Saturday, September 29, 2007

Burning Burma

I have followed the developments in Myanmar over the past few days with mounting horror, like the rest of the world.



It is deplorable to shoot into an unarmed crowd during a peaceful rally hosted by Buddhist Monks. It is more disgusting that the military comes in the dead of the night to raid TEMPLES and homes, killing indiscriminately. Cowards. They don't even care if they hit non-citizens, not that that's an improvement. They killed a Japanese journalist who died with his camera in his hand. They shot at a Singaporean on his way to work with his wife, for no reason. They bashed the brains out of a young boy with iron tubes just because he was there, then they dragged his body away, leaving his brain in a canal.



There are no words to describe an evil such as this. None.



Now the Myanmar government has cut off all communication means, including the internet, the telecoms, and the media.



These are the realities that remind me of the tales my father used to tell me of Martial Law in Manila. This is a semi-communist government in almost-total control. The fear of being caught and dragged into the night, never to be heard from again. The endless rallies, protests, futile fists raised against machine guns. The religious leaders that were lost in the endless night and the families huddled in their homes, waiting for dawn to come, for day to break so they can pretend to lead normal lives, dreading the coming darkness. But we never had to face this degree of bloodshed.



I suppose this affects me especially since I went to UP, I was at Edsa I and I know how good it is when peaceful civil disobedience works. But then in my country it's an annual event, civil disobedience. And the apathy has set in. In Myanmar I can see how the world can change. All that blood will wake the world, as bloodshed usually does. And I am afraid of the slow awakening; perhaps when our vaunted leaders finally stir from their hallowed halls, it is to find a world changed. I hope it is an Angry World they wake up to. We need to be angry. SOMETHING HAS GOT TO HAPPEN.



I can only think of the irony. If Myanmar had oil deposits, you can bet your ass the US would be there invading- excuse me, LIBERATING them faster than the first bullet would be fired. Iraq was a weak excuse (all together now: Weapons of mass destruction) and still they're there, fighting to save the pride of a president who says "Childrens can learn." And this, this real evil, this real terror is going on, and all he can do is mutter and fidget vaguely. Where is the UN? Where are the organizations that we formed specifically to deal with events like this?



I don't know. I want to do more, but apparently the most i can do is blog. If you guys have any suggestions, please let me know. I will not stand by and let this happen. Just please let me know how to change it. Let's do something. Anything.



To see images and stories as they happen, you can look at the following blogs of brave citizens of Myanmar who are doing their best to get the word out:

Blog of Nyein Chan Yar

Ko Htike's Prosaic Collection

Justice and Injustice

Help Burma Now

Burma-Myanmar Genocide

http://mmedwatch.blogspot.com/

http://www.flickr.com/photos/naingankyatha/

To follow the news stories from the world media:

http://burmanews.cbox.ws

http://www.fileden.com/files/2006/12/14/510728/jpjorlst.wmv

http://www.channelnewsasia.com/stories/singaporelocalnews/view/302726/1/.html

http://www.newsdeskspecial.co.uk/burma/

And other related articles too from concerned people:

Empowering Myanmar, one Blog at a time

3 comments:

Luctor et Emergo said...

It's up to the people of Burma to overthrow the government, and let them have courage. Uncle Sam will make a phone call or send an email. Condi Rice is busy somewhere else. The UN is negotiating in NK. Asean has been toothless in the face of the Myanmar regime's junta. For the western powers and China to take note, refugees have to overcome the borders, spill over the human refugee problem into neighbouring countries. No military intervention in Indochina, no, not from overstretched NATO forces.

Unknown said...

isn't there something we can do?

Luctor et Emergo said...

try a few things...
http://www.facebook.com/group.php?gid=24957770200