A woman that I know who graduated from university in Rangoon, got married with a military commander who defected to an opposition army and started fighting against the SPDC(military gov in Burma). She always talks about her ideas about the non- violent way. But on the other hand, she is always busy with writing proposals to get support her husband's military group.

If we do not strongly believe in the non-violent way in our hearts, we cannot reach our target. We cannot talk about non- violence and try to buy weapons at the same time. If we are hypocritical, this is a mistake that hurts the people who have been suffering from violence. We just create a big obstacle that makes a rough path for the people who work for non- violence. Many people have relinquished their ideas about approaching non- violence and many others have been driven to misunderstand non- violence because of our bad actions.

 

Some people get the ideas of non- violence from reading big books and some others by attending many trainings. Then they want to share their ideas with the other people without looking at the context of their community first.  They just want to illuminate the way to non- violence for other people.  But, they feel that they are superior to and become alienated from their people.  Finally, they fall into despair because of their wrong approach and abandon their faith in non- violence when they cannot reach their aim.

 

I think ideas about non- violence do not come only from trainings or reading books, but everyone can be a non- violent person through self- reflection and personal experience.  If you really want to work for non- violence, you have to change yourself first to be a love extremist; not just hold a superficial belief.  Like Gandhi, we must always be aware of what we do and what we see and what we think; and always act in love.   From the time you really understand non-violence, you must try to practice all the time. You have to look back your experiences and rectify the violence you have done, even the violence that comes to your thoughts when you are angry. You have to confront many challenges.

Few years ago, when I went to the front line to do community organizing, I became very angry like the soldiers when we heard many tragic stories and about unfair events from our people. Sometimes I felt that human dignity is alien to my people.  In my anger, I wanted to hold the gun like the soldiers. But I suddenly reminded myself that I was practicing non- violence, and I had to overcome this anger.  But I understand why my people use violence. In their situation, they have no choices. To keep their human dignity, they have responded this way: anger with anger, hatred with hatred; then loss with loss and suffering with suffering. They have been choked by the cycle of constantly responding to the problems.

 

Yes, it is not easy to practice and change ourselves to become non- violent people.   First, we have to fight our anger all the time. We have to confront many terrible problems and overcome the miseries calmly. Then we always have to use our potent weapons: smiles, love, and compassion. Let me share an example from my experience:

One evening when it was almost dark, my friend and I were coming back to our village from the jungle each with a bull- cart that was carrying logs. One Burmese soldier suddenly came out of the underbrush and stopped us when we were very close to our village. He ordered to turn our carts to another way toward the military base. My friend got angry with him because we were very tired. He yelled at the soldier that he couldn't do as the soldier ordered and tried to continue moving in the same way. The soldier also got angry and ordered my friend again to come down from his cart. The soldier was so angry that he cocked his gun ready to shoot because my friend defied everything that he had ordered. The situation turned into a crisis. I was so afraid and realized that something would happen to my friend. I came down from my bull-cart and tried to explain our situation; how hard it was to get these logs from the jungle. We had to wake up at 3:00 AM and it took seven hours to get to the jungle. Then we had to spent around three hours finding and cutting the logs. It had taken the whole time until now to come back. Even though it was very difficult to do this work, we had to work because our families were very poor and we had no other work. We were also students and had no money to buy books.  After I shared our story, he began to understand us and told my friend " you should have told me that before". Then he allowed us to continue on our way.

 

Yes, the most difficult thing to kill is our anger, more difficult than killing people. We cannot really solve any problem if we respond with our anger. Acting in anger we are already 80 percent of the way to making a mistake and we are already on the losing path. But the problem might be easy for us to solve if we really understand the essence of smiling and love. We also have to be optimistic about every problem. That means we have to listen well to others. If not, we cannot continue to the next step - practicing understanding.  

