In Oxford dictionary, the word "passion" is defined as strong feeling, example of hate, love or anger.
Passion runs deep in our hearts regardless of the kind of situation we are in: a sports competitions, informal conversations among friends, formal discussions among intellects, etc.
As a young child growing up in Burma, I can vividly recall how we would feel rather strongly about which side we were on whenever we spilt into teams to play games. With high sense of comradeship and strong will to strive our best for our team, we played our games with a lot of passion; through the exchange of opinions on whether it was a fair play, arguments ensued between different teams. Luckily, we were only children whose hearts did not bear grudges for long. So we would make up with each other after a few days of having a cold war.
So, you see, our sense of passion was evident even from such tender ages. It can also be seen in our daily lives.
Whenever a group of people gather in a coffeeshop or at a house, they will discuss about certain topics - be it poetry, politic, education, or any kind of context to their interest - over many pots of Burmese tea (known as Yay-Nway-Chan) for what seems like hours. During their discussions, voices are sometimes raised; aliances are often formed; disagreements can lead to unpleasant consequences at times.
Now, in twenty-first century, we, Burmese, seem to have taken the display of our passionate nature to the next level: blogs.
Recent exchanges between two particular pro-democracy Burmese activists from Singapore and their blog readers (both anonymous and identified) have certainly left me bewildered as to what is the basic reason for all those arguments. Without a doubt, those two Burmese activists have been at the forefront of pro-democracy activities in Singapore. Unfortunately, their passion for their own ego seems as large as their passion for Burma. As a result, in many people's minds (including mine), their admirable passion for Burma has been overshadowed by the display of their unexpected sarcastic retaliations towards criticism (whether constructive or destructive).
During the referendum in Burma, many people who voiced out their opinions on the blogs were spilt as to whether to vote "NO" or not to vote at all. Now that, 2010 election is in the air, many people have also started talking about whether to participate in it or boycott it. For some people, tempers flared and things got heated up.
For both camps of such issues, I cannot tell who is right or wrong: perhaps different approaches, different perspectives, different opinions. One thing in common is that I believe both camps hold on passionately to their own conviction; be it for his own ego or for whatever cause he may be fighting for or for the greater good of Burma.
It is rather sad to see that, passion - something so prevalent in our blood - seems misplaced for many of my fellow countrymen. Many a times, our passion seems to have clouded our judgement from making logical decisions and hindered us from seeing a greater overview of what is really happening.
The more passionate we become, the lesser level-headed we seem to end up as. We lose our composure. We fail to differentiate what are important to hold on to and what are not. We forget to learn to agree to disagree.
For some of us, we may even start to bear grudges. During childhood, grudges can be considered as being cast on the sand; to be easily washed away in a short time. But for adults who have gone through various kinds of experiences in life, grudges can end up being cast upon stone; too difficult to be removed for a long time.
And so, with all those, our unity seems to be far-fetched though many people have repeatedly called for it.
In Oxford dictionary, the word "unity" is defined as harmony or agreement (in aims, ideas, feelings, etc).
Well, in the context for the future of Burma and her people, if we carry on like this, I am beginning to wonder whether one day, our misplaced passion would end up being defined as a form of our own undoing for our unity.
The Undoing of Our Passionate Hearts
23 February 2009 Labels: Essays
Simple Loss of Faith
16 February 2009 Labels: EssaysRecently, there was a rumour about the donation boxes from one of the the holiest pagodas in Burma (Shwe-Da-Gon) being contracted out to certain businessmen at a certain amount of money. The rumour stemmed from a Burmese blogger's sharing of what she encountered at Shwe-Da-Gon Pagoda some time back. Though the person-in-charge at Shwe-Da-Gon Pagoda has denied such allegation, many people have commented under her post of having heard similar schemes being carried out in other well-known pagodas like Golden Rock (Kyite-Htee-Yoe). At the same time, some readers remained unsure - such notion is too incredible for them to believe.
One thing for sure is that the damage has been done. Doubt has been cast over the readers' minds and even the reminder by a senior monk from Rangoon to be cautious about such rumour seems to have fallen on deaf ears. In a country, where the majority of Burmese people are staunch Buddhists, the only reason to justify the existence of such rumour, I think, is our loss of faith in many things happening in our country.
We no longer have faith in the government, the education system and the health-care system, etc. A visit to any government office will require a string of briberies to get things done, starting from the lowest-rank. Many educators and health practitioners have traded in their sense of integrity in exchange for the pursuit of materialistic goals or simply for the need of survival. Schools have lost their essence of education and nurturing. Our educational certificates no longer hold much worth. People no longer have a sense of pride at being "educated". Corruptions and lies have crept into Burma over the decades and slowly but surely, settled into the daily lives of our people.
I have always been proud to know that we, Burmese people, are seen as being kind and helpful. However, my personal experiences during my recent trips to Burma threatened to prove otherwise. Starting from the airport, I could no longer tell whether an airport-attendant was being helpful by offering to collect my luggages - rather an unnecessary task since the trolleys were available and I traveled light most of the time - or simply trying to extort money from me. When I pass by beggars on the streets, I am faced with a dilemma of whether to donate because many people have cautioned me about those beggars being impostors who "rent" babies or children to take advantage of our kind intentions.
How sad it is to doubt my own people! Yet, I can't deny the fact that corruptions and lies clouding over my beloved country have robbed a substantial portion of my faith in Burma.
Related Posts:
New Era Journal - Burmese (http://www.khitpyaing.org/news/February_09/9-2-09d.php)
The need for humanity amidst the need for survival
25 December 2008 Labels: EssaysMy friend's brother once said; "If you were to take pity on anyone in Burma, you would have to extend your sympathy to almost everyone in Burma because they are all struggling just to survive". Such need for survival has unfortunately and probably compelled most of the Burmese people to turn oblivious to those who are worse off than them. That conclusion seems even more probable after I read the Irrawaddy's report on the plight of elderly people on the streets of Burma [Irrawaddy - "Seniors on the streets"].
