Heroes Of The Saffron Revolution
Buddhist Monks Speak Out About Thier Role in Protests
Carol McLaughlin , Observer Staff Writer
Issue date: 11/4/08 Section: News
"We had no weapons, not even needles in our hands," said Buddhist monk U Gaw Si Ta. 100,000 people protested the Burmese military junta in Rangoon, Myanmar, in August and September of 2007. Thirty thousand of those were Buddist Monks. This was the largest political demonstration in Myanmar in decades. On Sept. 26, the government cracked down, raiding temples and imprisoning anyone they could find who participated in the protests.
The protests, now called the Saffron revolution in reference to the robes the monks wore, began as a response to the military junta's removal of fuel subsidies. This action caused the price of diesel and gasoline to go up, in turn raising the prices of food. The monks rely on donations from the people for sustenance. "Like water and water lilies, we can not survive without the people." Said monk U Pyin Nyar Thiri
Now, over a year later, many of the monks have found asylum in the United States.
On Oct. 29, three of the monks spoke via translator at an event hosted by the Center for the Study of Genocide and Human Rights.
U Pyinar Zawta was the abbot of the Maggin monastery, where the revolution was organized. He was able to escape the raid of the monastery, but his younger brother and mother were captured. He fled to Thailand in disguise. While speaking at Rutgers-Newark, he asked the audience to "give help to Myanmar and the Myanmar monks."
U Gaw Si Ta served the poor and helped HIV/AIDS patients receive anti retro-viral medication, prior to the protests. During the Saffron Revolution he used a megaphone to lead the monks in chants. He also escaped the raids and hid in the countryside. When he felt he could risk the lives of his hosts no longer, he traveled to Thailand, then the US.
U Pyin Nyar Thiri, the youngest of the three, has been studying Buddhist literature in Rangoon. When he joined the protests, he "never expected the brutality and cruelty from a Buddhist country." He witnessed the death of several protesters when the military junta opened fire on Sept. 25. He hid in a restaurant, where the workers gave him a disguise so he could return to the temple. A call warned the monks that the raid was imminent, and with the help of a military officer's wife, who gave him money in secret, escaped to Thailand.
Many monks received asylum in the US, though they are scattered around the country. They are currently doing all they can to keep the revolution in the public eye, as well as the ongoing human rights violations by the military junta. They can not return to their home country under the current government, or they would be imprisoned.
U Pyinar Zawta said that the government will not change without the influence of the rest of the world. "One finger is less powerful than a fist."
The protests, now called the Saffron revolution in reference to the robes the monks wore, began as a response to the military junta's removal of fuel subsidies. This action caused the price of diesel and gasoline to go up, in turn raising the prices of food. The monks rely on donations from the people for sustenance. "Like water and water lilies, we can not survive without the people." Said monk U Pyin Nyar Thiri
Now, over a year later, many of the monks have found asylum in the United States.
On Oct. 29, three of the monks spoke via translator at an event hosted by the Center for the Study of Genocide and Human Rights.
U Pyinar Zawta was the abbot of the Maggin monastery, where the revolution was organized. He was able to escape the raid of the monastery, but his younger brother and mother were captured. He fled to Thailand in disguise. While speaking at Rutgers-Newark, he asked the audience to "give help to Myanmar and the Myanmar monks."
U Gaw Si Ta served the poor and helped HIV/AIDS patients receive anti retro-viral medication, prior to the protests. During the Saffron Revolution he used a megaphone to lead the monks in chants. He also escaped the raids and hid in the countryside. When he felt he could risk the lives of his hosts no longer, he traveled to Thailand, then the US.
U Pyin Nyar Thiri, the youngest of the three, has been studying Buddhist literature in Rangoon. When he joined the protests, he "never expected the brutality and cruelty from a Buddhist country." He witnessed the death of several protesters when the military junta opened fire on Sept. 25. He hid in a restaurant, where the workers gave him a disguise so he could return to the temple. A call warned the monks that the raid was imminent, and with the help of a military officer's wife, who gave him money in secret, escaped to Thailand.
Many monks received asylum in the US, though they are scattered around the country. They are currently doing all they can to keep the revolution in the public eye, as well as the ongoing human rights violations by the military junta. They can not return to their home country under the current government, or they would be imprisoned.
U Pyinar Zawta said that the government will not change without the influence of the rest of the world. "One finger is less powerful than a fist."
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Yee Yee Htwe
posted 2/08/09 @ 9:13 PM EST
I am the one participated in that event. I could help monks to express their feelings and experience tot he world.
Happy for that.
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