The SYSTEM learns to abuse any law that becomes absolute, it produces outrageous injustices like *Alta Fixsler, *Charlie Gard, *Alfie, *RSPlymouth. Ashya King and Tafeeda Raqib were the lucky ones, who proved the medical diagnosis wrong!
A stagnant pond stinks, and laws should not be still!
STAGNANT LAWS are out of step with the times, thwarted by vested interests that pervert them for their own gain.
Maybe it is time to look at the underlying law that is causing all this outrage. A judge who value laws, will look at all the cases and check the system for systemic abuse. Transfer of patients to their country of origin should not be blocked, it violates the right of returning HOME. Humans should be given the dignity of the natural right to be among kin, and their home when in need of care.
A record of intent for treatment in another country could be recorded by adult citizens of UK to insure their future. so that they have an option. In the case of minors, transfer to other countries is the right of the parents when the other option is death. Voiding parental rights unethically by state to end a life, is unconscionable.
No man is an island: no country is an island, we all need friends and allies. Who is Myanmar’s?
Do you remember the newspaper clippings and news about the Buddhist monks protesting and being set on fire? Or the Tiananmen Square Tank man?
If you do, then this article might make some sense to you. We failed as a world to help them. Do we fail again to help now?
Myanmar is the country that is a majority Theravada Buddhists, that is a whooping 87%. The Christian and Muslims in Myanmar are at a ping pong 5% ballpark. It also has wavering Socialists, and Communists trying to make it a country of no religion.
Theravada Buddhism is the oldest practicing Buddhist school ideologically similar in conservatism like that of the Sunni Muslims and Catholics, who follow stricter conservative doctrines and monastic life.
Gautham Buddha was born in the Indian diaspora, and the tenets of this religion have Hindu Vedic roots in it too.
Theravada Buddhism states that enlightenment cannot be attained while living as a layman, an ideology parallel to Catholics, who do not allow married priests. They also think of Buddha like the Sunni Muslim think of Prophet Muhammed, and do not acknowledge any others before or after him.
In Cambodia, Laos, Myanmar, Sri Lanka and Thailand, it is the main religion. It is practised by minorities in India, Bangladesh, China, Nepal, and Vietnam.
Buddhist Sects around the World
China and Russia had been vying for years to promote communist ideologies in Myanmar, just like it did in the neighbouring Laos (a former French colony). China had gone one step further by indirectly funding the Kachin insurgency in Myanmar. Min Aung Hlaing had met with Chinese President in early 2020, and based on the relationship built on these negotiations, has found support for the coup from China. So, is this cease-fire between Myanmar and China based on a big bully finding opportunity and grabbing it? When the whole world is against Myanmar just now, the new coup regime is clutching at straws that might burn the country down, just like it happened with Tibet.
The dying of democracy and its descent into hell in Myanmar also started with the death of freedom of expression. The build-up was gradual, with the policing of the ‘Thangyat’ performances by the State, curtailing freedom of speech in 2019 and the Rohingya genocide from August 2017.
An icon of peace Aung San Suu Kyi was on trial at ICJ (International Court of Justice) for the genocide of the Rohingya in Myanmar by its military, which she denied. (Myanmar was not a member of ICJ, but Bangladesh was, and that’s where the Rohingya took refuge running away from Myanmar.)
Aung San Suu Kyi (Nobel Peace Prize laureate):Her father was Aung San, the lifelong anti-imperialist, founder of Burma Communist Party and Burma Socialist Party. Her husband, Michael Aris was British, with a Canadian mother and English father. Her two sons are British, having been denied Burmese citizenship, as the military feared they might enter politics.
Aung San Suu Kyi was an honorary Canadian citizen, stripped of the same after the Rohingya genocide allegations. After leaving her family in Britain, when her youngest son was 11 years old, she never left Myanmar after being under house arrest initially, and further down the years because of the fear of being denied entry back into Myanmar. Aung San Suu Kyi is a practicing Buddhist.
Min Aung Hlaing(Army General):The Young Men’s Buddhist’s Association awarded him with the title of Thado Thiri Agga Maha Mingalar Zawtika. The association itself was created to preserve the buddhist way of life in Burma during British colonialism. A practicing Theravada Buddhist himself, with extensive business assets, his motivation for the coup is unclear, and is understood to be for grabbing power for himself.
