Raw Honesty: Voices from the Front
Since the earliest times of civilization, it is well known that conflict brings out the extreme in the human experience. This includes not only those extremes of brutality, which arise from fighting, bloodshed, and survival, but also feelings of brotherhood, sacrifice, courage, and bravery. With these heightened emotions, those involved in the conflict often find pathways to creative expression and manifestations from the heart which form a kind of clear honesty, rarely seen in normal conditions.
There is certainly a precedent for this historically. From the World War I poet Laurence Binyon to the unmatched prose by World War II correspondent Ernie Pyle to the archives of letters from the Vietnam War, Americans have seen this in their history, as have other countries emerging from their own periods of conflict.
I suppose this is what makes it so baffling to me why the outside world has shown such extraordinary indifference, bordering on hypocritical judgment, towards those Burmese youth sacrificing their entire future to secure freedom for their country. And yet however we may feel of the decisions they are making, I believe we do need to take the time to need to hear their voices as their own raw truths emerge, giving them the equal respect we’ve provided for combatants throughout history, especially when they’ve been a part of one’s own culture.
The Burmese story is still unfolding, and yet so little of their experience is making it beyond their borders. I hope that posts like these can do just a little to help bring their voice and their struggles to those reading from afar. The following letter was written by a Burmese member of the People’s Defense Force, and touches upon a shared humanity that simply breaks the heart when read through. The translation appears below.
“Don’t inform my mother immediately. Tell her slowly and in a way that she can take it. I don’t want anything to befall my family concerning my death.”
If I fall and lose my life during the revolution this is what you should do….
If I fall and lose my life during the revolution this is what those around me should do…
Cremate my body in whatever place you find suitable. Please try to bury my ashes in the place I was born. Do not give me a solemn salute by firing guns. Play guitars and sing, because that sound is much better than gunshots, so I would like that more. If you can, don’t cry about my death. When people have been dying, I don’t like it when everyone just stands around and crying.
I am my mother’s only son, and my mother has a heart condition. She has narrow arteries. Therefore don’t inform my mother immediately. And my father has arterio sclorosis. Tell them slowly and in a way that they can take it. I don’t want anything befall my parents concerning my death.
After I die, no matter where I arrive in the next life, I hope I will continue to fight against the dictators there.
That’s all.
Than Sin Lin Thet
Southern Division PDF
26/12/21 Sunday