Some good deeds performed by the Free Funeral Services Society (Yangon) (FFSS)

Written By Kyaw Thu, 

9 October 2010

The Grim Reaper knows no laws

Ms. Than Myint Aung, secretary of Free Funeral Services Society (Yangon), and the staff members helped transport the bodies of Daw Ohn Yee (age 67) and her son U Khin Oo (age 48) from South Dagon township, Yangon for cremation at Kyi-Su cemetery at 9:30 am, 7^th October 2010 on Thursday.

U Khin Oo was a chronic TB patient. Daw Ohn Yee had taken care of her son, but the past five days was stressful because U Khin Oo had fallen into a coma. U Khin Oo’s wife had been struggling to meet the bare necessities of her two children. Daw Ohn Yee probably did not accept that her son was unconscious, and tried to have a conversation. On 6^th October 2010, she shook her son’s body and kindly uttered, “My son Maung Khin Oo …. My son Maung Khin Oo”.  She had a mental and physical lapse around 6 PM and passed away. Her son passed away at 8 PM, as if he had decided to follow his mother’s fate. The double tragedy left the survivors (U Khin Oo’s wife and two daughters) helpless.

Though the mother and son entered the world at different times, they left the world on the same day. Is it a coincidence?

Marana (the Grim Reaper) knows no laws and no bounds. There are no set rules based on class, wealth, friendship, and age to determine when one’s life comes to an end.

People who are hungry and crazy for power, properties and riches should pay heed to the Grim Reaper. People who love and cherish their parents, teachers, spouses and children should note that they and their loved ones are not immune to the Grim Reaper. It is therefore very important to practice morality and unbounded love, to offer humane services to the society, and to take the Three Refuges (Buddha, Dhamma, Sangha).

Sooner or later [even now] we will be sick

Sooner or later [even now], we will die

We will surely die, make your rare [and precious] life meaningful

Before you die, practice [insight] meditation and gain wisdom

(Dictum of Moe-Goke Sayadaw)

Ant Maung - Thakhin Ohn Myint Poem

Thakhin Ohn Myint

Ant Maung

September 19^th, 2010

 

Thakhin Ohn Myint

Abadoned medical student life

To wriggle as a journalist

Took part in student and youth conventions

Unfurled the peacock banner JournalGyaw

Hand in hand with U Chit Maung

Joined Bogyoke Aung San and

Thakhin Than Tun

To attend the conference of

Indian National Congress

Sent to Coco Island in the Bay of Bengal

And often rested in Black Garden

Delivering love and provisions

To comrades

And had now gone

On his long journey of revolution

Among raging billows။       ။

Political Parties start campaigning with handing out leaflets in Rangoon

 

MOEMAKA Reporter, Yangon

13th October 2010

Many campaign leaflets were seen distributed by political parties at the bus stops and public places only 24 days before November election of Burmese regime.

According to local residents from Kyauk-ta-da Township,

"The leaflets were still handed out near Pan-soe-dan bus stop, for candidate of 88 generation student (Union of Myanmar) contesting  at constituency of Kyauk-ta-da Township, yesterday evening ...”

It surprised some of bystanders and passerby and they seemed more ridiculed when they saw the symbol of the party which was similar to the fighting peacock from the flag of Burmese students  union. 

 

Although this is the first time in 20 years to hold the general election in Burma, the National League for Democracy (NLD) stood against and boycotts the election due to various issues of election laws and undemocratic constitution written and approved in 2008 by the Junta.

Some residents told MoeMaKa that the coming election is not being interested by most people and half of residents in Rangoon were not willing to cast the vote.

The Union Solidarity of Development Party (USDP), formerly Union Solidarity of Development Association (USDA) backed by the regime have been preparing and campaigning for the election spending funds and resources owned by the state and the people while other political parties were still struggling with their limited funding and human resources.

The State Peace and Development Council (SPDC) military government issued the hardship election laws and procedure of constitutions which caused limited and intimidated support and funding for all competing political parties except their backed USDP Party. Therefore witnesses were saying that the only affordable and safest way to do political campaign for other parties was to handing out leaflets in public places in Rangoon.