The country is fraught with political motivations based on opposing ideologies. The resulting chaos is endured by ordinary citizens. But, whatever the motivation, democratic elections and its results should be respected. In America, Trump rallied behind election fraud, but eventually Biden’s win was ratified and the country righted itself from the far-right. Patriotism won after the ‘Capitol building storming’ was seen as anti-constitutional. What happened in Myanmar is far worse. There was no fail-safe to stop the military from taking power.
Min Aung Hlaing cried election fraud, but took matters into his own hands, leading to the military coup a day before the members were to be sworn into the Assembly of the Union in Myanmar, hindering with the democratic process.
Patriotism in Myanmar is complex, pulling the country in different directions. The young patriots of the country are rallying for democracy. But the military has buried these voices to serve their own self-interests, denying the people to voice their choice and hard-won democratic elections.
If Aung San Suu Kyi is the face of democracy, the military coup is the face of self-interest.
Democracy or military rule? Religion or No religion? Will Myanmar win over the battle of ideological beliefs? Only time will tell.
Author’s Note:In an ideal world, the removal of ideologies from politics is a potential solution. But in a world of polar-opposites, we are pro-something or anti-something.
And we as humans are yet to develop the maturity to evolve from our tribal instincts, to understand that our identity is a rental that we cannot own for life, it is ever-changing.
Will the world ever get past states adopting the ideological beliefs of anti-religious bigotry paraded as secularism, and religious bigotry paraded as moral living?
Is this a coup poaching the national ideologies of a country that is yet to establish one of its own?
Theravada Buddhism is the oldest practicing Buddhist school ideologically similar in conservatism like that of the Sunni Muslims and Catholics, who follow stricter conservative doctrines and monastic life.
Gautham Buddha was born in the Indian diaspora, and the tenets of this religion have Hindu Vedic roots in it too.
Buddhism is divided into 3 main divisions — Theravada (also known as Hinyana – the vehicle of the Hearers), Mahayana and Vajrayana.
Theravada Buddhism states that enlightenment cannot be attained while living as a layman, an ideology parallel to Catholics, who do not allow married priests. They also think of Buddha like the Sunni Muslim think of Prophet Muhammed, and do not acknowledge any others before or after him.
In Cambodia, Laos, Myanmar, Sri Lanka and Thailand, it is the main religion. It is practised by minorities in India, Bangladesh, China, Nepal, and Vietnam.
The grounds on Govan hill were steeped in blood spills and gang crimes. The houses were skeletons of the past. Its walls were drenched in rainwater and mould, and ancient pine-marten den boxes. Big sea gulls had their young standing vigil on its leaky roofs, and pigeons took residence in its balconies.
The humans inhabiting these hell-holes were battling their inner demons and empty bellies, and the children in those stark rooms played with their snot. They pressed their noses on window glasses and analysed the muddy imprints of their faces.
In Govan, it was hard not to be part of a gang or enter the world of crime. Yet, Johnny tried his best to stick to the straight and narrow.
He loved Lisa more than life itself. They were childhood sweethearts. Same birthday, a year apart.
Plans were cooked up and castles were built in the air, for a better world for the child growing in her belly.
A black suit hung in his wardrobe, bought from a charity shop for a fiver. His mates were working near the old shipyards for Mateo and his gang. They had invited him for a pint and some dancing, but he had declined their offers.
***5 years later***
The smell of fresh mud mingled with the decaying bones in the unofficial graveyard for the Govan’s less fortunate.
Johnny walked with a bouquet to Lisa’s grave.
Andie was almost 5 years old and clung to his daddy’s hand. They placed the flowers on an unpretentious and simple headstone. They stared at the stone for a while. The gloomy silence was occasionally broken by a sad tune carried over by the wind.
The child traced the word mummy on the headstone when he thought to ask, ‘Daddy, why did mummy leave us?’
Johnny was lost for words.
‘Mummy didn’t want to. She was only looking out for daddy,’
‘Did you need saving, daddy?’
The child tugged at his daddy’s trousers when he didn’t respond and asked again, ‘Did you need saving, daddy?’
Johnny’s voice was cracking with emotion when he answered.
‘Yes, Andie.’
