Midnight in Burma

"We don’t care anymore. We are already in danger; we are already at risk. In my language we say, ‘The dawn won’t be much darker than midnight.’ We are already at midnight. The darkness won’t be much worse! It’s already at the peak of the darkness. So, we don’t care.’”

These words from Inda Aung Soe were spoken just about a week after the military attempted to take over power. And yet they are worth returning to now, 18 months on, because the spirit and conviction behind these words continue to animate the Burmese peoples' struggle for freedom today. Who could have imagined that for a year and half, those in Myanmar would bear the unbearable and endure the unendurable, without a thought of ever capitulating to the oppressor? And what's even more, to do so without a shred of help from the international community, who these days no longer even muster up the energy to give another statement expressing "grave concern"?

And yet this quote also points to the unimaginable terror and trauma of having to live through 18 months of darkness, while continuing to wait for the dawn to come. For those of us following from a place of safety, it is hard to imagine adjusting a new normal of unremitting aggression and violence on the part of soldiers, springing up randomly and spontaneously according to their whims.

During this interview, Inda was speaking of a darkness that had lasted days, and has since stretched out to weeks, months, and even years. The resilience to live under such conditions while continuing the struggle for democracy and human rights should have the world in awe.

May a new dawn come soon.