(Photo – Picture of leaflet distributed by one of the political party)

Flood in Mandalay and Burmese Responses

Letters to MoeMaKa
October 11th, 2010

Youth for humanitarian Assistance requests humanitarian aid for Mandalay flood victims while People who experienced Cyclone Nargis are concerned with the forthcoming election

One letter to MoeMaKa was from the youths providing humanitarian assistance (Cit-ta-su-kha-pra-hi-ta Youth) especially to flood victims. You can see some of their activities on http://www.cittasukha.com and http://www.ourmandalay.net/index.php.

In another letter, A MoeMaKa colleague from Yangon said that the flood and natural disaster reminded him of Cyclone Nargis tragedy back in 2007, May, when the Burmese regime used force to get their constitution approved while flood victims suffered and died due to regime’s ignorance. He stated his worry that this time again under any circumstance and any cost, military government is determined to hold a one-sided unfair election in November 2010.

 

Here is a letter about the plight of people in Mandalay:
“ … It started raining in Mandalay, Burma on 7th October 2010. It rained heavily the next day. Water rose and flooded almost the whole of Mandalay. People have to use boats to go from one place to the other. Water covered most of the lower areas. One storey buildings from both sides of Myot Thit  Pan-yan-daw River, from southeast Mandalay went under the water. There were also flooding from Pa-thein Gyi Township. But according to State-run Newspaper, it said water only rose to 11" (eleven inches). The patients from Cancer treatment hospital of Pa-thein-gyi had to relocate to the house owned by Oriental House hotel. Highway leading to Pyin-Oo -Lwin  was also under the water.

There were not enough boats for rescue people from the flooded areas. Some people were rescued, but we do not know for sure how many families are still plagued by flood and may be in critical situation. We managed to distribute the food package for victims but not systematically due to lack of resources.  Nor is the food package is sufficient to distribute for all victims.

For our (Cit-ta-su-kha-pra-hi-ta Youth) group, we started to provide the assistance on the night of (October 8 th) as much as we can.Since we are a small organization, we had to seek donors for the rescue efforts to aid the flood victims.

 

 

On the 9t th, we distributed about 400 food packages successfully. On the 10 th, we distributed more food packages including 500 bottles of drinking water. We are moving to distribute the foods by ourselves where the water level is up to our waists. The type of the food packages we distributed is for two persons and can be served for daytime and nighttime. Many large organizations also came to distribute the food. Mostly food packages and drinking water are distributed, as they are the bare necessities of life. We will continue to distribute the food for the coming days. The food which can be saved for a long period such as – snacks, biscuits, dried cakes, fried fish-paste, fried shrimp etc. will be distribute starting from tomorrow.

 

Our group was able to distribute food and water for only one section of Mandalay as we have limited volunteers and funds. We go to the remote areas and try to get to people who cannot be reached without with boats. We cannot afford to hire boats. We have plans to continue offering food to the flood victims everyday provided we have the donors/donations.

 

Contact address:
Phone: 09-2027574
(Photo – mg ba oo (Mandalay) (facebook) …”

Green light to prosecute anti-election proponents

Moemaka Reporter, Yangon,

October 11, 2010

According to the news from Nay Pyi Taw, the generals have given verbal orders to harass, prosecute and condemn anyone who act or say anything even a joke against their 2010 November election. “A formal written law and order may be issued if there are many movements to boycott the election. For the present, this is a verbal order from upper.” said a service from Nay Pyi Taw.

A monk from Mon state and more than ten students were detained for distributing the anti-election statements. Such news had emerged for the past few months. Political activists throughout the country feel that it is improper and unethical to vote in the 2010 election because the underlying laws are flawed and unjust.

Especially the National League for Democracy (NLD) party went to many parts of Burma to voice their concerns. They were urging the Burmese that people have their own rights not to vote in the election as well which granted by constitution.

The verbal order from the generals is to complement or override the traditional ways of persecuting politicians and activists. In the past 20 years or so, thousands of democracy activists were jailed using unjust laws and verbal orders given along the chain of command. According to the critics of Burmese political scene, the recent verbal order by the generals is another blatant violation of human rights violation.

U Lun Kwaye and his family to host their 3rd Art Exhibit

Photo News

October 13, 2010

Art Master U Lun Kwaye’s paintings will soon be on exhibition in Grand Railway Hotel. Together with his, the painthings of his whole family consists of Lun Mya Mya (his wife), Lun Thit (his son), Lun Kyaw Yee (his daughter-in-law), Lun Pan Chi and Lun Moe Yan (his grandsons) will also be included.

