Myanmar - Kachin State - long term friend Daw Seng Raw gave the following keynote speech during the commemoration of 3 years fighting between government and Kachin forces yesterday: At the event commemorating the third anniversary of renewed armed conflict in Kachin state Kachin Baptist Church, Yangon 09 June 2014 The resumption of fighting between forces of the KIO and the government on June 9, 2011, after a period of 17 years of ceasefire, has resulted in the displacement of more than 100,000 civilians from Kachin and Northern Shan states. It has been 3 years now since these internally displaced people have been forced to call these temporary, makeshift camps, home. The anxieties and challenges the IDPs face on a day-to-day basis are affecting their overall mental and physical well-being. It is a struggle for them to maintain their dignity while trying to subsist on insufficient handouts. They are also consumed with worries about the health and education situation of their children, and prospects of their ever returning home. Moreover, the fatigue factor is settling in with donors, social organizations and host communities who have been looking after them for the past 3 years. What is really worrisome is that the food shortage experienced recently at some IDP camps could become a common feature in the future. The most seriously affected of the camp population are the womenfolk, the children, and the elderly - who representatively are, the nurturers, the future generation, and the keepers of the history and culture of the Kachin people. Harming them will harm the Kachin as a race. The question arises then, if a systematic attempt is not being made to destroy the future of the entire Kachin people. I believe I am not overstating when I say that the detrimental effects of the Kachin war will not be confined to the Kachin area alone. Recent events have shown that the fires of ethnic and religious tensions can easily spread from one region to another. If peaceful coexistence among the national races is disrupted, the peace and development of the entire nation will be negatively impacted. Thus stopping this 3-year war is not just a Kachin concern, but the concern of all nationals that abide within this nation. It is everyone’s responsibility to make sure that the evils of ethnic and religious conflicts are not carried over to plague future generations. I would like to add that for peace to be lasting, everyone has to experience it. Just as armed groups involved in conflicts cannot build peace on their own, lasting peace cannot be achieved without resolving the root causes that lead to the conflict. Therefore, each and every one of us needs to involve ourselves in the peace process. I am happy to see the many social society groups including the 88 Generation, participating in movements for peace throughout the country. The Myanmar government, as current ASEAN Chair, is responsible for resolving conflicts within the region. Resolving our country’s ethnic and religious conflicts in a just and equitable manner will set a good example and inspire confidence in its leadership within the region. I hope that our national leaders will exemplify themselves as fair and just, compassionate and able, who take steps to formulate legislation that will protect its people as well as the environment. It is not enough just to donate money, to show compassion and offer prayers for the IDPs. It is crucial that we work together to resolve to the root causes that led to the present conflict so that a just and lasting peace might be achieved. Therefore, I make an appeal to all citizens, national and ethnic leaders to come together to find ways in which people of different ethnic and religious backgrounds can live together in harmony so that a 4th anniversary of this terrible war might be avoided. Seng Raw Lahpai
Posted on: Tue, 10 Jun 2014 08:03:08 +0000
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