Waiting for Shane
What’s happening now in Myanmar is worse than anything we’ve seen in even the most sensational movies, and yet sometimes cinema can be at least be somewhat of a helpful reference in trying to understand what is happening. There is an old trope of the small town that has to band together to protect themselves from the bad guys… quite common in classic Westerns, Shane and High Noon being two examples. Or for those who like Kurosawa, The Seven Samurai, which itself was remade into yet another American Western, The Magnificent Seven.
Fiction is turning into Fact all across Myanmar today, as local residents must abandon who they once were in a former life (that was just six weeks hence), and join together to become a unit capable of nonviolently defending their town from trained military assaults, led by professional soldiers who are ordered to shoot at the head. Of course, the big difference between these films and reality is that there is no good guy who can come in and save the day… these guys are all on their own, living on the edge of darkness.
As if that weren’t challenging enough, many of these local communities are running dangerously low on resources, with funds, food, medical supplies, and protective equipment estimated to run out in just weeks in some cases. This is made worse by trade being drastically restricted and banks still closed. Fortunately, through a trusted local network, we are now able to get donations to these communities who need it the most.
We share one example here… a donation we recently sent to one local volunteer sent us this series of photos back showing how the funds were put to use: to purchase sand. Residents then banded together to fill the sandbags, which are used as protection from the gunfire they soon expect to disrupt their neighborhood.
If even one life can be saved or an injury avoided by use of these sandbags, the time, resources, and funds were certainly well spent. But every day continues to be a struggle. Yesterday the military used bulldozers to remove some of these protective barricades, so that soldiers could more easily terrorize neighborhoods. Where the bulldozer didn’t work, they forced residents out of their homes and at threat of beatings or arrest ordered them to manually remove the bags themselves.
Still, we continue to support the Burmese effort for survival and freedom. Please consider sharing this with others who also wish to support the nonviolent protest at this time.