‘What did you do?’ He asked sucking his thumb. His other hand played with the muck on the ground, creating childish whirls around the grave. The mud was gritty with small stones.
‘I stole food, but your mummy took the blame for it.’ He spat some blood out after biting down on his tongue.
The boy didn’t mind the sight of blood. ‘Did the bad people hurt her?’ He asked while drawing a stick figure. His daddy sat next to him and traced circles with his fingers.
‘No, it was an accident. She got into an argument.’ He drew a long breath before continuing. ‘And the security pushed her, and her head hit the wall.’ He got up and dusted the mud off his hands. The fingernails were caked with dirt underneath it. He wore some gloves over it to cover them. The chilly December winds were ruthless.
‘What happened?’ He asked and got up too. His daddy hauled him onto his shoulders and walked away, kicking at the cobblestones.
‘I was accepted into an apprenticeship program. A police-record would have ruined our chances. It was all my fault.’
It was our ticket out of here.
His eyes squinted with the effort to see the path, while it collected salty water in its sad depths.
‘No, it was the fault of the man who pushed her,’ The child corrected him and gently ran his small hands through his daddy’s ginger hair. His daddy felt his icy hands smoothing away stray hair, just like his mother used to.
‘All for a stupid beef joint for our first Christmas’ It was food or keeping warm, he thought. The regret in his heart fell like rain-drops on his hollow cheeks.
On their way out, they came across a parked car.
He studied their reflection in its windows — a man with bags under his eyes, and a boy whose lips were drawn down.
Over a beef joint! he thought.
‘Life is not fair,’ he said.
‘Is that why we only go to Uncle Ben’s shop?’
Silence.
‘But it would be nice to go into the fancy supermarket once,’ he said. His small body was stooped low.
‘Ok, Let’s go, if you want to,’ Johnny chewed the nicotine gum hard. That day, Johnny resolved to face his demons and Andie squared his shoulder to face it with him.
The social worker had said that Andie might go into care. He worked 9 hours a day, earned an honest man’s wages, but he couldn’t give Andie a stable home. He hoped he was a decent dad, but didn’t know if he was good enough.
So, he did whatever made Andie happy. That was his atonement.
****
They both walked out of the supermarket wearing dark shades — an unlikely duo — a man and child dressed in black suits.
‘So, what do you think, Andie?’
‘I think it’s ok.’
The alarms were blazing in the background. The security stopped a black woman and took her back into the store.
‘Daddy, why did they take that woman?’
‘Because Andie, she is black and wearing a hoodie- they must have assumed she is a yardie.’
‘Is that why we are wearing suits?’ He ran his hand over his Sunday best while saying that. He took a small beef joint from under his jacket and handed it over to his daddy.
Johnny didn’t answer. His heart was thumping out of his chest when he realised what Andie had done.
‘Was mummy black too?’ The eyes that were the same as his mother’s asked him.
‘Yes!’
The world continued to look through a dark lens, filtering for colour or class as they walked away. But there was hope yet for the unlikely partners in crime.
I have often tried to determine who I am. Yet, when I have come up with a definition and identity, my identity changes.
A daughter, a grand-daughter, sister, designer, girl-friend, partner, mother — Who Am I?
It just so happens that my love for writing stories, and drawing them on paper or software was a thread that bound all my identities together. As a child I will draw pictures and write a story around it. In my adult years I made it my passion and profession. So, instead of defining myself through my personal relations, I define myself as a writer and a creator. I create stories through pictures and words.
That is me! Maybe it will evolve too. But for now I create stories!
I spend more and more time at my desk these days, doing everything from preparing the family taxes to working on this blog. Because of this, my workspace is constantly changing. Holding the clutter at bay is challenging, so I prefer to keep nearby only a few quality items that serve multiple purposes over a stockpile of things I might never need.
My planner is one of those simple ring binder journals you can pick up from any stationery supplies store. White paper. No ruled lines to cage my venturesome handwriting and doodling. I’m an obsessive note-taker and fill pages to the margins with to do lists, rough sketches, and ideas for blog posts. I usually go through one planner every month.
There are millions of tips out there on how to fly with kids, what to bring on camping vacations, which suitcase to buy, where to go and what to see in just about every corner on Earth. What I want to share today is something a little different – something that we discovered last summer during a family hike in the Appalachians.
crispsummers 