My friend recounted to me how the eyes of an old lady, begging on the streets of Burma, lighted up brightly when my friend's niece gave her three pieces of 1000 Kyat notes. and how she said a string of well wishes for the girl with so much gratitude. With the black-market rate, this amount will come to not more than around US $3. However, to that old lady, it was a significant amount.
With the kind of government whose focus is just to fill their own pockets as much as possible, and after being hit by the natural disaster like Nargis, Burma has become like an abyss when it comes to donations. Everywhere, everything - be it health care, education, social well-being of the people, political prisoners and their families, etc - is deteriorating and at every turn in the streets, we are faced with the sights of poverty and suffering aplenty. Many people point to the junta as the root cause of all this. That is true. However, I've come to realise that while this junta is still in power, we must find ways to help alleviate the suffering of our people. And money or rather donation has become essential.
As the whole world feels the impact of global economic crisis, donations for Burmese people from NGOs and private individuals will inevitably dip amidst the sense of uncertainty for the future. In addition, a number of Burmese working overseas have to face the retrenchment and among them might include those who have been sending donations for the people in Burma. Moreover, many individuals may have reached a point where their struggle for their own survival seems sufficient enough to justify their own conscious for having to turn a blind eye towards the conditions of people in Burma. Or they may even feel the donation-fatigue syndrome after not being able to see any tangible improvement in the lives of the people.
In fact, I am also hit by such sentiments at times. Whenever that happens, I am reminded of this Burmese proverb which can be translated as; "You do not donate as you do not have the means. You end up not having the means as you do not donate". Because of such belief, Burmese in olden days try their very best to donate within their own means or sometimes even at the expense of their own well-being, to gain merit to have better next lives. It could be as small as just a piece of bread or a bowl of rice. Nowadays, their day-to-day struggle for survival has become so grim that many people can just think of how to get through this life, let alone think about next life.
Such happenings make me wonder whether our sense of humanity will eventually be annihilated in our struggle for survival. If such day were to come, I cannot imagine what might happen to the people in a country - where some people lose their lives or face serious health risks as they have to resort to illegal means of abortion just because there is no proper education and subsidy for family planning methods and they cannot afford to have another child: another mouth to feed [Irrawaddy - "Desperate Decisions"].
Improved Burma for all
30 November 2008 Labels: EssaysDuring my recent trip to Burma, a business acquaintance of mine, a foreigner, who has spent the last five years in Burma, commented that the living standard in Burma is improving and Burma is opening up with the booming of five-star hotels, resorts, and restaurants etc. Right after her remark, our car passed by two frail-looking elderly begging on the platform. When we stopped at a traffic light, a couple of boys; young enough to be attending a primary school, appeared besides our car's window hoping to sell some Burmese journals to us.
I turned to look at my acquaintance and said, "I think Burma seems to be improving only for a handful of elites".
Indeed, Burma has improved. Whenever I go back, I see more buildings, more hotels, and more restaurants springing up and with them, came the rising prices as well. One bowl of mont-hin-gar (favourite breakfast dish for Burmese) at an above-average eatery can cost almost 1,000 Kyat and a book by a well-known Burmese author can go up to 3,000 Kyat, etc. With most of the items in the price range of thousands and with the average salary of 40,000 - 50,000 Kyat for a fresh IT graduate at a private company, the locals struggle to survive in Burma. Most of them try to find jobs in foreign companies or NGOs which pay them in US dollars; deemed to be better pay than local terms and better value than local currencies. Such jobs become highly sought after.
The number of expatriates also seems to have grown in Burma. All the hotels and restaurants are mainly filled with foreigners. There is a boom of various types of businesses such as restaurant, spas, saloons, pubs etc, to cater to such circle of people. Having gone there on expatriates' packages, life in Burma seems rather lavish for them; a great distinction from the locals in the country.
Being one of those Burmese, considered to be fortunate enough to have been able to move to another country in search of a greener pasture, I find myself being among the group of people with above-average spending-power whenever I return to my home country for a visit. With the declining value of Burmese currency in the black market, constantly rising prices in Burma fail to cause a big hole in our pockets.
In contrast, with the natural disaster like Nargis, and ruthless junta who only act in their own interest, the lives of my countrymen in Burma seem to have been dragged further down into the poverty. The world is facing a financial crisis and turmoil in various places like Thailand, and Mumbai etc. Amidst all these chaos, Burma may be forgotten once again by the international community. Burma may become once again just a tourist destination, an exotic country with splendid scenery to look forward to.
As we curl ourselves up in our happy cocoons, we sometimes fail to reach out of our comfort-zone. Though I still continue with my necessary expenditures in Burma whenever I go back there, my heart always remains aware of the fact that a large percentage of my people are suffering. I feel that it is of paramount importance for foreigners in Burma; be it expatriates or tourists, to be at least mindful and empathetic of the conditions of the local people.
As my people try hard to remain afloat under dire conditions in life, I can feel their spirits waning. The blood of those who have sacrificed remains dried on the streets of Burma. The souls of those who have sacrificed seem to be forgotten.
Another Christmas is coming. Another year is ending. How many more Christmas will there be before Burma improves for people from all walks of life and not only for the handful of elites?
DASSK's role in Burma
07 October 2008 Labels: EssaysAfter reading Irrawaddy's commentary, "Where would Burma be without Suu Kyi" by Kyaw Zwa Moe, I wondered where Burma would really be without DASSK.
Though DASSK played a significantly large role in bringing about the events mentioned by Kyaw Zwa Moe, I believe that her ability to provide a "human touch in politic" rather than anything else, is what makes her irreplaceable in the history of Buma.
DASSK has sincerely dedicated more than a decade of her life to Burma and in return, we, Burmese people, have given her our utmost faith. Her unwavering stand for Burma has been a source of inspiration for many of us. Without a doubt, we are also full of pride for someone like her who can remain tall among the world leaders.