After overcoming our anger, we have to find the real meaning of understanding. My friend and I were human beings and the Burmese soldier was a human being too. Why could we not smile at each other?  What kind of wall was between us? Our reason might be that he was a Burman, who invaded our land, destroyed our homes, tortured and killed our people. We may just see these reasons because our hatred has blinded us and we cannot see anything more.

But we can try to see reasons to smile at him. May be he is not Burman but another ethnic person. Even if he is Burman, maybe he was forced to be a soldier by the military. If we try to practice understanding deeply in this way, we can finally see that he is just a tool of military junta. Then we can solve our problem with understanding. 

 

Practicing non- violence does not mean that you are a completely non- violent person, but just that you proceed in the direction of non- violence. We cannot hope to achieve100 percent of our target completely with our effort. We have to be clear about this because many people have fallen into despair when they couldn't reach their aim. On the rough road of non- violence, the most important things is to keep our faith, effort, inspiration, hope and aim. We have to be happy with our work when we are going in the direction of our aim. If someone, even a soldier who had been trained to kill people, begins to understand non- violence and tries to practice it, we can call him a non- violent person because he is already on the non- violent way.

In my experience, when I went to the war zone and couldn't complete the work that I had planned, I felt so frustrated and defeated. My self- confidence also dwindled substantially. After that, I realized that I didn't need to be unhappy and I understood that it just depended on the method that I used.

 

We should not be happy only practicing to become a non- violent person because our real target is not only ourselves. We cannot achieve peace without everybody's participation. We have to wake other people up. The root of our ideas must spread out everywhere to everybody.

 

When I was in the Immigration Detention Center (IDC) in Bangkok, where I was incarcerated for illegally living in the city, everybody had their groups. There were many rooms and hundreds of people staying in one room. Most people came from countries that had experienced war; Burma, Laos, Cambodia, Vietnam and some others. The biggest group was from Burma because of the current bad situation in their country. Groups from different countries always fought each other in jail. The big group tried to fight small group into submission and the smallest group had to stay quiet. They acted so violently. The room was filled up with anger, unfairness, and fractionalization. They didn't see that they all had the same suffering. Everyone had their dignity taken from them. In reality, they should have joined hands to struggle for their human dignity. They felt like they were powerful when they suppressed another group. But I tried to understand them. Everybody had terrible experiences in the past. They grew up in violent communities.  All their hearts had been wounded by violence. One day, they may understand the power of smiling; not just the power of being a victor.

 

Currently, the world is stricken with rampant violence. The use of violence is very powerful, and people respect that power.  Everyone recognizes the effectiveness of the violent power of the US in Afghanistan and the terrorists in New York City.   It seems like the big group always tries to keep their power through superficial, short-term victory and the powerless groups always live in hatred. But both the powerless and the powerful are grief stricken and suffer from fear, anger and loss. Both of them are so tired of the cycle of conflict.

 

I think everyone should be clear that if we conquer with violence, I don't think our victory can last very long. But if with love, smiles and compassion, our real victory can be forever. This means we have to understand that every action has its own result. If we act with love, we can benefit with love and if with violence, it will reflect back to us with violence.

Tuu Reh

The Refugee

Most people view the word, "the refugee" as: people who have no food to eat, no clothes to wear, no place to stay and no education, for many different reasons: natural disaster, war, impact of economic crises or politic issues, etc.

Some people feel sympathy for the refugees and try to help them in many ways.

Some help by sympathizing, as providing things, clothes, food, and medicines.

Some people try to improve their skills: providing many kinds of training.

Some people help by empathizing, involving in the refugee community, their struggles, learning their situations, ideas and try to empower them.

Some people view on the refugee as untouchables and try to keep away from them.

Some might be feel nothing about refugees and they don't care about them.

So what is your position or your view on refugees?

 

The outside world tries to help people who became refugee, for different reasons, in several ways. It might be enough to help refugees who suffered from a natural disaster (earthquake, storm, flooding, etc) with things such as food, clothes, medicines, etc.

But for the refugees who suffered from a war or political impact, it might be not enough to help them with giving things, but they need to improve their skills, to empower, to be supported in their struggle to be back their homeland in peace.