There had been two family art shows back in 2007 and 2009. According to Rays of Light Journal (ah-lin-tan journal) published in Rangoon, Master U Lun Kwaye will be performing live drawing on the last day of the exhibit.

Pe Nyunt Wai to host his first solo art show overseas

MoeMaKa Reporter Chaing Mai

October 14^th, 2010

Pe Nyunt Wai, renowned Burmese Artist is going to host his 5^th art exhibit opening from October 16, 6 p.m. in Chaing Mai, Thailand. This is his 5^th one-man show but this will be the first hosting overseas and it will last for 3 weeks. His collection named as “Bagan Drawings” will be paintings on Pagodas and scenes of Bagan, a historic ancient city of Burma. His sole attention is to express how rich the cultures and traditions of his home country, Burma, the artist said.

Pe Nyunt Wai born in 1952 in Ye Nan Kyaung, one small town of upper Burma was  graduated from Mandalay Art School and learnt  under the teaching of senior contemporary renowned artists such as U Win Pe and Paw Oo Thet. He was one of the founders Loka Nat Art Studio, one of the oldest and the first art studio ever hosted Burmese contemporary and modern arts of Burmese artists.

US revoked Visas of Burmese Junta’s Artists

Moemaka Reporter 002

October 9, 2010.

US Immigration revoked performance visas issued to Ovation Burmese music band before the completion of the USA tour.

(Burmese Protesters against Burmese's Stage Show in SF on 25th Sept 2010)

 Among the 10 Burmese performers was actress Wyne Suu Khine Thein who performed in the Junta’s propaganda film (Lotus at Dawn – Ar Yon Oo Ma Poo Thi Kyar). The film disregarded the Burmese struggle for democracy in Burma and portrayed it as acts of anarchy and violence.

The tour began in August 2010 and encountered numerous protests by the Burmese community in the US. As a result, U Ei Tha Ri ya (the monk who sponsored the visas for the band) filed personally on 7^th October to the US government that he was withdrawing his sponsorship.

Ko Nyi Nyi Aung, an active activist from the Burmese community in Washington DC Metro area, told Moemaka that the United State’s Immigration Service immediately revoked their P1 visas of all of the 10 Burmese from the band because the band had caused controversy among Burmese American Community due to its inclusion of the junta’s propaganda actress, and the its sponsorship by the Burmese monk had been withdrawn.

According to the immigration rules and regulation, all the band members lost their visitors’ status and are considered illegal visitors. It was learnt that not only they were to leave the country effective immediately but also they will be prohibited to enter the US for the foreseeable future. The list of revoked visas include: Soe Moe (Manager), Min Maw Kun (Actor), Ye Lay (Actor), Leonard Maung Maung Lwin (Musician), Petric Maylar (Musician), Ye Phone (Musician), Tutkey (Musician), Wyne Su Khaing Thein (Actress), L. Sai Zee (Singer) and Rebecca Win (Singer).

 

(Burmese Protest Poster at LA on 12th Sept 2010)

“Since from the beginning of  their tour, there were many discussions made within Burmese community to avoid protests but they (the band and the their supporters) never backed down and continued their tour. Due to our political principle and belief, we had to protest them as the instruments of the Burmese junta. However we were not making any personal attacks to the members of the band. Finally it was due to the solidarity of Burmese American community, collective wisdom of the Burmese monks’ community and last but not the least the policy of the US government to impose political sanction on the Burmese regime and its accomplices, the matter came to the end peacefully and lawfully” said Ko Toe Lwin, one of the active activists and dissidents of NLD (LA) (an exile branch of Burmese opposition party of Burma, NLD led by Aung San Suu Kyi) now living in San Francisco Bay Area.

This is first time in 20 years after the Burmese regime bloody coup in Burma that the Burmese American community publicly denounced the Junta’s propaganda activity and its supporters, and resulted in the expulsion of the regime’s artists.

U Ni Mar (74 Year), Father of Mar Mar Oo died of heart attack while she was serving 70 years as woman political prisoner

MoeMaKa Reporter Rangoon

September 28^th, 2010

U Ni Mar, father of Mar Mar Oo, woman political prisoner currently serving 70 years in Burmese regime’s prison, passed away on September 22 at his home in Rangoon. He died of a heart attacked at the age on 74. He had been sentenced for 3 years in prison for participation in the uprising of 8/8/88. Close friends of his daughter told MoeMaKa he was a nice, quiet and strong person.