Although many of us cannot imagine Burma without her, we have to face reality that DASSK cannot defy the natural cycle of life. There will eventually come a day when we will have to carry on our own. When such time comes, it is our responsibility to keep her determination, spirit and dedication (for Burma) resonating in our hearts and souls and act upon those in the same way as she would have done.
Only then, we can say for sure that Burma would never be without DASSK.
I incur the downfall as the result of lacking concentration through out the previous period at work. Since last September, I have been looking for more on my country than myself.
I woke up with the thought of what happened the previous night to Burma. I ate with the news of arresting, protests, and prediction about Burmese's future. I stared at the computer screen the whole day and thought about what would be right; what would be wrong; which would be the best way; what would be the meaning of the most famous and popular word 'DEMOCRACY' for us; whose words were the most dramatic and realistic way for the freedom of my homeland; how to built a free and equal, develop physically mentally and multinational republic nation along with some kinds of big open and best mind, etcetera etcetera. I did it emotionally, hopefully and enthusiastically. I even dropped some of my long-lost tears for the photo shots and videos of the events. I listened the songs of Ga Bar Ma Khay, Do BaMar, and 8888 with big voraciousness of the freedom for my homeland.
As a young man, my opinion fall onto the area of revolution by any means as our National Father Bo Gyote Aung San did though I still believe in people power as the only possible way so far. I wanted to be a part of it. But I knew that something was not right for me. I didn't have enough courage for going back to the home and doing it. I am sure if I were in Yangon last September, I would be at the front line and no one would be able to predict my life now. I sorrowfully come to know and accept as many young Burmese like myself do not have enough courage or enough knowledge to do it, to risk their life or, more than that to risk their family members life. They also do not believe in the current environment of fighting for democracy. True words hurt us sometime.
"It's not enough to care about the world. Caring and feeling emotions is a waste of time and energy. Unless we get up and do something about the things we care about, it would be irrelevant."
[1997 Nobel Peace Laureate, Jody Williams]
The above words clean me a lot of my confusion. I got this from a famous Burmese blog, The One Whose Name Gyittu's odds and ends. It is absolutely right to me. We may get some advantages for caring others or worrying about them without going through with any exercise. Nobody doubts it will be definitely better and more productive if we exercise it.But knowing and exercising is still a bit, perhaps a big, different to me. I am not a hero. Sadly, I understand that without the young Burmese active efforts there will not be any freedom to our future as the only way to effect change is to participate by all Burmese and I also do feel it like my responsibility though, honestly, I am still afraid of picking it up to my shoulders. At last, I have to accept I am still an ordinary Burmese who does not have anything enough to fight from the front line and being like this is also a main reason of full of oppression in Burma instead of freedom. But I believe strongly that our bad era will surely come to demise one day in which we all boldly united and I am now trying to be there.
Time to consider the most critical objectives
21 August 2008 Labels: EssaysToday, I read a commentary from Irrawaddy, titled "Danish Viewpoint Merits Debate". It analyses the impact of economic sanctions and tourism boycott on Burma.
This debate on how effective the economic sanctions and tourism boycott against Burma seems to be ongoing for a considerable amount of time without being able to reach to a favorable consensus. I feel that the pros and cons behind such debate are also not as straightforward as the writer has stated in his commentary.
First of all, in such profit-driven world, even the governments which have adopted the universal economic sanctions on Burma, may be unable to persuade their countrymen to do the same. And Burma offers too many lucrative business opportunities to resist for companies driven largely by their profit and loss, rather than by the "humanitarian grounds". The same idea is applicable to those countries in ASEAN as well as China and India, etc. As long as such situation remains, whether we like it or not, I believe trade sanctions will end up as nothing more than just showing support for our democracy movement.
Secondly, though a large pie of revenue from tourism industry goes into the pockets of the junta and their associates, it still seems reasonable to think that many restaurants, guest-houses, hotels, and resorts that sprung up to cater for the tourists, have created a certain number of job opportunities, regardless of how insignificant the number might be, for Burmese people.
Many travelers, being empathetic towards the plight of Burmese people under the hands of repressive junta, have rallied among their own community to stick to private-owned small guest-houses and eateries, etc in the hope of not becoming a contributor towards the pockets of the junta and their associates. Such actions, though arguable at their effectiveness, seem to provide a more down-to-earth approach in supporting the livelihood of some of the common people in Burma.
Having said all this, there will always be two camps to this kind of debate. At the end of the day, we must ask ourselves what is the best practical support for our Burmese people, not forgetting that when a person is suffering in poverty, and dying from malnutrition, the meaning of democracy no longer seems critical to him.
Mr Bush, why only now?
14 August 2008 Labels: EssaysI was reading this article from Irrawaddy by Aung Zaw about his recent encounter with Bush.
No doubt, to many of us, Bush appears as an amicable man who has genuine interest and concern for Burma and its citizens. In fact, when Bush took up the presidency, I was elated to have someone who seemed prepared to take on a tougher stand against the junta. Now, despite Aung Zaw's generous comments about his "seemingly wonderful" encounter with Bush, I can't help but just to say "talk looks really good on the table".
My question to Bush: Mr Bush, why do you have time for Burma only when your term in office is almost over?
Time to ask Ourselves
14 June 2008 Labels: EssaysThe latest news at Mizzima titled "Journalist helping cyclone victims arrested" says:
The crackdown by the Burmese military junta continues unabated, It arrested a journalist, who has been helping Cyclone Nargis victims in Irrawaddy delta this morning, according to sources.Another news from Mizzima titled "Junta shuts down pro-opposition monastery" says:
Zaw Thet Htwe, the former Editor-in Chief of First Eleven Sports journal was arrested by the Special Branch of the police this morning.
The Burmese military junta authorities sealed a pro-opposition Buddhist monastery in Rangoon yesterday.A few days ago, I read Irrawaddy's interview with a popular Burmese comedian, Zarganar. A couple of days later, I read another news about him being detained for questioning without any valid explanation.