It is the most difficult way, to empower the refugee. You have to learn about the conditions of their community and also of their struggle. If you involve helping them without learning their situation or their ideas, sometimes help can even hurt their struggle instead of helping them. Many outsiders help the refugee with giving things, as providing food in order to make their lives better. But the refugees become so depend on these outsiders. They just stay lightly in the refugee camp. They cannot reach their aim without leading their own struggle.

 

The Refugee Lives

 

If you are illegal, everything with you is also illegal

 

One spring day, two trucks stopped in the middle ground of a refugee camp near Mae Hong Son. Both of the trucks were filled with bicycles (most of the bicycles are secondhand) and they were surrounded by children. "Hey", one of them said, "There is my bicycle." And another child yelled: "The red one is my father's. Where would they take our bicycles to?"  The children watched their own bicycles and made a noise around the trucks.

Not only the children, but also the elderly watched the happening and gave their comment each other. One man said: "We bought them with our own money. Why they just come and take our bicycles without any payment?" "Hey, it's not your country", an old man cried out at him, "You have to know that you are illegal and they can do what they want". After filling the truck up with every bicycle in the whole camp, the two trucks started to move to the town. The refugees were left in the camp with unhappiness and uncertainty.

Later they got to know the reason of taking bicycles from the camp; the local authority suspected that the bicycles in the refugee camp were stolen.

 

These refugees have been suffering from the war for many years. In their own-land, they had built their lives in a very simple way: growing rice, raising their cattle, selling crops, etc. Mostly they used silver coins as their money, because it is easy to carry and to conceal under the ground. They always moved from place to place according to fighting in their area. When the Burmese soldiers invaded their land and moved them out of their land, they lost their cattle, their land and their crops but they could still save their silver coins money. Even though they fled to Thailand as refugees, some of them still could carry their silver coins with them and sell them. 

 

One time in the refugee camp, my cousin was arrested by the local authorities, because they found a bottle of illegal alcohol (traditional rice whisky) in his house.  His father use to drank the alcohol, as a herbal medicine before every meal. But my cousin had to stay in jail for three days and was released after paying 5000 Baht. His family had to sell some of their property and also had to borrow money from their relatives, to get him out from jail.

The local authority came to the refugee camp several times and checked the houses to find illegal alcohol or drugs. They arrested and fined people who made their herbal jungle alcohol. All their families had to pay 3000 Baht to 5000 Baht to get their family members out of the jail.

 

It is very difficult to find out what rights refugees really have. Even though you have money, you cannot buy anything. Anytime, the authority can come to take your things away without any reason. You are always being a suspected person. They want you to just stay in the refugee camp quietly. Your life is the same as a prisoner life. You are cut off from the outside world. There are only a few ways to learn new things or get new experiences. One way is to learn from outside people who come to the refugee camp to help the refugees. Another way is to learn from the elderly and by reading books, or listening to the radio.

 

Yes, if you are illegal everything with you is also illegal. The way you act, the way you speak out and also the way you think, it seems like that 50 percents of them are always wrong. Even the things you have, you have no insurance on it. Sometimes you feel that nobody smiles at you.

 

Human dignity is taken away from you

In refugee life, you can find out the wall between you and legal people. In every way it is very difficult to be the same as others. It seems like your demeanor way is different from the others. It seems like your smile is not sweet for them.

 

One time, we were arrested in the immigration office for illegally going to the city. The officer was very angry and questioned us: "How did you get the money to go to the city? Who gave it to you? The donors already gave you the food to eat, the land to stay. Why couldn't you stay quietly?"

Before, I thought that we are human beings like everybody else. But from my experiences by dealing with these people, I came to understand that we have to struggle for making people to recognize us as human being.

 

In the refugee camp, the bazaars' truck always comes from the city to sell fruit and vegetables. But they also sell the rotten meat and fish, which is not allowed to sell in the city. Because refugees have no opportunity to go to the city and have only little money, they just have got to buy the rot meat and smelly fish. After selling the refugee, the sellers always throw the rot fish and meat into the river, before they go back to town.

