Tag: Myanmar

A living tapestry of peace and reconciliation (Part 1)

Posted on by kathiemm

by guest author  Alan O’Hare, A Seanchie (Celtic storyteller)

In this post, I invite you to “see the voices” of renowned peace activists,  less well known proponents of peace and reconciliation, and all the human beings who have suffered from the wars and conflicts pervading our world.

El Salvador mural with Archbishop Romero
El Salvador mural with Archbishop Romero. Photo by Alison McKellar, used under CC Attribution Generic 2.0 license.

Think of their stories as part of a tapestry of peace, a tapestry that could be displayed in a meditative gathering in which we can envision Gandhi, Aung San Suu Kyi,  Thich Nhat Hanh, and Nelson Mandela, our brothers and sisters in our own journey towards peace.

As we create this tapestry, allow these images to be your guides:

  • Leonard Bernstein conducting Beethoven’s Ninth Symphony in Berlin at the 1989 Fall of the Wall
  •  Aung San Suu Kyi being released to the loving embrace of the people of Myanmar after many years of unjust house arrest
  • The life and courage of Archbishop Romero being celebrated in El Salvador Cathedral where he was assassinated in 1980
  • A circle of victims and perpetrators from the 1994 Rwanda genocide sitting on the grass (gacaca) listening to confessions and seeking reconciliation

Recall Gandhi as he sat spinning threads of harmony, independence, and resistance that rippled across the nation of India. Even now we can see the echoes of his voice of peace, a voice that became a rolling thunder continuing to resonate throughout the world today.

Recalling Gandhi should be more than just imagining him; it should be truly seeing him through all those millions of people whose lives have been affected in the search for peace and reconciliation. See him and appreciate more fully the voices that carry on his mission, and the art, music, movement, and fragrance hidden in the beauty and power in each of their words.

Alan O’Hare, LifeStoryTheatre.org

September 15: International Day of Democracy

Posted on by kathiemm

Achieving and maintaining democracy—“government of the people, by the people, for the people”[i]–is an ongoing challenge.

Perhaps President Lincoln had no alternative to preserving the Union than to wage war, but the wounds of that deadly conflict can still be felt today.

Where are the models for better ways of resolving disputes, righting wrongs, and pursuing democratic institutions?

Our nomination, in honor of this year’s United Nations International Day of Democracy (Sept. 15), is Aung San Suu Kyi.

Suu Kyi is the Burmese woman who:

  • founded the National League for Democracy in Burma (now Myanmar),
  • stood up to the military junta controlling the country
  • was under house arrest for 15 years for agitating for democracy
  • rejected the junta’s offer to give her freedom if she would leave the country
  • embraced the non-violent principles of Mohandas K. Gandhi
  • delegated to her sons the responsibility to accept the Nobel Peace Prize awarded to her in 1991 while she was under house arrest
  • was released from confinement in 2010
  • was elected to the national parliament in 2012
  • gave her own acceptance speech for the Nobel Peace Prize in 2012

Here are two of Suu Kyi’s thoughts about democracy:

“To view the opposition as dangerous is to misunderstand the basic concepts of democracy. To oppress the opposition is to assault the very foundation of democracy.”
― Letters from Burma

“It is not power that corrupts but fear. Fear of losing power corrupts those who wield it and fear of the scourge of power corrupts those who are subject to it.”
― Freedom from Fear

Please tell us what you think: Are these views as applicable to the US as they are to Myanmar and other countries emerging from military dictatorships?

Kathie Malley-Morrison, Professor of Psychology

[i] Abraham Lincoln, Gettysburg address, Gettysburg, Pennsylvania, November 19, 1863.

Nobel Peace Laureates and International Women’s Day

Posted on by kathiemm

In honor of International Women’s Day, celebrated March 8 of this year, we dedicate this post to the five most recent female winners of the Nobel Peace Prize.International Women's Day logo

2004: Wangari Maathai from Kenya, the first African woman to win the Nobel Peace Prize, received the award for her achievements in sustainable development, the rights of women, democracy, environmental protections, and peace. (For more on Wangari Maathai, see this video.)

2003: Shirin Ebadi from Iran was awarded the Peace Prize for her work on behalf of democracy and human rights, particularly the rights of women and children. She was the first woman in Iran to become a federal judge, a position taken from her following the Islamic Revolution of 1975. Not until 1992 was she again allowed to practice law in her home country. Much of her work is risky, focusing on human rights cases. (For more on Shirin Ebadi, see this video.)

1997:  The 1997 Peace Prize was shared by Jody Williams of Putney, Vermont, USA, and the organization she co-founded, the International Campaign to Ban Landmines. She has devoted her life to anti-war, anti-violence activities, and has helped to found the Nobel Women’s Initiative which works for peace with equality and justice.  (For more on Jody Williams, see this article and video.)

1992: Rigoberta Menchú Tum from Guatemala grew up in an impoverished Mayan Indian family that founded the Committee for the Peasant Union, which fought for social reform and justice for native families. Following the torture and murder of her father and brother, she fled the country and dedicated her life to promoting human rights and reconciliation. (For more on Rigoberts Menchu Tum, see this video.)

1991: Aung San Suu Kyi, born in Burma (now Myanmar), has earned international recognition for her work on human rights. Despite being held under house arrest in Burma for most of the past few decades, she has been continuously outspoken on behalf of the Burmese people.  (For more on Aung San Suu Kyi, see this video.)

These five women are all human beings who have devoted their lives to promoting human rights and peace. Read or listen to their stories. What characteristics do you share with them? What can you do to promote peace and human rights? Everyone can do something–you don’t have to be a Nobel Laureate to make a difference for peace.

Kathie Malley-Morrison, Professor of Psychology