Burma's junta and crimes against humanity

Day when Cyclone Nargis struck Burma:

May 3, 2008

Headline in The Straits Times on May 26, 2008:

"Turning point in tackling cyclone crisis: UN Chief urges more access for aid workers as junta warns against politicisation" (emphasis added)


Reading about the possible 'turning point' in the crisis that the Burmese are mired in now, any feeble feelings of relief and hope generated must surely be quickly replaced by a sense of unadulterated outrage and utter disgust at the junta's warning againist politicisation.

It only shows the psyche and hallmark of a despotic regime, whose first and foremost objective is to ensure that the regime survives and continues to exercise absolute power. The mere prospect that some form of authority might be ceded to an external power is enough to make them paranoid. Yes, despots are paranoid, and their perpetuation of power feeds on a constant paranoia - fear that their subjects would overthrow them (witness the junta's crackdown on the saffron-robed monks not long ago); fear that outsiders would jump at the slightest opportunity to expedite their downfall.

More than an indictment of their incompetence (this we knew all along), the junta's inadequate response to the cyclone crisis shows their obesession with power and control. Surely, they must be thinking that its people and the international community would not mind if the chance to oust them comes up fortuitously (indeed if only this were the case).

And so for weeks the junta had refused foreign aid and denied humanitarian workers access to the disaster area. One can only rationalize this in the context of a closed and reclusive regime who places utmost concern on the maintenance and exercise of power. This necessarily dictates that they must be wary of all external powers - especially if the latter have a record of criticising their rule - their intentions and actions inclusive.

More than three weeks have passed since the cyclone struck and brought untold misery to a people already living miserably under a brutal regime. And yet now we are only talking about a likely 'turning point'. How many lives have gone to waste and how much more widely and deeply have diseases spread during this period?

China's handling of its own crisis in the aftermath of the Wenchuan earthquake has been held up as a contrast to Burma's situation, highlighting especially the complete uselessness and cruelty of the junta in Burma. But this is hardly the point.

That the junta is recalcitrant, intransigent, brutal and has no moral and legitimate authority to govern is a recongised and affirmed fact. But what the ongoing crisis does is to crystallize all that the junta is known for and capable of: a deplorable and morally void government that commits unspeakable crimes against its people.

Runaway

If...

'If grief is deep blue, melancholy must be the colour of a sky without clouds.'

'If my self is a shadow, at least I made a dent in the light.'

- Cyril Wong, 'If...else' in Like a seed with its singular purpose

It's 2:06am, a time when i would do better to be in bed. But dreaming sweet dreams I am not; instead, Im writing this post while waiting for photographs to be uploaded to Facebook.

Of late, blogging and uploading photographs have become some sort of after-work part-time job, an affair that i carry out in the dark hours, when married couples are whispering to each other in bed, kids have long fallen sound asleep and party-goers are starting to thin out in the clubs.

I have no choice. I get home late from work and the computer is not always immediately available. I crave sleep, that slumbering lure of rested soul. But I also desire sometimes to pen certain lines, to indulge in writing, which is a far more interesting and satisfying pursuit that what i do in the day.

Aesthetics - something very essential and important that I value. And so I usually spend a long time uploading pictures (though it is usually the thought of owing others photos that spur me to hurry and upload them), arranging them, thinking up suitable captions.

Like now. I've more than 200 photos and it looks like they won't be completely uploaded till at least a few more nights. It was Kenneth's inspiring email that motivated me to continue this endeavour after work this evening. I shall perservere!

Image Relook

A serious re-examination of my image (perceived or otherwise) is in order, if these conversations I've had are anything to go by.

- - - - - - - - - - - - - -
'How've you been!' An external working partner - a she - called out excitedly when we met after a meeting. It was some 9 months back since we met for this annual project.

'You must be doing good; better than before!' (Chuckles)

'I remember you had a pimple then. Must be the stress!' (Laughs heartily)

Me: What??!! All you remembered was my pimple?!! (Mock Horrified look. Less the Mock, really.)

- - - - - - - - - - - - - -
Tam: Would you date older women? (matter-of-factly tone)

Me: Yes (a little hesistant. Guys need to be careful when thrown such questions)

Tam: You look like you would date older women. (matter-of-factly tone maintained)

Me: Huh? What?!

SX: Er, no, he looks like he would go out with girls of our age.

At least SX thinks otherwise! What, you mean i don't look like sweet young things will want to date me?!