Yes, as you are refugee and have a little money, you can be the last target of the bazaar seller. They finally can make a little money from you.

Even the Thai villager, they can get their benefits from the refugees. Because the refugees have no any work or no way to get family income, they work on the crop field of the villagers for a very small salary. When they hire the villagers or civil citizen as labors, they can earn at least one hundred Baht for a day. But the refugees can earn only 30 Baht to 50 Baht for a day.

 

We have to pass three gates (check point) to get in and out from the refugee camp. The border soldiers base on the gates, always change their troops. We have to build a good communication with them in order to pass their gates. We have to give smile, put on a fawn look, etc.

One time, their change their troop and I had to deal with new soldiers when passing the gate. They didn't know me. They asked me in Thai. I can speak Thai just a little bit and answered them in Thai. They thought I was a Thai citizen and they spoke me very politely. Then, they asked about where I have lived. I replied that I lived in refugee camp and was a refugee. Suddenly their face turned to stern as look at me and they asked me loudly. Just in a moment the situation was totally change between a gap of legal and illegal. At that day I had to negotiate with them for hours to pass the gate.

Friend! come into my body and my mind just a few seconds and try to feel as me. I looked my body, my legs, my arms at a moment. Yes! I am a human being like every body else. I am real a human being and should I can't be a human being. Tell me man.....

 

Tuu Reh

 

I am just an ethnic person from Burma and have been suffering from military regime like everybody else. In my area, people have been dealing with many terrible things in their daily life such as torture, killings, forced labor, relocation& portering, etc. Even though we had known that something had gone wrong as we had been facing in our community, we did not clear how to solve our problems there. I thought I should do something for my people and believed I should go somewhere so that I could find some way to solve our problems. Finally, I came to join with a revolutionary group for several years. Then I went to an NGO and attended the training for a year. From the training, I was very interested in non- violence struggle among the many other ways. I found that it could bring true justice and peace.

When I came back from the training and worked in my area, it was very hard to taste my ideas with my people because it was very strange to them. I think they were afraid something to accept the ideas. I had had used many tactics and careful working to be clear when I worked among them. And many friends became understand me.  Anyway, I understood them and I am not refuse their struggle ways because their ideas came from their situation and their own beliefs. Sometimes I was very disappointed with my work as I was faced with terrible obstacles. Our struggles are still being under injustice. From my little experience, I think the following things are obstacles for non violence movement.

 

1) wrong ways of approaching non- violence movement

Many people have been talking about non violence struggle. But the question is do these people really believe in it because if they don't, there will be dangerous and become big losing more than in the violence struggle. In Burma, people have been suffering tortures and terrible hating intensely of each other for many years. They had no way to choose to protect themselves.  They have believed deeply that only a counter- armed struggle could solve their problems and bring their freedoms.  They were so oppressed that they never dared to think about the non violence way. But later for many years, when they had taken a long time and still not reached their aim, some of them began to find new ideas which would solve or lesser their sufferings. Most of their ideas were that they wanted to solve their problems by talking or discussing in peace, instead of doing the violence struggle. Some of them discussed with the military government. Some tried ceasefire.  Some surrendered. But the situation became very different from what they had thought before and got worse than when they were in the jungle with their armed struggle. Many people in the country-side suffered more than before. The bad thing was that the military regime used them as tools to oppress their people and to fight back their friends in the jungle. Their new ideas to solve their problems were also destroyed. Not only them but this happen also lead the people in the jungle on to despairing in non violence struggle and could not believe in it.

 

The other thing is working with non violence struggle among the people without clear, beliefs or very interest in it. Some work with non violence issues only to seek the international supporting. Some are not suitable at working with local people ideas. These things do not only support the people struggles, but destroy the own ideas of non- violence people and drive them to despair. These can create a big lose for the non- violence movement.

