Food Not Bombs Myanmar 2022

Rebel Riot and the Myanmar Punks need our help again for Food Not Bombs.

In 2020, a Food Not Bombs Myanmar Crowdfunder raised 11,320 GBP (almost 20 Million Myanmar Kyat!) to support people around Myanmar severely impacted by Covid 19 restrictions, particularly daily labourers, factory workers, and children. 

Thank you!

NOTE: We are a group of international supporters based outside Myanmar who want to support Food Not Bombs to provide food to those who desperately need it. To protect Food Not Bombs volunteers and the people they support, we have used images and videos from before the coup. The junta has recently imprisoned two young students in Dawei who donated around 2 quid to IDPs and have frequently arrested volunteers or seized donations. Please follow the FNB MM Facebook page linked below for more up to date images or videos.

The coup of 1 February 2021

Life was made even more difficult one year ago on 1 February 2021, when the Myanmar military staged a coup which has caused chaos. Over 800,000 people, including over 150,000 children have been displaced since the coup (Read more). Almost 1500 people have been killed, and almost 12,000 arrested for protesting (Read more). The economy is critically damaged with UNDP forecasting around half the population – over 30 million people – increasingly unable to afford food for their families and likely to fall into deep poverty this year.

People have a much more difficult life than before because of COVID-19 and the political crisis, with hunger as the primary concern for Myanmar's many poor people and daily labourers, who have been unable to work (Read more on this crisis and examples of Food Not Bombs Myanmar's work ). A lot of people are extremely worried and are facing increasingly difficult situations.

All of the above is why we are doing more Food Not Bombs actions during these days. We are working with the Antiwar movement and supporting internally displaced people (IDPs), as well as supporting a fledgling Food Not Bombs youth group in the capital of Rakhine State, Sittwe, who seek to provide support in their area and contribute to mending relationships between different ethnic groups. We have set up a new Food Not Bombs Kawthoolei community garden in Karen State to support Karen communities who have been displaced by air strikes and unable to farm their own land due to landmines. Over 70,000 people have been displaced in Karen State since February 2021.

Finally, a lot of factories have been closed due to COVID-19 and businesses leaving Myanmar because of the political crisis and the workers are facing huge challenges, including non-payment of previous orders (and salaries) and union busting. So, we also support the workers.

Our Covid-19 and political crisis response (i.e. where does the $$$ go?):

• Handing out food (rice, oil, eggs) to various groups of people suffering during this time, including IDPs, trishaw drivers, sex workers, street vendors, and other people unable to earn their daily wages, as well as the homeless people that Food Not Bombs has supported since 2013. The food packs we give cost about 5 pounds each (9,000 MMK) and can feed one person for over one week. We also digitally transfer cash in some cases. 
• Supporting IDPs helped by local Food Not Bombs groups in many different places in Myanmar (support may be food, toys or activities for children, or other things the IDPs need urgently).
• Supporting elderly people – we guarantee that at least 10% of our funding will go to supporting elderly people in our communities with food and money; we are currently setting up systems to transfer weekly or monthly financial support to these people using mobile banking.
• Supporting workers and those engaged in labour strikes, through providing food and basic things they need, as well as moral support. 
• Supporting young people in Sittwe, Rakhine, who want to start their own chapter of Food Not Bombs in Rakhine State. This group can directly reach minority communities in Rakhine, as well as work towards increased peace between groups in this conflict-affected area of the country. 
• Supporting the new Food Not Bombs Kawthoolei community garden in Karen State to support Karen (a Myanmar ethnic group) communities being displaced by air strikes and unable to farm their land due to landmines. Over 70,000 people have been displaced in Karen State since February 2021.

• Supporting Food Not Bombs groups in several areas of Myanmar - Dawei, Thaton, Hsipaw, Gyin Pin Gyauk (Bago Division), Kawthoolei, Rakhine State, and Yangon.

