Friday, November 19, 2010

Beyond Rangoon

There couldn't possibly have been better news emanating earlier this week from the wires than that of the release of Aung San Suu Kyi. I hope this is the beginning of many marked steps towards political reform in a troubled nation, long embattled by strife, war, a worrying social apparatus and most importantly - a people bordering on hope and despair on an extremely thin margin!

I thought it worthy to share excerpts from her 'Freedom from Fear' speech made in the year 1990, which is most inspiring, conveying a sense of hope to the despaired and promising a future to those who have appear to have none!

"The effort necessary to remain uncorrupted in an environment where fear is an integral part of everyday existence is not immediately apparent to those fortunate enough to live in states governed by the rule of law. Just laws do not merely prevent corruption by meting out impartial punishment to offenders. They also help to create a society in which people can fulfil the basic requirements necessary for the preservation of human dignity without recourse to corrupt practices. Where there are no such laws, the burden of upholding the principles of justice and common decency falls on the ordinary people. It is the cumulative effect on their sustained effort and steady endurance which will change a nation where reason and conscience are warped by fear into one where legal rules exist to promote man's desire for harmony and justice while restraining the less desirable destructive traits in his nature."

Today, in seeing a glimmer of hope, Redefining Oblivion pays tribute to this icon and prays for the well-being of the people of Myanmar, who have long been subjected to unspeakable oppression, in the hope that they may soon be able to live in freedom and dignity, removed from the fear of systematic and socially supported mistreatment and exploitation!

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