- - - - - - - - - - - - - -
SU (colleague): What's wrong with your hair today? Bad Hair Day? (sniggers)

Me: Hmm. Well - I. Waxed. My. Hair.? (eyes rolling)

- - - - - - - - - - - - - -

There, I said it. I need to re-examine my image. Seriously.

Perfect Quiet

Room the size of night. Perfect quiet. Space at last
To dream of islands without end.

-- Alvin Pang, "Upgrading" in City of Rain


When the roads unexpectedly empty itself
of its ceaseless trespassers,
that briefest of interlude, as the last
passing car pulls away into the indecipherable
distance, its fleeting legacy a void filled by unseen
Silence.

Or that moment in between
wakefulness and consciouness in limbo,
lying in bed thinking about things
you can't think of in the ever-hurrying day.

Quiet thoughts now collect in your mind,
shrouded by the silence of dark,
the conspiring stars watching above.

Quiet is that silence keeping your thoughts afloat
before being overtaken by dreams,
dreams that know no fears and fear no secrets.
Quiet is that stealthy gulf that bridges you
and the glimmering stars hiding in that unknown
Universe.

Triple the Joy

One book of Labour


Twins of Happiness


Trio of Friends

Spring(field) Surprise

Springfield, a perennial favourite brand of mine, now has a flagship store at Raffles City. This I discovered by chance today. I asked the store manager (i guessed she's the manager) and learnt that yet another store will be opening in Plaza Singapura.

This is not good news to the vain me. Yet another brand that is going down the road of Topman - becoming giordanonised!

I also noticed that Springfield now carries women's clothes and accessories. Yet another sign of the maturing local fashion-apparel retail market.

Anyway, fatal mistake to chance upon that store. I walked out poorer. Much poorer. Sigh.

The morning I saw a rainbow

The weather was cool this morning and though the sky was overcast, I was hopeful that the clouds won't unleash its power.

No such luck.

The rain came on after we got past the congestion at Kranji Loop. Kenneth was ahead of me from the get-go, and I was careful not to lag far behind him. Cycling towards Kranji Dam, I could feel the rain gathering strength as decisive droplets pelted on my exposed arms. Soon enough, the droplets hit me with relentless force and in larger quantity. Did the rain get heavier, or were we just cycling into heavier rain?

That's when I saw it - the rainbow. We were rolling across Kranji Dam and I was focused on cycling, barely paying attention to the surroundings. Of course, it was impossible to miss the endless sky that loomed above. I first noticed the portentous clouds that had swallowed the Saturday morning sky. I hardly needed any reminding that I was in for a soaking experience. Only moments ago, i was shouting against the whooshing headwind to Kenneth: 'We are cycling into the rain!'

It was when we got to Kranji Dam that we saw the rainbow - its full, wondrously curving entirety, so serenely yet incongruously perched against the stormy sky. I was so excited that I shouted again to Kenneth in front: 'Look! Rainbow!'

Anyone who's seen a rainbow before - especially during or after inclement weather - must surely experience a sense of cheerful hope. It's a beautiful phenonmenon that is an apt metaphor for hope - an array of colours justaposed with cheerless gloom.

The rainbow that we saw this morning appeared just as we braced ourselves for the torrents that were going to descend on us shortly. It was a sight to behold because the rainbow was spread nearly as far as the two ends of the sky within our sight, forming an amazing arch that was so extensive it left me in awe. For a moment, it didn't matter that I was cycling in the rain.

The brevity of a rainbow's existence is one reason why it's special. I didn't know when the rainbow disappeared, for it wasn't long before the trees along the narrow Neo Tiew Road blocked the view of the sky. In any case, once past Kranji dam, I was battling the fierely pelting rain and had no mind to think about other things.

I suffered much discomfort because the needle-like raindrops were hitting my glasses and eyes with such intensity that made keeping my eyes open a challenge. Throughout the whole Neo Tiew stretch, my mind was half-preoccupied with trying to keep my eyes open to see the road ahead. The other half-preoccupation: entertaining thoughts about soaking-wet shoes.

Yes, it's not exactly a priority concern. It's trivial and silly even. But hell, ever since army days, I can't stand wearing shoes that contain swooshing water. It means socks completely wet. This in turn means great discomfort of a disgusting level.

So while my eyes were struggling to stay open - at times the best I could do was a slit - I was thinking of my shoes that were rising and falling in tandem with my pedalling. At first I consientiously avoided puddles. Then, thoughts of minimising the wetness of my shoes quickly gave way to thoughts of delaying my shoes getting completely wet. It was like how the slight drizzle swung to the other end that is the torrential rain: it's just a matter of time. One's will and foolish hope surely were naught when pitted against Providence.

