Recollection of letters (16)

 5 November 2021

Dear Sushila

I bought this card in Yangon many years ago when I first started working in marketing. Myanmar was the first country I visited in 1998. It was still under the military rule, still raw, remote & practically no tourist trade. Hence this card and all writing cards are individually drawn by aspiring artists. Because the country was closed for so many years (under General Ne Win), its citizens were closed in with no passports to travel (except for the wealthy and well-connected, who could afford that precious travel document). So majority of the population do not have the chance to see the outside world. Even television and telecommunications were limited and very expensive, out of reach of the average man on the street. So you can imagine those budding artists...in their minds, their visions were all scenes of their country, the pagodas, the monks, their livelihood in the village by the river etc...& still-life paintings are their tropical fruits.

I made many friends in the military hospital, the doctors, the generals, commanders, and I used to lug thick medical books and Buddhism books for them. They were all hungry for knowledge! Things changed when the Junta allowed a general election in 2010, and Aung San Suu Kyi's party won which helped to transition the country to partial democracy. Investors came in and life became better for many. Unfortunately, a military coup on 1st February this year pulled the country backwards again. Very sad.  The UN report says that almost half of the 54 million people in the country could be living below the international poverty line by 2021. I am saddened by the whole turn of events, and the Junta is not even bothered about international pressure. I pray for situation to get better in a country I learned to love. I pray for the women, children, orphans this winter that they keep warm and do not go to sleep hungry. 

Another important event going on now, Sushila that we should pray for are the leaders who have gathered in Glasgow for the COP26 meeting, that they be united and committed in their resolve to save our planet Earth, to minimize global warming. Each time they gather, it has been blah..blah...blah but no action. Even Sir David Attenborough in his 90+ years took time to warn these world leaders that the situation is critical and they have to do something NOW! It is in their capacity to combine their efforts to use resources to cut down on carbon footprint, to stop using fossil fuels; to save the world for future generations.

Pray that our air can be clean and flowers grow in abundance.

Love 

Sylvia