“Let them sing before the Lord, for He comes to judge the earth. He will judge the world in righteousness and the peoples with equity.” ~ Psalm 98:9
On Monday, December 6th, two law firms in the US submitted letters of notice to Facebook: the Rohingya refugees of Bangladesh are suing them. The prosecutors claim that the company is culpable of fueling hate speech that led to the mass killings, gang rapes, and displacement of thousands of Rohingya people. According to Aljazeera, Facebook whistleblowers reported that the executives knew its algorithm could lead to real-world harm for some of its billions of users, but chose company growth over safety. Facebook is largely protected by US law that states social media companies are not responsible for the impacts of third party posts, but the prosecution hopes to succeed on the grounds of Myanmar law, which has none of these protections. The court document states, “The undeniable reality is that Facebook’s growth, fueled by hate, division, and misinformation, has left hundreds of thousands of devastated Rohingya lives in its wake.” At the same time that we rejoice in the international recognition of the Rohingya people’s situation, and support from these US firms, we must remember that money does not heal wounds and suing is not the same as justice. In this trial, many Rohingya people may be placing their hope in the judicial system, but — regardless of the results of this case — the wounds they have received from other sinners may still ache, still bleed.
Prayer Requests
Pray that, no matter the results of the case, the Rohingya turn to Jesus for the healing, restoration, and justice that can only be satisfactorily completed by Him.