The township chairman and security forces arrived at the Sasana Theikpan monastery compound of Chauk Htut Gyi pagoda, Bahan Township on Friday morning and told monks they would close the monastery until an official announcement by the new head of monastery was made.
Ban-Ki Moon has come and gone. Than Shwe has fulfilled a tiny fraction of his promise to Ban-Ki Moon by minutely increasing the number of visas issued to aid workers.
US and French warships have returned to their respective countries. Many people expressed disbelief and disappointment at the junta's refusal of aid from those warships. Words of condemnation and even pleas failed to reach out to Than Shwe.
A group of good Samaritans bought a plot of land out of their own money and selflessly went through the sites to find the decomposed bodies and buried them. [Source - Moetheezun's blog]
Other individuals pull together whatever resources they can find to help the cyclone victims. Whenever they talk to the victims, the same stories surface. No visible aid has come from SPDC and the meager rations handed out by the SPDC can hardly sustain for the survival of the victims. Many victims still live in precarious conditions making them vulnerable to contracting diseases and dying from malnutrition. Sometimes, the victims are even subjected to abuse by SPDC's lackeys for not following orders.
After reading all those news in the media depicting the current situations of Burma, I was prostrate with frustration and sadness. Though there is currently no immediate evidence of casualty tantamount to a genocide, waves after waves of repressions by Junta over many decades (since Ne Win took over the power in Burma) have undeniably caused a series of damages equivalent to such.
With more natural disasters and problems happening in the world, the plight of Burmese people may soon be forgotten by many people. Such is an inevitable truth. Hence, I sincerely hope that everyone will see how we need to do whatever we can within our own means to bring the light to the people of Burma. There must come a day when Burma will be known for its natural beauty and mesmerizing culture rather than the devastating and frustrating news like what is happening now.
It is time to ask ourselves .....
What can we do to free Burma?
How will we do what we can do for Burma?
How effective are our actions for Burma?
Until when will we do what we can do for Burma?
And most importantly, we must remember that everyone has a role to play. No matter how tiny it might be.
Those who suffer and Those who enjoy by Nagis Cyclone
06 June 2008 Labels: Essays, NewsWhen I read this blog post written by one fellow Burmese, living inside the troubled country, deeply touched and I feel exactly what s/he does. And I started to type and translate to English as s/he requested .
It's really nice to stay here !!
Everything is just perfect..
Such a good generator ! bring it back to army bar....
have to rebuild with whatever we have...
This is school open day ! Which school we have to go then...
No idea what to do !
Nothing but space to sleep
Those who suffer and Those who enjoy by Nagis Cyclone
(I would be much appreciate if anyone could translate and share this post around the internet and spread the words)
Please look these photos thoroughly! You can see who is enjoying the things and stuffs came along with international aid agencies. Earlier, they ( Army staffs and its followers) tried to smuggle these out. Then, when it exposed to the public and not easy to do so, they just keep for themselves and benefited. How they are doing relief and aid works? He is with iron folded uniform and sit back and relax, watching TV, inside the safe and warm shelter of donated new tent. They don't even have such a chance to rest in their military bar.
How dare they ask victims to wash their cloths and get water for them? They think victims are coming around to serve them and beg for. There are hundreds of tents but not for cyclone victims. However, if high rank officials and international agencies come down to see camps, they quickly manage to push in the selected victims inside the tent and force them to witness what they taught. Who can argue seeing these photos?
Everything is happening different with what international expected. The fact is that these aid and donated stuffs are really useful for them. It seems exactly like army was provided by international aid. Herewith we revealed to the international community representing the genuine cyclone victims. They could hardly manage for the space to sleep in. Even so, authorities evict them within three days.
That's why.. Let me say it out. We just try to accept that it's OK even if victims receive 10 pieces out of 100 donated by international community. But in reality, nothing was handed to victims. So, Please don't send any more food and aid stuffs. It seems like things are provided to army exclusively. They will torture and oppress as long as they are provided with such a nice food and good materials. If you want to donate and support to the real victims, please try to find out the right channel to reach victims out.
( Remark by translator- There are many volunteer groups , reaching directly to the devastated area. Cyclone relief is one of them.)
Change We Believe In
05 June 2008 Labels: EssaysBeing a loyal fan of Red devils, the name given by media to Manchester United Footballers, I feel astonishingly terrific for winning two major trophies in 2007-2008 season: Premiership Trophy and Champions League Trophy. I had never missed a match of every Premiership soccer matches played by Man U in this season. During Champions League Final, I watched until 5am till the end of deadly penalty kick out and award presenting ceremony. I recalled I had to get up again at 8am to go to work with red and sleepy eyes. Man U Football Club is made up of many talented youth players and they deserve more victories in years to come.
The world renowned American Idol Programme was just over and the winner was David Cook whom my wife and I had been supporting. My favourite songs by David Cook were "Hello", pop song by Lionel Richie, "I don't wanna miss a thing", rock song by Aerosmith and "Hero", a duet song with runner-up David Archuleta. It is originally a soundtrack by Chad Kroeger from blockbuster Spiderman movie. Despite not winning American the Idol, Kristy Lee was the one who sang the song I like most, "God Bless USA", in this year programme. It is about a US civilian being proud of heroes who fight for human rights, freedom and Independence of America. While others are proud of their accomplishments, we Burmese are losing face in International Community because of our inhumane government.
Democrats and Republicans have finally come out with their candidates for upcoming US presidential election. John McCain, a 71 years old Vietnam War veteran, was emerged as the presidential candidate for Republican Party. Democrats' candidate, Barack Obama, an African American senator, is the one I admire and support in this general election. He defeated his rival, Hilary Clinton, the former first lady of US, after their tough battles for five consecutive months. It is very likely he may also overcome his opponent of Republican, John McCain, in the forthcoming presidential election in this year end. The phrase from his inspirational speech of 2004 election campaign exclaims, "There is no liberal America. There is no conservative America. There is only United States of America." The slogan of the election campaign led by Obama is "Change We Believe In". Certainly, Americans are ready for change to disastrous policies of Bush administration.