 

2) trying to stay with human dignity

The people from Burma, mostly ethnic people, couldn't stay with human dignity that they never thought about it. When they heard& saw the people from the other countries who had human dignity, they wanted to be like them and find the way that people would respect them. Finally they found a way that they wanted. That is just holding the weapons. They seem to think that because they had no weapons, nobody respected them. To solve this problem, they seem had chosen the arm struggle way.

These ideas make them feel they are the people who can stay with human dignity and have more chances than other people who have no weapons.  Some people feel that we are protecting our people. But we can see all of them are just trying to protect their human dignity. Finally, when they have no weapons they will be hopeless, fall in despair and victims because there is nothing left in their faith.

 

3) just follow with the old way

"We started our revolution with armed struggle, so we will have to conclude our struggle that way" an arm leader said.  And many people said "We should keep our armed-struggle, so that means we honor our old soldiers and leaders." I think the idea of 'open mind' is very important. Otherwise they are like dead water doesn't flow, and also it creates difficulties for the struggle to be movements.  Perhaps they have weakness in evaluation or analysis of their struggle and the current situation going(international). They don't want to find or add any new way such as non violence struggle. They don't accept the outside ideas and they think these ideas will destroy their own struggle.

Anyway they should know how is their way is going. They just do reaction that waiting for something happen to them and re- work on that. It was spent a lot of time, money, people faiths and creates big losses.  Their struggle should be proactive that always predicts for the coming future happen by analysis of the past experiences and current situations. So that they can reduce the future losing. Not only to use the old way, but they can find, practice and add more many new ways which will be effective for them.

 

4) compare the losing

People also seem to have compared the losses between violence and non violence struggles. Under the harsh military regime, perhaps they are afraid to think about the possible future in non violence struggle. Some were said that if they didn't have arm-struggle, they would lose everything such as their own culture, literature and history. They would have no chance to open their mouth in politics. As these things, they seem to had chosen the arm struggle for their movement and destroyed their thinking about how effective the non- violence way, could be.

 

5) if no clear vision for the future

Some people have no clear vision for their future of how  much they could achieve their aim with their armed-struggle and how much percents their real peace be sure which will get by arm struggle. They just believed deeply in their mind that one day they must get their freedom with armed- struggle and they have been waiting for that and with protecting themselves every day. While they are waiting for that day coming, they have seem no clear visions of

-         what are their imagines for their future communities

-         what happened in the past and what are their weakness and strength

-         how they should change and add more in their struggle to be better

-         how people should participate in which important issues and what skills they would need

-         how long team plan they should create for their movement

-         which strategies and tactics  they would need

They also seem to have weaknesses in analyzing work and prediction for the future.

If they had these clear visions, they would know that non violence struggle is also needed in their way to get real justice and peace.

 

6) culture of oppression

Perhaps cultures or beliefs of people are very strong in depending on their leaders. This created the reasons that the people do not so participate with their leaders while solving their problems. All things are depend on the leader's decisions as they didn't give their good ideas. May be they would have some ideas such as non violence. Because they just depended on their leaders, they are not trying to make new ideas for their struggle. As just supporting without participate with their ideas, their movement doesn't so improving. People should cooperate their ideas with their leaders and they can do many things for their future which they want. They should know the best future should come from their minds (ideas).

 

7) a little knowledge with non violence movement

Mostly people think the non violence way is a very soft idea that to be surrenders to the enemy. Because they are not interested on non- violence or their experiences with non- violence trainings which are not effective for them, they do not want to learn more about it. Even though they had heard about the effective of some non- violence struggle like Gandhi's struggle in India, they don't know exactly how was it carried out, how Gandhi got the power and how much power he got from the world by his non- violence way. And also how the struggles all over the world, has been helped by Gandhi done.

 

If the people become understand clearly in violence and non- violence struggle, they will dare to face everything and everywhere without any weapons because they always hold the non-violence weapons in their mind. Their struggle will be like a flowing stream and always getting to their aim.

Tuu Reh