U Ni Mar spent the last years of his life selling old books on the street for survival. With the money he got from selling books, he visited his daughter in jail and was able to provide food. The prison – Ba Maw Prison was located at the other end of the country very far away from his home, Rangoon. 

(Photo - Ma Mar Mar Oo and her friends - 88 Generation Students)

His daughter, Mar Mar Oo, is now serving 65 years for participating in the uprising of 2007 Saffron Revolution. Like her father, she also took part in 8/8/88 uprising and had been jailed in 1996 for involving in students uprising. She was conditionally released while remaining of her 5 years jail term was in pending. However those “pending” 5 years had been added to 65 years in jail to make her jail term 70 years in total when she was sentenced in 2008.          

 Generally, at the funeral of political and human-rights activists, there used to be a practice of covering the flag of the organization they had worked as a final tribute from their fellow colleagues. However, U Ni Mar was not that well-known and those who knew him well were not available to arrange such funeral. His funeral was made possible by FFSS (Free Funeral Service Society). Although his funeral was not honored as a political activist but as a civilian, his death will not be unnoticed.

(News translated by Pwithphyu Nandar)

Cartoon Maung Yit – To Free from Burmese Dictatorship, Don’t go to the Poll !!!

Cartoon Maung Yit – To Free from Burmese Dictatorship, Don’t go to the Poll !!!

September 16, 2010

Fighting with Writing, Political Activism and Social Work

Reference from - Fighting with Writing, Political Activism and Social Work

Khet Mar: A Delicate Warrior

By Silvia Duarte


Photo ©: Than Htay Maung

Since she was 19-years-old, Khet Mar has been persecuted by the Burmese government. She has been arrested, tortured, incarcerated, and threatened, but she has remained a warrior without guns. She fights with her writing, her political activism, and her social work.

Campaigning in Native by USDP Dr. MyaOo

Dr. Mya Oo's election campaign pamphlet recently distributed in Pegu (Bago) division.
He belongs to Union Solidarity and Development Party.
Professor Mya Oo is Deputy Minister of Health. (Photo: Moemaka)

Burmese Media Revolution: Shouts for freedom from exile ; Maung Yit & MoeMaKa

Articles from - http://www.sampsoniaway.org/bi-monthly/2010/07/27/burmese-media-revolution-shouts-for-freedom-from-exile/

by Silvia Duarte

Maung Yit and MoeMaKa

Maung Yit joined the Burmese democracy movement while studying electrical engineering at Rangoon University. After graduating in 1993, he became a writer and cartoonist for local magazines and journals. During that time he developed his skills as a technology journalist. Five years later, almost totally giving up hope for the struggle for democracy and freedom of the press in Burma, he left to find a job to support his family. In 2002, he arrived in Fairfield, Iowa, to study computer science.

He had wanted move to Silicon Valley and pursue an IT job, but he ended up in the San Francisco Bay Area. In 2003, he and his friends founded MoeMaKa Media, an Internet news source, as a way to combine freedom of press and Internet activism and reignite their struggle for democracy.

In 2006 MoeMaKa’s founders decided to diversify their format to get around the government censors inside Burma and started using the blog format to present their content. MoeMaKa’s is one of 800 active Burmese blogs.

According to a survey conducted by the Burma Media Association in August 2009, most of the blogs are hosted by BlogSpot and WordPress. Eighty percent are in Burmese, 8 percent in English, and 10 percent are bilingual. Three-fourths of the bloggers are between the ages 21 and 35 and have a college education.

Over half of these bloggers are living in Burma and began blogging less than two years ago. The majority focus on entertainment-related topics. Only 8 percent discuss news-related subjects—one of those is by Maung Yit.

Burmese Media Revolution: Shouts for freedom from exile ; Kyaw Zaw & Irrawaddy

Articles from - http://www.sampsoniaway.org/bi-monthly/2010/07/27/burmese-media-revolution-shouts-for-freedom-from-exile/

by Silvia Duarte

Kyaw Zwa and the Irrawaddy magazine

When Kyaw Zwa Moe was in high school, it was easy for him to grab a book from his home library of more than two thousand volumes. He was especially attracted to books about Burmese history, politics, and literature. Thanks to that, he said, the idea of democracy was foremost in his mind. When the pro-democracy movement began, he became a leading member of the student union in his school.

