I watched the video of their ruling general, Than Shwe's daughter, Thandar Shwe. It was, for lack of a better word, disgusting. Decadence and excess while people starve on the streets.
It is stark reality for me that Burma is a neighbour country, and I am no elite in mine. Had I been born in Burma, where would I be now? Working for the government to ensure my family's safety? In hiding? I do not believe that the men and women in the military want to hurt their people - if you have children, a family to feed and sustain, you do what is necessary, I believe.
All the same, I have nothing but the utmost respect and reverence for these monks, and tears came when I saw the news coverage - Burmese military and plainclothes policemen beating them into submission and herding them to prison. They are abandoning what could have been a comparatively peaceful life (in Burma) and standing up for what is right. They are risking capture, torture, starvation and death standing up for what is right, facing down the might of the junta, the military and the silence of our countries' leaderships.
Yes, despite our lofty lessons to our children about standing up for what is right (berani kerana benar - one of the Moral Values learnt in school), the chase for resources, for wealth, will always be the overriding factor, succintly put in this article in the Economist.
I place this link here, from someone who has actually met and spoken to the brave voices of journalism and dissent in Burma. And I have read the Irrawady Post, especially this article on the women of Burma.
Again, the world, me included, lets the opportunity to do what is right pass us by. We passed on our chances in Rwanda, during the Holocaust, in Tiananmen Square, East Timor, Darfur - we wait, and wait for blood to be shed before standing up and saying this is wrong, and we can - we NEED to do something about this .
Perhaps, in the past, we could have blamed our inaction on the lack of information - that we know too late. But in this day and age of CNN, of YouTube, of the Internet - we have run out of excuses. Those citizen journalists in Burma are risking their lives to show us what is happenning there - they are trusting us to tell their story and take action - how will we respond?
What will we do for them? What can we do for them?
I read, and I write in the hope of spreading awareness amongst us more fortunate ones on the plight, the FIGHT of the courageous monks, ordinary people and Nobel Peace Laureate Aung San Suu Kyi. They will be in my prayers.
What can we do to show our support for the people of Burma? Lend them a voice - you can click below and print out the banner below taken from http://saffronrevolutionworldwide.blogspot.com/. I will be posting the photo of my banner soon.
"History will have to record that the greatest tragedy of this period of social transition was not the strident clamor of the bad people, but the appalling silence of the good people"
- Martin Luther King
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