Being a faithful supporter of our national leader, Daw Aung San Su Kyi, I am eager to make ourselves ready for change to let her take a leadership role in Burmese Government. I sincerely hope and suppose we are going to see her victory against dictators soon before the end of 2008. Her supporters are not divided by fans of Man U, Chelsea, Liverpool or Arsenal. Her followers are not divided by admirers of David Cook, David Archuleta or Jason. Her devotees are not divided by supporters of McCain, Hilary or Obama. Apart from those who fear to lose power and suppress the people, all of us are supporting Daw Su exclusively for her bravery and love towards the people of Burma. Whatever it is, the only unchanged universal truth is the Change in this Changing World. Last but not least, the change we believe in is the change of Democratic Burma from the foolish tyranny.
Nyi Nyi (Thanlwin)
UN, Please stay away from Burma
26 May 2008 Labels: EssaysUN and ASEAN deterred all possible means of genuine relief and aid efforts. In the same time, they aborted hopes of million of Burmese people.
let ASEAN be stupid as usual. They are just the breeds of monarch with modern dress.
What's the UN stand for?
Even UNDP staffs from Yangon were suspected to hiding the letters from volunteer groups, which reported the testimonies of real cyclone victims.
Let's get back to recruitment system of UN staffs in Burma. Most of them are cream of society living their life with UN status and hard currency earnings. People who want to work in UN have to pay for lump sum fees to elite local agents, who may have close contacts with UN office or on-job staffs themselves.
So, how can UN staff be able to correct the injustice events?
Then, who dare to expect that UN head office in New York might help out the world from crises. They all , probably may be hypocrites coming from all over the world just to grasp social status and nothing good in their spirits.
Burmese people don't believe either UN or Ban Ki Moon. I, myself don't believe them at all. Now he perform as the greatest cheerleader for fund raising fair for Junta.
So many questions in my mind.
Do they believe that Junta will act on their words to allow all aids in without conditions?
Do they think that they are helping Burmese cyclone victims ?
Do they have confidence enough to be represent world population to do a good deeds?
I burst out .
"UN, go away from Burma "
I cry out.
" Nobody can help Burma without diplomatic words, without meetings, without broken pledge, without self... .. without UN"
What else is there apart from "messages of hope"?
25 May 2008 Labels: EssaysI refer to the commentaries "Don't hold your breath" by Yeni and "Save the people; Don't protect Generals" by Kyaw Zwa Moe.
Though the news of the junta agreeing to allow "all aid workers" to enter Burma is very encouraging, having seen the kind of deceit and lies that the junta is capable of, I feel reluctant to put faith into such promise from them. If the junta had genuinely wanted to allow "all aid workers" to enter Burma, the implementation would have been swift and immediate as the aid workers have been on standby for the past few weeks waiting for the green light from the junta. However, a day has passed without any visible improvement.
It is also disappointing to note that in the latest remarks to press, UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-Moon has been too quick to paint a rather rosy picture of the likely collaboration between the junta and the international community in the near future [1]. Has he forgotten what happened during the Saffron revolution in September 2007? During that time, when Gambari was having a series of meetings with the junta and releasing public statements about how he felt encouraged by the positive outcomes of his meetings with the junta, the arrests of the monks and the raids at the monastries continued. UN, ASEAN and the various leaders of the international community condemned the junta for their brutal methods of suppression during the Saffron revolution. However, their words failed to put a stop to Than Shwe and his lackeys from having their own ways.
After every uprising in Burma, as time passed by, the atrocities committed by the junta and the images during the uprising would begin to fade in the minds of the international community and the people in Burma were left to continue to struggle on their own for survival. Words without actions from UN and ASEAN have provided little solace for the Burmese people.
Ban Ki-Moon said in his latest remarks to press that "the world is watching, and that the world is with you". How true! The world only keeps on watching and the world is with us only from a distance. Over the past twenty years or so, the world seemed to have given us nothing but just "messages of hope".
References:
[1] UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-Moon's remarks to the press at Hotel Sedona, Yangon, Myanmar (http://www.un.org/apps/news/infocus/sgspeeches/search_full.asp?statID=248)
Process of distributing aid materials to the Nagis Victims
Labels: Essays, News(source)
Shwe Sea Sar (Yangon)
The victims of the cyclone Nargis in the delta region, Lower Burma are facing problems of lack of food, water, shelter and clothing. They do not receive aid materials sufficiently. Neither do they get treatment for cyclone-borne injury. Also they are suffering from disease relevant to contaminated water resulted from delaying of removing and destruction of the human corpses and dead animals.
Although it is desperately needed to save the people, to cleanse the water by removing dead bodies – or it may effect harmfully the environment – to distribute relieve materials from both national and international communities to the victims, the Junta is deliberately disturbing local aid volunteers and blocking international relieve experts.Not only that Burmese Junta is trying to delay the process of receiving international aid and aid workers, but also that China is opposing in the UN Security Council Meeting against the plan to invade Burma to distribute necessary aid to victims effectively.
Whereas, China received international aid for their victims of recent earthquake that shook in Sichuan Province, central China, only one week after the cyclone Nargis. We are wondering why China is trying to hamper the world’s humanitarian effort towards Burmese people who are under horrendous catastrophic disaster. Why are they supporting inhuman military Government without any regard, any sympathy and any empathy to the Burmese people? What is benefit to them for such evil doing? It is humiliation to our people. Also I think it is a criminal.
Yet they are not shy in the face of international community.Now we have learnt that relieve teams from the UN, US, Britain and France are standing by in the Thailand water that shares border with Burmese territorial water. They are waiting for permission to enter Burmese water. In such a situation of catastrophic disaster, does it necessary to get permission from such useless and illegal Government, the Junta? I think saving peoples’ life is more important than the Junta’s approval.Is the UN a nominal organization without practical work? Is it not a trusty-worthy and dependable organization for all people of the world?
