Phone 4325 7369 Fax 4325 7362 Email us

2005 (c) Peninsula Community Access Newspaper Inc

 

Glory to the most loving

 

In early 2003, I read about the oppression and brutality occurring in Burma, home of our not too distant neighbours.

The Burmese military government has ruled the country from 1962 and since that time, the Burmese people have suffered tyrannical hardship, causing them to flee their villages, endure beatings and rape, or murder, and many are still hiding in jungles, or trying to escape into Thailand.

On August 15, the Burmese government raised the price of fuel 500 per cent.

This provoked Burmese monks, legendary symbols of peace and endurance, to demonstrate en-masse, demanding greater compassion for the poor.

The protests, starting in a rural town 19 August, culminated in massive rallies of hundreds of thousands and lasted for weeks.

We witnessed this around the world on TV and in newspapers, thanks to mobile phone filming and internet technology.

To highlight the Burma ordeal, I wrote a poem called 'Glory to the Most Loving', which was sent around the global Burmese network.

To ensure everyone understands the poem, it is being translated into Burmese by Burma's human rights activists in Sydney.

Glory to the Most Loving

Unbelievable it's still happening

Unbelievable it ever did

Allow an empire to build

On force,

On blood

Death's grit

How could it happen?

To such a peaceful place

Did they need to experience?

The flip side of earth's grace

Glory to the Most Loving

Their gentle spirit's teach

True victory lies in their actions

On the streets

~~

All they are doing

Is standing up for what is right

Truth, Peace, and Freedom

Democracy's human might

Holding a Love Rebellion

Protesters cry on the streets

Don't shoot your own people

Shout the humble and the meek

But fear only knows separation

So the military men sleep

Shooting civilians

Devastating monks, nuns, and monasteries

In Dharma's keep

How will this end?

What will come to be?

Life is a journey of creation

So, it's somehow up to you and me

Suzie Palmer, Umina