-journalists (VJs) for the Democratic Voice of Burma, and they are in prison. Their only crime is to use their footage to tell the truth about their own country. Have you ever seen images of the Burmese monks' uprising in 2007? Have you ever seen images of Cyclone Nargis in 2008? Have you ever seen images of the Burmese elections in 2011? These images come from the DVB VJs.
As they fought to send messages from inside Burma to you, please also do the same for them.
The postcards will be shown in an exhibition in Chiang Mai from 20 to 27 January 2012 at the Minimal Art gallery of Chiang Mai (24/2 Nimmanhaeminda Soi 13 Muang, Chiang Mai)
After the exhibition, the postcards will be sent en masse to the prisons in which the VJs are held. We are well aware that authorities will likely block them from reaching their intended target, but a barrage of personal tributes from around the world will send a warning to the Burmese government that it cannot put its media behind bars.
Here are guidelines for the postcard:
- Size: 10.5cm x 14.8cm = 4.13 x 5.83 inches = A6 format
- Please send the postcard to:
Géraldine May, P.O Box 198, Mae Ping Post Office, Chiang Mai, Thailand, 50301.
Finally, we request you to share this call widely. This will further help draw attention to the plight of our VJs, and encourage even more to join by sending us Postcards of Hope…
In solidarity,
Democratic Voice of Burma