Like a defeated soldier who had nothing else to lose and could not get any worse, I subsequently surged forth with wild abandon, not bothering to avoid or slow down when cycling across puddles. Seeing the white of Kenneth's jersey stained with lines of black, i consoled (and smugly congratualated) myself for my judicious decision to wear the blue jersey today.

The downpour only eased somewhat when we reached the open part of Lim Chu Kang Road where we turned into Old Lim Chu Kang Road. From Neo Tiew to Lim Chu Kang, only about 4 cyclists passed us by in the opposite direction. A few other cyclists had taken shelter at the bus-stops. The ever-friendly Kenneth would wave at them when he cycled past.

By the time I reached home I had covered 70km - my longest ride this year so far and a good progress. Most importantly, i feel more confident about next week's ride. Can't wait for Saturday to come!




The rain left its mark all over my bike. :( Took me some time to give my bike a good scrub after that. Photo at the top: After the clean-up :)

writing - an asthetic experience

Æsthetic enthusiasm. Perception of beauty in the external world, or, on the other hand, in words and their right arrangement. Pleasure in the impact of one sound on another, in the firmness of good prose or the rhythm of a good story. Desire to share an experience which one feels is valuable and ought not to be missed. The aesthetic motive is very feeble in a lot of writers, but even a pamphleteer or writer of textbooks will have pet words and phrases which appeal to him for non-utilitarian reasons; or he may feel strongly about typography, width of margins, etc. Above the level of a railway guide, no book is quite free from aesthetic considerations.

- George Orwell, Why I Write

The difficulty of literature is not to write, but to write what you mean; not to affect your reader, but to affect your reader precisely as you wish.

- Robert Louis Stevenson

Blue, blue Sky

I love the blue, blue sky. Through my tinted lenses, it was a shade cooler, a blue that soothes my mind.

The sky was nearly stark, as though it were baring Heaven's soul upon Earth. And the bareness of it only serves to accentuate its vastness, limited only by the few wisps of clouds that emerge from either end.

The heat was intolerable: we could almost feel the sun's searing rays piercing our grime-soaked skin. But this couldn't hide the beauty of the naked sky, which was matched by the green fields spread beneath.

I knew not how to remember this beautiful morning, which was quickly giving way and becoming consumed by the merciless mid-day sun. I acted only on my impulse, which was to fumble for my camera, fiddle with the buttons, search for the right frame and, finally, click.


Not me, of course. I ain't look so good even from the back!

Of belated gift and surreptitious photo-taking

A very nice shot by Ms One-Zero.

The morning ended with us drinking kopi at Ya-Kun, after we had gone round to hunt for that perfect gift. Between a suitably elegant necklace and a pair of classy looking candle holder, we both settled for the same choice, which we consider to be slightly less common, hopefully therefore more special.

Like a pro, we took photos of the gifts surreptitiously - me positioning the camera in furtive angles, she acting the interested customer. It was not a junvenile act, but part of our elaborate gift plan, which includes pictures of our hunting in action and, of course, our handwritten notes and jibes. A pity i did not take a photo of her waiting at Starbucks in the early morning when only a few souls were around - this would have been a nice prelude.

Come Monday, our fun shall continue. And we fully expect praise and an outpouring of gratitude from the recipient. Nothing less!

May Day Happy Day

The only blemish to the evening was the reluctant realisation that, sigh, tomorrow's a working day. Labour day really shouldn't be today; it should be tomorrow - since, well, we are labouring tomorrow and not today! (of course, as I'm writing this it's already past midnight. i forsee that i will be on coffee sustenance tomorrow. But as Kel said, you look forward to the weekend tomorrow! Now that sounds familiar.)


May day afternoon was a fruitless trip to Borders @ Wheelock. Can anyone imagine that I, armed with two Straits Times cut-out 30% discount coupons, walked out of the store without using them? Of the two books that i specfically wanted, Borders does not carry any books by one the two authors. The other book is out of stock. So much for the trip.

Evening was a lovely and thoroughly enjoyable meeting with the gang. L's bday celebration continues to roll over into the Xth day, and tonight was our turn. We received updates from Adrian, and hope for his sake that the storm will clear soon and the issue resolved.



Over at Harry's, Adrian delighted with his stories, and at one point of time, J picked up on his words and summed it up: You are kuai lan but not heartless
And I must say Adrian seems pleased with the prognosis. =)