On September 18, 1988, the now-ruling junta staged a bloody coup and the military authorities launched a crackdown against all political organizations. Kyaw Zwa’s union went underground. He and his fellows continued their political activities until their arrests in 1991. Kyaw Zwa was sentenced to 10 years in the Insein Prison, notorious for inhumane and dirty conditions, prisoner abuse, and use of mental and physical torture. He was there for eight years.

In prison he improved his English. Prison guards who were sympathetic to jailed activists, smuggled American magazines into his cell. “I unintentionally learned journalistic writing when I read stories published in Time and Newsweek. I never wanted to be a politician; I wanted to be independent, and I thought that writing for a journal or magazine could be my way,” he said via email.

Burmese Media Revolution: Shouts for freedom from exile ; Than Win Htut

Articles from - http://www.sampsoniaway.org/bi-monthly/2010/07/27/burmese-media-revolution-shouts-for-freedom-from-exile/

by Silvia Duarte

Than Win Htut and Democratic Voice of Burma

The government began to persecute Than Win Htut in 1991, when he and some of his colleagues published a book without the “blessing” of the censorship committee. That year the police arrested two of his friends involved and weeks after came to the house where Than Win Htut was hidden. He hid on the roof, trembling as he watched the security forces handcuff his friends.

At the end of 2002 Than Win Htut travelled to Cambodia to attend a journalism training program organized by the New York Times. “As a result of the training I realized that I could still write in exile and I wouldn’t have to be afraid of the censorship. So I decided not to go back to Burma,” he said from Norway via Skype.

After the training, he went to Thailand and wrote for English and Burmese newspapers. In 2004 the Democratic Voice of Burma (DVB) offered him a job as a senior radio reporter. DVB is a non-profit media organization that began in Norway in 1991 after the Burmese government barred Aung San Suu Kyi from traveling there to accept the Nobel Peace Prize. Now DVB is the best example of what the Burmese foreign–based broadcast media can do.

In “Strategies of an Exile Media Organization,” DVB deputy director Khin Maung Win explains how DVB uses a variety of strategies to get their signal into Burma. The first strategy is to broadcast via shortwave radio, which can reach everywhere in the country and is highly effective because the regime cannot block the signal. Among the other well-known radio stations broadcasting from outside of the country are the Burmese services of the British Broadcasting Cooperation, Voice of America, and Radio Free Asia.

Burmese Media Revolution: Shouts for freedom from exile ; Aung Thwin

Articles from - http://www.sampsoniaway.org/bi-monthly/2010/07/27/burmese-media-revolution-shouts-for-freedom-from-exile/

by Silvia Duarte

Unable to catch his breath as the torturer pummelled his chest, Aung Thwin was becoming lightheaded. The interrogator asked him for the tenth time: “Do you work for Democratic Voice of Burma?” “No, I don’t,” Aung Thwin hoarsely repeated. Images of the interrogator flickered before his eyes, reminding him of 1990, when he was arrested and tortured until his blood-soaked shirt stuck to his body—the reason why his posture is altered to this day.

The Democratic Voice of Burma (DVB) is a multimedia organization based in Norway that has a website—in English and Burmese—and a radio and a tv station that broadcasts into Burma. Answering “Yes, I work for DVB” could mean a minimum of 20 years in prison for Aung Thwin. And if that happened, all the risks Aung Thwin took in the past would have been wasted. Since 2006 he has walked Rangoon’s streets trying to appear calm while smuggling in his pockets devices that to the Burmese government were as dangerous as a bomb: a USB with forbidden information and a camera with his images.

In 2006 he secretly filmed a documentary about children dying in the hospital during a dengue epidemic and, as a result, the government forbade the use of cameras in the hospitals. Through his images, he also exposed one of the most corrupt businesses of the Burmese generals: the Highway Express Bus Company—the Burmese equivalent of Greyhound. During the military’s crackdown on monks during the 2007 Saffron Revolution, his footage captured four soldiers carrying the body of Kenji Nagai, a 50-year- old Japanese photojournalist murdered by Burmese troops.

Aung Thwin sent that image to the DVB and they shared it with the world. The Burmese government couldn’t deny its crime and the Japanese government couldn’t deny its anger.