In stead of being an organization to observe justice among member countries and to assist necessarily with humanitarian aid to all people of the world, it is now just hesitating and wavering to walk along the right way. The UN and international community are negotiating with Burmese authority – just time consuming – to save the people while the death toll increasing day by day due to lack adequate aid materials. Useless organization!Objection by China in the UN Security Council Meeting against such a humanitarian relief effort is shameful.
Its donation to Burma is just a couple of million US$ worth; a paltry sum; at near base in the donation graph. Why do they want to interfere into other country’s internal affair which does not concern with politics? All of our people except the malignant Junta and its colleagues want invasion of the US, the UN and international community into the country to save victims.They always use the word “internal affair” over Burmese issue. This is just a pure internal and humanitarian affair. Why did they object the international relief efforts for Burmese catastrophe while accepting donation from abroad for their earthquake disaster? Ridiculous! Two situations are completely contrary. This is Chinese policy revealing low morality, low attitude of it. We accuse the Chinese Government of killing our people together with Burmese slaughter Generals. The Chinese Government also must pay back later for it a lot like Than Shwe and his followers. Who can say there will not be a overwhelm boycott of the world to their 2008 Olympic? This will be under nature’s process. Bad deed begets misery and ruins.
Now, it was more than two weeks away that the cyclone Nargis hit the Delta region. Since then, a considerable amount of relief aid from abroad could not arrive at the hands of the victims. Victim’s situation is deteriorating; more and more people will die under insignificant change of international relief policy. Death toll will, according to the UN and other organizations’ prediction, swell over 220,000 – more than that of Bangladesh cyclone that hit in 1991 losing just over 138,000 lives – and it is the worst devastating situation in Burmese history.
We, Burmese people, ask international community for urgent relief efforts including relief experts and workers to enter Burma so that they can distribute necessary aids effectively and save our people from extremely dangerous situation resulting from a lack of food, clean water, proper treatment, medicine, shelter and clothing. Otherwise, great tragedy will happen in this civilized world because of irrational beings, the Burmese Junta.
The Cyclone Story ( Local witness)
22 May 2008 Labels: Essays( source)
Actually I havn't seen much at Bogalay as the Thidagu monestry is located at the entrance of Bogalay.But it's not on the main road that we have to go about 15min towards the river.The monestry is built on the bank of the river that they distribute all the materials with boats to the affected villages that cannot be reached by cars.
he route is like Nyaung Done---Ma Au Bin---Kyeik Lat----Phyar Bone---Bo Ga Lay. After we passed Kyeik Lat, there are lines of people on both sides of the road hoping for some donations by passing by cars until we reach Bogalay. I think there will be more than 10,000 people.Those people previously lived in the paddy fields on the left and right side of the road. Now their homes were destroyed and the fields were filled by water that it is not even possible to walk through.
So, they move to the road side and some of them could built small tents but some cannot that hv to stand or sleep in the bare land.I saw 6,7 family members tightly sitting under a roof not larger than 4'x4' plastic sheet with 4 posts. Most of their accommodations are not worth to call a tent, it's barely a shelter with a roof with 4 sticks. I can't imagine how they would live when there is rain. Most of them are women and children. They are not begging for money but they are standing there with full of hope who will donate basic needs like food, water, clothes, etc...
I had a chance to ask one of them.The man said they are ashame to stand and hoping for donation while they are still strong and healthy. He said they have no choice cos the whole delta area biz is only farming. Since all seeds for rain crops were destroyed and so no farm owner hire them again. These people are hidden victims of the storm. That means almost all the people in delta region going to be incomeless if we cannot support them to resume farming.
I am wondering how many days we still can donate to those people. After donation ends, how they can live.Some of them will become robbers, some will thieves, some will baggers, women become prostitutes, children will be trafficked and only minority will get a job in town areas. They don't even know they should go to camps so inhumane gov didn't listed them as victims. There are still a lot of people like this around Yangon area like Hlaingthaya, South/North Dagon, Shwe Pauk Kan, Kun Chan Kone whose home and biz were destroyed.
It is not possible to rebuild their home and biz without effective help. And you know I saw so many schools destroyed along the road and they are not repaired yet. So how schools will reopen and even school reopen, who can go to school in such situation. We cannot go further down from Bogalay as it is dead end of the road.We heard there are several camps opened by gov that we are not willing to go there. Thidagu Sayadaw is trying to send those helps to the areas that no gov help can reach. I believe there are still many people surrounded by water who still can't escape who will be dying if no supply reach them.
I saw some victims living near Thidagu camp said water level is higher than the coconut trees and coconut trees are the highest point they can climb up. And there's very high tide coming like a big wave drag drowning all the people. You can hardly find a man who still left his all family members. As you know all villages are built along the river and costal line, you can imaging how those people die similar to tsunami.One of the monestry at Phyar bone, I saw gov officials driving away all those storm victims that the head monk was angrily opposing for what officials did to those people. I regret that I didn't take my camera with me.
Ok, I am planning to donate around the Yangon region and so will post you more abt the worst lifes on the earth. If possible please post above situation on yr blog or anywhere else on the web. You can edit or re-write as you like.(you can left political parts).I would like the world know that the problem is not just simply dying by the tide but there is much much bigger hidden problems ahead concerning with millions of people.
Rgds,
MYO THAW AUNG,YGNCC/AA
Permit to mourn
Labels: EssaysThursday, 22 May 2008
Aung Naing Moe
( source)
THE TAXI, carrying the four of us, had just turned into St. Martin's Drive when the three plain-clothes police officers tried to flag it down. It was almost 6:50pm on Saturday, 17 May 2008."Don't stop," shouted by the four of us almost simultaneously. I was sitting in the front passenger’s seat while my wife Han Thu Lwin, Myo Myint Maung and another Burmese friend were in the back seat, all of us holding flowers in our hands.
