The US news reports of wicked winter weather for many of you. We hope this letter !nds each of you safe and warm inside your homes.

We write this month to share about some of the work Craig has been involved in since we returned from our time in the States. It’s different.

He is still involved in coordinating people resources, medical resources, dollar resources, and logistics. He’s an interesting systems guy. He sees a problem, mentally sees solutions, and plots a course of action. Craig is still working with Partners Relief & Development which is a quick response type of group.

What’s changed is the people in con#ict for whom he is helping coordinate relief responses. About eight months ago Arakan (or Rakhine) State, located in western Burma, was jolted by two bouts of sectarian violence, when the majority Buddhist population clashed with the Muslim Rohingya — a stateless minority group viewed as illegal Bengali immigrants by the government. Some of these “illegal immigrants” are descendants of families who have resided in Burma for several generations.

We have been told repeatedly that these are some of the most hated people on earth. “Despised,” is a common adjective used to describe the Rohingya. When the !rst response teams had visited and returned, several relief workers stated, “Sadly, it seems they are their own worst enemy.”

Our neighbor and co-worker, Kath Charman is a nurse. Kath has responded to many crises in many parts of the world. Debrie!ng after her time with the Rohingya she recalled, “Two things stood out to me. First, they are very violent toward each other... all day long they were hitting each other with sticks and shouting.” She continued, “Secondly, not a single person said “thank you.” She went on to explain that she didn’t expect everyone to thank

her, but it appeared strange that not a single mother thanked her. She saw over two hundred patients.

So in brief, these people are considered, despised, thankless, violent. Unlike other relief responses, no one is returning saying, “They are such a beautiful people.”

They remind me of the Samaritans. The Samaritans were considered despised “outsiders” generations after they had moved to Israel. “They” were non-Israelite. The Burmese are holding up signs saying, “They” are not Myanmar ethnicity, in reference to the Rohingya.

Throughout my years of Sunday School education, I thought the Samaritans were simply a despised people

because of their “mixed blood.” I thought Jesus was trying to communicate that they were misunderstood “Good Guys.” But was there more to it than bad blood? Was there some legitimacy to their bad reputation?

What if they brought cultural behaviors such as violence (they were Assyrian immigrants)? What if the Samaritans became a bitter and rough people,

because they had a history of rejection?

How similar are the ancient Samaritans to today’s Rohingya? Is there any relevance to us? Why does Jesus relay the story of the “Good Samaritan?” Why didn’t he tell the story of the “Oppressed Samaritan?”

This took some pondering. It wasn’t !tting into my childhood recollection of the story. We have always been taught to identify with the Good Samaritan... to be the champion of the oppressed... but Jesus was communicating something more than that... something I had never previously considered. He was re-branding the Samaritans.

Re-branding the Despised.

“And who is my neighbor?” Luke 10:29

Dear Friends,

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The Garrisons ✠ Serving with the People of Myanmar (Burma) Since 2004

Why does Jesus relay the story of the “Good Samaritan?” Why didn’t he tell the story of the “Oppressed Samaritan?”

Jesus saw them for what they could become: compassionate, attentive, responsible, sacri!cial, heroic. Perhaps he wasn’t just trying to get the Jews (including his followers) to see the Samaritans differently, perhaps he was also changing how the Samaritans viewed themselves; from victim to hero.

Perhaps their previous labels had become self-ful!lling prophesies that were generationally passed down. In his story, Jesus was portraying the Samaritan as an outward- focused overcomer, not a victim of the environment around him.

So what became of the Samaritans? Many of them recognized Jesus as Savior and were among the !rst Christians. (John 4:39-42; Acts 8:25, 9:331, 15:3) Would you pray with us that the similarities might continue?

So, from this perspective, are we called upon to be the Good Samaritan? Or is Jesus wanting us to do/be more? Is Jesus wanting us to !nd ways to enable the Rohingya to be Good Samaritans? Hmmm. Worth further consideration.

Thank you for allowing us to be your hands and feet in this part of the world,

The Garrisons

How have we/you modeled the Good Samaritan? For a small organization, Partners Relief and Development has been able to make a signi!cant impact on the lives of thousands of men, women and children. In three months we have:

• assessed and medically treated nearly 5,000 patients• distributed nearly 10,000 kg of rice• distributed over 2,500 kg of seeds and fertilizer to improve food security• distributed over 400 tarpaulins for shelter• given more than 500 blankets • constructed more than 80 toilets

Total estimated number of people directly helped from November to January is more than 20,000.

When one of our co-workers asked his interpreter, “Do these people know we are Christians?”

“Yes, they know,” the interpreter replied.

“What do they think of us?” he wondered.

“Your group is called, ‘the group that gets things done.’”

Praise the Lord!

Rohingya mother receiving a blanket. When our neighbor/co-worker, Kath, returned from the con#ict zone, she commented on the hatred against women among the Rohingya. Even the women hated women which was demonstrated by the way they interacted with each other and valued their sons over their daughters.

Craig with two aid workers. When Craig returned from the con#ict zone, he said, “We’ve been to refugee camps...this didn’t look like a refugee camp... it looked like people were being put in concentration camps.”

Students protesting the international community’s concern for the Rohingya. Initially we were hesitant to label the actions against the Rohingya as “genocide.” It’s too weighty of a word. But the more involved we become, the closer we move toward this understanding.

To better understand the background of this con#ict view:

http://edition.cnn.com/2012/11/25/world/asia/myanmar-rohingya-violence-rivers/index.html?hpt=hp_c1

All gifts toward our work with the people of Myanmar (Burma) should be sent to: CornerStone International, P.O. Box 192, Wilmore, KY 40390. Please write “Myanmar Project” on the memo line. Additionally, you may make secure donations online at http://www.cornerstoneinternational.org/staff-garrison/. THANK YOU for your generosity towards our family and the people of Burma!

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