Cry for Burma

I wish there was something more to be done for the people of Burma in the midst of their troubles. I wish we were allowed to do what little we can actually do...

There is a not-insignificant population of refugees from Burma resettled around Melbourne, pincipally from the Karen, Chin and Prokaren groups. The Baptist Union of Victoria includes 9 groups in various locations formed from these people. The following is an extract of some thoughts from some of these groups, as they reflect on the devestation in their homeland after Cyclone Nargis struck...

"Cry Tears for Burma"

Once, this was Thabyekyaing village, a quiet coastal village in Labutta township,
Ayeyawaddy Division.

Once, the laughter of children filled the air as they played football or toke-si-do in the fields and yards.

Once, men went out on fishing boats or worked in the fields. Women planted rice, fetched water and firewood and kitchen fires burnt brightly.

Once, on Sunday mornings, the church bell would ring and people would gather to
sing, praise and worship god and listen to the pastor, Rev.Maung Bay's or his son,
Pastor Klo Htoo's sermons.

Once, on Lenten days the monastery gong would sound and the Buddhists would
go to hear the Sayadaw's sermons while observing a fast.

Once, the village was shady with fruit trees, the gardens with vegetables and the
fields green with rice plants or yellow during harvest time.

Now, there is an eerie silence over what once was Thabye Gyaung. The sound of laughter, song and raucous shouting is stilled. The trees, the fields, the houses, school, church, monastery, clinic are no more.

Now, what remains is death and destruction, bloated bodies, shattered lives.

Cry for bleeding, suffering Burma – she is so small, her people struggling so long for survival. It seems as if not only political forces but God herself/himself is determined to teach us some sensible lessons. Sermons nowadays sound like platitudes. Our land and our people are being put through the wringer, squeezed dry till there is no more life juice left.

Cry with us, cry for us in solidarity in our despair.

Mission accomplished

I have written before about how the pleasure I get out of driving has led to me tracking the longest of days on a special list - TKD's, or Thousand Kilometre Days. The first TKD happened kind of unexpectedly. At lunch time on Christmas Day in 1987 I realised I didn't really want to just hang about at home, and so without not too much thinking, I set out to visit my sister who was living in Sydney. That day, I drove 1,070 km, which was by far the longest I had ever driven in a day, and it immediately struck me as a pretty cool thing to have driven over a thousand kilometres. It was fun. It would be fun to do it again!

The time I had the opportunity to drive 1,000 km in a day was on the way home, three days later, but unfortunately I had car trouble and ended up taking two days over the trip. So, I had to wait. It was July 1988 before I got to do it again. This time, I was heading off on holidays for the Whitsundays, and managed to drive 1,000 km in a day twice in a row, and four times in all during the course of the two weeks I was away.

Sometime during that holiday, I got to wondering how many TKD's I might achieve in my lifetime. I came to the conclusion that a good effort would be to achieve 100 such days, and set this as a bit of an ambition. And so it happened that the days got driven, and throughout, I kept detailed records of every time it happened.

Last Saturday, 26th April, not very far from "The Dish" - Parkes Radio Telescope, it finally happened. For the 100th time, my odometer clicked up past 1,000 kilometres in a day. It was almost sunset and it was beautiful. There was minimal celebration - I was alone and fairly tired, to be honest. 24 km later I pulled into a caravan park in Parkes and stopped for the night. And the enormity of what had happened started to dawn - a long held ambition had been accomplished. It was done.

The next morning, I drove off needing to do around 800 kilometres or so to get to my destination - Lakes Entrance - where I would be starting work the next morning. As I drove, I realised it was different now. I no longer had any need to think about 1,000 kms as an important line in the sand. Would the fact I had achieved 100 TKD's actually change everything? For a start, I was very relaxed about the fact that I was going to drive most of the day but NOT do a TKD. I was more inclined to stop and have a look at things along the way. And so on. But then - I got tricked. Weather closed the road I was going to be driving on, and I was forced to drive around. By the time I reached my intended destination, I had driven 1,019 kilometres - TKD number 101 was in the book!

Despite this curious accident, I am still left wondering whether the achievement of my goal will mean to my attitude to driving. I admit I did not think I would achieve it in 21 years - I thought I would be lucky to achieve it at all. Bus seeing I had, what next? Would I continue to rack them up? In many respects, with better roads and using better and more comfortable motor vehicles, driving a thousand kilometres is easier now than it ever has been. So - will I drive more? Probably, I expect. But will I deliberately go out to try to get a TKD the way I often have before? Hard to say. I guess time will tell.

For the moment, I simply find myself triumphing in having accomplished the mission.