To our dismay, the Singaporean taxi driver pulled the taxi over to the roadside gently."Whooi…a long way to go," I sighed. I then started to realize the extent of police dominance in Singapore and the level of obedience shown by the ordinary citizens here. Nowhere else in the world would you find a taxi driver stopping at the flagging of non-uniformed police officers so easily against the wishes of the passengers in his taxi.Showing his badge, one of the three policemen asked, "Are you residents here, sir?"I was secretly amused by the question wondering how a person like me wearing cheap shirts and taking a cab, not driving a good car, could inspire the police to think that I might live in such an affluent district. But, I simply replied, "No, we are not.""Where are you going, sir?""To the Burmese embassy."“Sorry, sir, you can't go there because the Myanmar (Burmese) embassy is already closed.”
I must admit that I was particularly proud to be a Burmese citizen at that moment because our embassy was extraordinarily effective in communicating with us, citizens of Burma, by keeping Singapore police to answer on its behalf about its opening hours at the entrance of St Martin's Drive. Or perhaps it was just that the police underestimated my ability to think for myself. So, the sudden, mistaken pride that came to me out of thin air vanished immediately.
Hey, do you think I am a moron? All Burmese in Singapore know that our embassy is normally closed on Saturdays.Don't worry, please. We are not going inside the embassy. We just want to go in front of the Burmese embassy to mourn for our people who died in the Cyclone Nargis. Anyway, thanks for your information."“No, Sir. You can't go there. We advise you to leave this area immediately.”Oops! Was it because the Cyclone Nargis was now passing through the St Martin's Drive, too? I was starting to worry about the safety of the residents living there.But just in time, to quell my unwarranted anxiety, our old friend Mr Deep Singh from Tanglin Police Station came to the scene and chanted the very much familiar police mantra to our impatient ears.“You can't assemble without a police permit. You are advised to leave.”“But....please wait, wait! There are only four persons on this taxi excluding the driver. How could this become an illegal assembly?”He didn't answer our question.
But he said, “As long as you have intention...”"Oh, my god! Intention to do what? Our intention is just to mourn for our people who died because of the cyclone.”Then he suggested that we should go to the temple to pray and mourn.Please note that these were just advice and suggestions only; they didn't amount to warnings. So, why should we be advised and suggested repeatedly for so long without being allowed to get through? We appreciated his advice and suggestions, of course, because they were free. But, whether we took them or not was solely our own choice. To force us to accept his advice and hamper us from going in was too much for us. It was utterly outrageous.
Myo Myint Maung, who was sitting in the back seat, told the police officers that the only one piece of land in Singapore where we, Burmese, truly had the highest sense of belonging was our Burmese embassy.At last, Mr Singh asked for our particulars, even though the three of us – my wife, Myo Myint Maung and myself – had given our particulars to his department on a few occasions in the past. At first, we argued for some minutes on why we needed to submit our particulars for just going to our embassy and mourning for our people.Then, to our great astonishment, the extremely considerate Mr Singh said, "Please don't waste the time. The taxi driver will lose his valuable time to earn money. Please be considerate."At first, I didn't believe my ears.
During the whole conversation, the taxi meter was ticking and needless to say it was me who had to pay for the fare eventually. The driver was earning his fair income in the whole episode. Furthermore, I can swear that this delay was not caused by us. We were the one who wanted to arrive at our destination as soon as possible.
At last, as it seemed that the police was not going to allow us to go in without showing our particulars, we gave them to the police and proceeded to the embassy where we found a couple who arrived just before us. But, they said that they didn't have to show their particulars. Why was the law applied selectively to us instead of being applied equally to all?Later, I came to know that about 50 Burmese who also came to mourn at the embassy gradually started to gather at the entrance of St Martin's drive. At first, police were busy advising them to go back.
When they refused and continued to hang around there, the police asked them for their particulars. As the crowd gradually grew to about 100 people, the police at last agreed to let us go in groups of four persons to the gate of the Burmese embassy to mourn there for five minutes each. However, it was not before a series of negotiations as well as heated exchanges between the police and the three of us.At the end, the police told us not to hold any hard feelings and apologized individually for the embarrassment caused earlier.
Of course, we forgave them because we understood their position. They were police officers just carrying out their duties. They too are human beings with kind hearts; we believe that. But, we still hope the law will be applied equally to all races, nationalities, and religions, not selectively. Moreover, it should be applied fairly and correctly.We wish Singapore a more vibrant society with more freedom and openness where every resident has the right to life, liberty and pursuit of happiness.
Time for Humanitarian Intervention
15 May 2008 Labels: EssaysIn Myanmar newspaper, government mouthpiece media, it was clearly stated only foreign aids will be allowed and not the foreign aids workers. The helping nations might wonder how the Junta would honestly and effectively hang over the aids to their people. It is still a big question mark following the red tape and mismanagement by Myanmar government. It is the government that turned once a prosperous nation into one of the poorest countries in the world with many people living under poverty line. Again, they are now committing a biggest crime in history by not letting in the International aids workers to help the victims from cyclone-hit devastated areas.
Mostly affected region, Irrawaddy Delta, is the rice bowl of Myanmar and other countries consuming exported rice from Myanmar. Rice prices have been increasingly hike in the World. Myanmar, one of the rice exporting nations, is now facing a crisis in the region of growing rice. Myanmar crisis is no longer an internal problem used to be claimed by the allies of Myanmar. It is the humanitarian crisis where International aids were stopped to distribute to the needy timely.
Thousands of people were dead, millions are homeless and their lives are at stake in Myanmar. Yet, the Junta is giving their priority to their nationwide referendum to approve the constitution. It is not the time to repeat the history again as happened in Rwanda. UN must promptly carry out the “responsibility to protect” doctrine which is to protect the citizens of a country when the government of its own could not able to do so. I strongly support French Foreign Minister urging UN for force aid. UN must not wait for approval to assist the Myanmar disaster from the Junta who care more to hold on power than the lives of its own people.
