The
Burmese Context of David and Goliath
Kanbawza Win
As an Asian, hailed from neutral country, it was quite
touching to view the CNN these days about the Middle
East Conflict. The first conclusion is that we are not
the only ones that are suffering from the hands of the
military might but there are also many people like us.
Like in any mainstream media, CNN, of course, have a
bias reporting but still it is something. The term
Middle East itself comes from the chauvinist European
Imperialist word such as "I am going to the Far East,
or Southeast Asia or Middle East," because they
wrongly construe that Europe is the Centre of the World,
much echo by CNN.
In the Bible (Koran or Torah) young David of Israel
conquered the giant Goliath from Gath, only with the
pebble and a sling because God is on his side. Now it
seems the other way round, when an insignificant
Hezbollah, an Arab NGO can withstand the might of the
Israel army, who was able to vanquish the Arab armies is
several Arab-Israel Wars. Not that I am taking the
sides, or the Star of David has switched sides, it is
simple logic, right thinking and rationale which
indicated that the kidnapping of two soldiers did not
justify the destruction of a country not to mentioned
its wanton invasion. If my hypothesis is wrong better
ask Kofi Annan, the Secretary General of the United
Nations, who is in touch้
with all the sides.
So much for the Arab Israel Conflict, now let us turn to
the Burmese scene. The first question is, are there any
Burmese NGO equivalent, if not somewhat similar to
Hezbollah? Not to mention, the fighting spirit,
discipline, dedication, ethics and leadership but in
terms of humanitarian spirit, does these so called
self-declared liberation associations and organizations
in the peripheral of Burma, both from the ethnic and
democracy groups, ever get involved in social aspect of
their own people, or identifies itself with the
suffering people as what Hezbollah is doing?
As a person who often frequented the border regions, I
often came across a fighter coming back very exhausted,
after fighting tooth and nail with his life, only to
find that there is nothing to eat at home, while the
un-elected and un represented so called leaders kept
sipping away the beer. Again in some ethnic areas the
leaders wives and concubines wear expensive ornaments
and shopped like queens whenever they came to border
towns and yet look down on an average half starved
resistant soldier. What about educating their youths?
Even some of the resistance groups refused to send their
youngsters to higher education institution lest they
become more educated and question their warlord tactics
or may disrupt their established war-lord machine.
Clearly the elites of the resistance forces are not only
exploiting their own people but misusing the good name
of the resistance to their personal benefit. This may be
galling to them similar to when we say Hezbollah and
soundly beaten the Israelis.
What about the three plus million Burmese living in the
West, except their internet rhetoric of issuing
declarations and finger pointing (Clearly outline by Bo
K. Nyein) will not lift a finger to their brethren in
the border areas. The West is looking at the Burmese
expatriates of how they live, cooperate, work together,
and how they keep their cherished goal alive and so on
because they knew that once democracy is achieved in
Burma, this will be the same style living in a free
democratic country. With the current state of things as
what the expatriates are doing that is (categorically
opposite of Hezbollah) do we expect the West to help us?
The people inside Burma cannot move much due to the
strict surveillance of the Burmese Military Intelligence
and its informers. Daw Aung San Suu Kyi is Alone
Against Rome. Not that the country is short of
brave and dedicated youths and people, but the missing
points are effective leadership, cooperation,
coordination and the driving motive. Hezbollah excel in
all these aspects and we were wondering whether we
should invite one of Hezbollah's men to come and teach
our so call resistance forces. The crux of the Burmese
resistance is that they are not part and parcel of the
people and in this aspect should take a leaf out of
Hezbollah.
Turning to the international scene I was rather shocked
to witness that the Evangelical (not the Catholics and
the mainstream Protestant) Churches are supporting the
aggressor Israel. Obviously, these ever growing,
Hallelujah groups could not comprehend the Holy Bible
that God created everything and everybody including the
Muslims, Hezbollah and Osama bin Laden. They could not
understand that Our Lord is the Lord of History and the
Lord of Science. Why do these so called Evangelical
Christians adhere to the theory that, those who is
not with us is against us. These terrorist or
freedom fighters (depending on one's perspective) would
not be alive to day, without God's will and He has its
own purpose.. Perhaps these Evangelical groups should go
through the Genesis again and see that Arab and Israel
are brothers having the same father Abraham (Sarah
borne Isaac [which became Israel] while Hagar produced
Ishmael [which later became Arab]). Hence instead of
taking sides, should be a broker of peace (one of the
beatitude says Blessed be the peacemakers, for they
shall be called the children of God) if they really
profess Christianity. If so the world should have been
much a better place. Why exploit religion just to
marshal support for one side (the wrong side)?
Returning to the Burmese scene, some of the ethnic
leaders who profess Christianity tend to believe that
God is on their side, when they themselves were doing
the very thing which the Lord despise. People use to
jeer me that as if I am the representative of the Lord,
let them do, because I know that it is simple logic. It
is rather sad to see that one of the strongest and
biggest resistance groups has been plunged into nepotism
led by a half baked off spring of an inform dictator and
a pastor. Because of Christian chauvinism more than half
of its fighter has joined the Junta and now with this
rate will be a matter of time before being wipe out.