Background:
The Rebel Riot is a punk band from Yangon, Myanmar (Burma), formed in 2007 after the onset of the Saffron Revolution. Since then, they have captured the world’s attention with their outspoken music, including speaking out against hate and violence against Myanmar’s mostly Muslim Rohingya minority. The band has been at the forefront of the resistance to the coup in Myanmar and used their music to inspire the resistance. As Henry Rollins said of The Rebel Riot in an Al Jazeera interview last year, “I think The Rebel Riot using the vehicle of music to put a message across is punk rock in its purest form and optimum application...Rebel Riot put far more on the line, at far greater risk than I ever had to."

Check out The Rebel Riot's music video from 2021 to see what Henry Rollins is talking about...

In 2013, they founded the Myanmar chapter of the international Food Not Bombs movement and put their ideals into action by feeding Burma's homeless every week. Since the onset of the Covid 19 pandemic in 2020, followed by the military coup in 2021, Myanmar has experienced huge economic losses, especially for people already living on the knife edge of starvation poverty; daily labourers, factory workers, street vendors, and internally displaced people to name a few.

Food Not Bombs has been supporting these groups with food donations through this difficult time,  but they need your support to continue their vital work. We have started this international fundraiser to enable people around the world help them continue getting the support to those who need it most.

Rewards:

We have a whole host of awesome rewards to thank you for donating, including an exclusive compilation album of Burmese punk and metal bands, an ethically made T-shirt, and a new music documentary about The Rebel Riot's 2017 UK tour. All rewards are being provided by our friends at Pumpkin Records, Punk Ethics and No Sweat at cost, so the maximum amount from your donation will go to the cause. 

Please note: to comply with Crowdfunder page requirements, one word has been blurred from images and texts but is written in full on the actual items. Long live punk anarchy!

We can post to: US, UK, EU, Thailand, Myanmar and countries in East and South East Asia. We can also post to Australia and New Zealand and will research whether it's cheaper to produce in Thailand and post to these areas, or work with our NZ and Australian friends to print and record and post there. 

Don't let your region put you off donating - the global punk networks are strong and fully engaged in supporting us to raise money for Myanmar. 

£5 or more: F the Coup Postcard and thank you message

An exclusive postcard based on the cover art for the F the Coup compilation album (see below) designed by Angus Quinn.

£10 or more: F the Coup – Punk & Metal compilation album download

Downloadable album (on Bandcamp) from Pumpkin Records, with 26 tracks by Burmese punk and metal bands, including song from The Rebel Riot, Kultureshock and Blood of Century. This album is an exclusive for this crowdfunder and has been put together with the support of the underground punk and metal scenes in Myanmar.

£15 or more: F the Coup – Punk & Metal compilation album cassette tape

Limited edition cassette tape of the F the Coup punk and metal comp from Pumpkin Records. Including all 26 tracks from the likes of The Rebel Riot, Kultureshock and Blood of Century as well as a detailed inlay cover. This album is an exclusive for this crowdfunder and has been put together with the support of the underground punk and metal scenes in Myanmar.

£20 or more: No Spicy No Fun – The Rebel Riot in the UK documentary

Donate £20 and get a stream link for Punk Ethics new music documentary, No Spicy No Fun – The Rebel Riot in the UK that follows The Rebel Riot on their 2017 whistle-stop tour of the UK, plus an exclusive video message from the band that recorded for the Doc'n Roll Film Festival in November 2021. 

One of the directors, Roberta Bononi, said, “The band were known the world over for their Food Not Bombs activism before the coup, but over the past year that work has become more important than ever. We plan to use the money raised from this film to help them continue their work fighting hunger.”

Watch the trailer

£25 or more: F the Coup T-shirt

An exclusive T-shirt of the the F the Coup album cover artwork printed on ethically sourced T-shirts from No Sweat (or an alternative ethically sourced T-shirt). These T-shirts are being printed in the UK, US and Thailand and shipped out to supporters in those regions to minimise the expense of delivery. Please allow up to 6 weeks for us to print and send, as these are exclusive to the crowdfunder, screen printing will start after the target is reached.

£50 or more: F the Coup Bundle

Get a special bundle of F the Coup merch - T-shirt, Postcard and Bandcamp link.

£100 or more: Ultimate Solidarity Bundle 

F the Coup postcard, T-shirt, album cassette tape + Bandcamp link, and No Spicy No Fun film link.