Let me again urge UN to save Myanmar people from the hands of devil and inhumane government of Myanmar. As our democratic leader, Aung San Su Kyi, once said, “Please use your liberty to promote ours”. We, Myanmar people, are living in the dark. Humanitarian intervention is the only hope and ray of light for hungry souls if the Junta continues to block and delay the International aids. Every dying second counts for the victims in Myanmar. It is now the time for Humanitarian Intervention to Myanmar.
May God bless Myanmar. Those departed may rest in peace.
-Written by Nyi Nyi [thanlwin]
Swept away by sorrow
14 May 2008 Labels: EssaysCyclone Nargis is reported to have swept away more than 100,000 people. Its survivors are on the verge of "being swept away" by yet another kind of "cyclone" that has been looming in their lives: the "waves of inhumanity" by the junta.
Day after day, such "waves of inhumanity" by the junta have built up one after another, silencing us with utter disbelief at the possibility of them ever happening. It all started with the junta failing to inform the people about the imminent danger that the cyclone could bring. Neither did they carry out any emergency plan to cushion the impact of the cyclone.
Even when the junta realized the level of devastation left by the cyclone, all they did was to make a fake heartfelt appeal for an international aid. When the international community pledged aid in terms of millions, the junta dropped yet another bomb and said all aid must go through them. While thousands of people were starving and thousands of corpses were left to decompose to unsightly conditions, the junta went ahead with the referendum and shamelessly declared the high percentage of "yes" votes. As the TV media in Burma showed people voting at the polling stations, in places like Irrawaddy delta, the people were barely surviving from the lack of water, food and shelter.
The aid agencies, being left with little choice, finally had to relent and hand over their supplies of aid to the junta. There has been numerous reports in the media about how those aids are being appropriated by the junta and not reaching to the actual victims.
When Indonesia was hit by tsunami, the Indonesian government appealed for help and opened its doors widely to all the humanitarian organizations. But what has the junta done so far? They are practically putting a blockade in front of the international aid agencies by asking them to apply for visa and not allowing them to move freely in all affected areas in Burma.
It is simply beyond my comprehension as to how heartless the junta can be. During the Saffron revolution, we could not believe the atrocities that were committed against our revered monks. Now, the junta has done it again by showing its utter lack of compassion for the states of its own people. Just like during the Saffron revolution, I find myself being swept away by a sense of helplessness at not being able to do more than just blogging about it or donating money for the victims. Similar to the time during the Saffron revolution, we have raised many online petitions. We have written to the relevant authorities in the international community. Many prominent Burmese groups have issued statements of appeal. Nothing ... absolutely nothing has returned any result.
Day after day, only accounts of suffering, misery, death, and inhumanity keep trickling out of Burma in news media. There has been no visible improvement. In fact, lives just seem darker for the victims inside Burma as they keep waiting for help that seems miles away from them. Imagine how hopeless they would feel at being left alone by everyone after such a disaster. When a person has lost everything, sometimes including the whole family, HOPE plays a very important role in helping to keep him alive. But where is their hope?
As the international community, including UN itself, keeps on just condemning the actions of junta, lives are beginning to wither away in Burma. The lack of basic necessities is starting to take its toll on the victims. Many aid agencies have also warned that if help did not reach the victims on time, they, especially children, would succumb to death amidst the devastations of the cyclone's aftermath. Reports by aid agencies and news media all point to the same thing; Humanitarian intervention has become a necessity in Burma.
UN has agreed previously that "they would intervene, forcefully if necessary, if a state failed to protect its own people [1]". What more evidence is needed to prove the junta's lack of concern for its own people, let alone to protect. Will UN be convinced only when the death toll rises further and more lives are wasted unnecessarily?
By that time, beyond doubt, a similar impact of genocide would have occurred in Burma.
Reference:
[1] FRED HIATT, Myanmar needs more than good ideas
Is it time to invade Burma?
11 May 2008 Labels: EssaysIs it time to invade Burma?
Referring this article from Time magazine, we clearly answer this question that YES, Please invade Burma. Invasion is nothing good for one country. No countrymen even think about to be invaded their territory by others.
But things have horribly turned up and down. We can't stay any longer in our own country with our own rulers. It is more obvious now under Nagis Cyclone attack.People didn't get enough warning or evacuation but authorities can manage to move its aircrafts in safe place somewhere . Are they intentionally commit it to let people die under the storm raging between 150 mph to 190 mph ?
Again, cyclone victims are still waiting food and rescue in the midst of flooded water and more people are killing everyday within these 8 days after storm. It seems regimes intentionally commit genocide to its own people. We can't take heart any longer to seeing and hearing these plight and tragic. We have no other choice to rescue millions of helpless people.
We strongly urge you to invade Burma in any channel.
Are you also going to kill Cyclone victims ?
10 May 2008 Labels: EssaysUN secretary Ban Ki Moon warned again and again to Burma Regime. We heard that he tried to call directly to Burmese notorious General Than Shwe.
Then what ..
We haven't heard yet any outcomes nor green light ( even a shade ). This morning, Mr Ban again said referendum should be fair and just.
What for ...
We all know that they are taking advantages over cyclone crisis. They can make it any of their likeness. People are powerless, foodless, waterless, speechless and even lifeless. We don't need referendum. We just need to live.
France proposed to act " responsibility to protect" in UN Security Council. It was instantly rejected.
By whom ..
Does it means they don't need to rescue these millions of life? Or they still want to protect these wicked Generals. Or they don't want West to influence their territories.
This is not the matter of national sovereignty. This is not the matter of power polarization. This is not the matter of diplomacy war. This is just the matter of life and death.
LIFE AND DEATH for millions of people.
Surprise that why UN, US, NATO, ASEAN and others are just standing and waiting their permission. Are you still negotiating with these dumb head? Are you still mulling over how to solve it ? Minute by minute, people are dying.
Are you also going to kill these innocent victims ?