According to the pantheon of Western media, Hezbollah
was portrayed as a terrorist group. Internally renowned
media commentators of the West, do not provide any
source of their unanimous and unquestioned assumptions
about the terrorists organizations and have never tried
to discover the rationale of Hezbollah or what they want
and how they intend to achieve it. The picture of
Hezbollah stems from the bogeymen of Western media's own
imagination rather than from the facts. Unlike the
Burmese resistance, Hezbollah have a sound reason and a
good cause of their own. Very lately the self style
exiled Burmese government declared that they are against
Sanctions of the Burmese Junta (most of the leaders
switch sides). Hezbollah is negotiable, and this is the
basic fact which Israel and Western leaders are very
much afraid of because it would compel them to give up
their important items. Hence they magnify out of
proportion, the myth of terrorist as insanity and
unreasonable couple with the culture of death, heroism
and martyr.
If one were to make a meticulous research, there is no
evidence at all of the culture of death in the Hezbollah
movement, it so happens that in the current warfare,
where one side is highly equipped with satellite and
infrared surveillance technology as well as electronic
snifters and drone aircraft, while the other side lacks
resources and access to modern technology, the only way
for them to deliver a bomb is by strapping it to a
volunteer who hit the target. It also happens that in
asymmetric conflicts, as Donald Rumsfeld is fond of
calling them, it is next to impossible to reach military
targets which belong to the other side as it had a huge
technological edge. Israel like the Burmese Junta has
targeted civilians as a legitimate target, which they
copy from the Nazi. It seems that they have taken a
leave out of the Burmese army in the use of chemical war
over Lebanese population.
The people of Burma clearly knew that Israel was one of
the countries that are selling massive arms to the
Burmese army (to suppress the democratic and ethnic
forces) and that Hezbollah or any other Arab country has
not a single bullet yet. Obviously, like the whole world
(except the satanic forces) the sympathy is with the
innocent Lebanese people and country whom Israel
deliberately bomb including the UN peace- keeping force
UNIFIL for daring to propose the ceasefire. At the time
of this writing twelve UN personals were already killed
or injured by Israel (four
Ghanaians injured and a peacekeeper shot through the
back, employee working with UNIFIL and his wife had been
killed).
Such was Israel's defiance against the world because it
was backed by the United States. Not that Condelezza
Rice was tip off by the Israel commanders via the US
administration to refuse the immediate ceasefire all
indications pointed to this aspect.
From the perspective of the struggling lot, Hezbollah is
a legitimate liberating organization but from the so
call Civilized West may seem as a terrorist. But
everybody has to admit that Hezbollah aim is "existential".
They are not mysterious and not motivated by overriding
concerns for the life beyond this one and do not seek to
turn the clock back on modernity. Obviously most of them
are Muslims but Islam unlike the Evangelical Christians
did not seek to proselytize the West. And yet the
Evangelical Christians are erroneously interpreting the
"Revelation" as Armageddon according to their whims and
fancies, as during the hey days of Hitler's Germany..
Sometimes one wonder whether they are Christians or
rather modern Pharisees and Sadducees, who will crucify
Jesus Christ again if he ever come down from heaven.
They also seems to forget that Jesus Christ was born in
a manger, i.e. he identifies with the poor and the
persecuted and in this aspect by looking at the death
and wounded one can say who are the persecuted people.
We will have to remember that the teaching of History in
the Third World, the theory of M (Missionaries,
Merchants and Mercenaries) is still prevalent and
Israel, as proxy of the Western Imperialism is still an
occupying forces in the Middle East. Of course if she
goes back to the Balfour Declaration and live as a
peaceful country is another matter. As Burmese we also
did not believe in the claim of Hassan Nasrollah that
this fighting is Islam's Jihard or Omar but definitely
he fighting for the marginalized and the struggling lot
and for this he has the sympathy and the moral support
around the world except the Zionist and the
Evangelicals. No doubt, Hezbollah was funded by Syria
and Iran, as Israel was by the Americans, and we are
witnessing the battle between David (Hezbollah) and
Goliath (Israel), whether might is right or cool
rationale is the victor is still yet to be seen. But it
has to be admitted that Hezbollah is a grass-root social
movement and even if the whole generations of Hezbollah
is killed, the coming generations will take n its place.
To the people of Burma, Hezbollah is worthy of
admiration and imitation and if we were like Hezbollah,
our struggle against the Burmese Junta (funded by the
American companies and arms supplied by Israel) should
have been a success. Why can't we be like Hezbollah, a
challenge to all the pro democratic and ethnic forces.
We have to remember that the people are the key to our
success.
If People
that are happy and are motivated, they will what vision
is and will easily comprehend what part to play.
Vancouver
(The views expressed here are solely the opinion of the
author. Kao-Wao Editor)
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