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A Star Falls Down Before Sunrise |
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People were chatting here and there and giving their opinion on what had happened. However, it was obvious that their faces were overwhelmed with grief. I could see the anger in the youth who signed the condolence book. Cherry, I could see the tears roll from their faces as they wrote in that book. They were feeling weary with anxiety. Before we placed your dead body in the crematorium, everybody who attended your funeral stood quietly for one minute to pay their last respects to you. Afterwards, two of your friends carried the wreath; a black piece of cloth was attached with words written in red: A wreath for Cherry Those friends who took the wreath marched to the crematorium but their steps were unwilling. But you could not have known that you were being taken there as you lay silently in the coffin. I felt really sad for you Cherry and choked with emotion. I was hit by the flame produced by the crematorium. It ate your body and your misery. At the same time I could see your experiences and I could see you. Cherry, You were actively involved in the fight against the dictatorship and the struggle for democracy. In 1988, when the junta allowed the people to set up political parties, you joined the National League for Democracy (NLD). Then you became one of the leaders of Mayangon township NLD youth wing, in Rangoon. When I was in prison I stayed in the same room as your father, U Khin Maung Nyunt. Your father was a leader as well-of the Patriotic Old Comrades League. That is why he was arrested and sentenced by a military tribunal to serve 5 years imprisonment with hard labor in 1989. There was nothing to do in that tiny cell so we exchanged our experiences. Therefore I learned a lot about your family in that time. From the stories your father told, I could see that your family was suffering while your breadwinner was in prison for the sake of the people. Your mother was occupied with housework and nursing the children so she didn't have the business knowledge to raise any income. She could not find a way to cover all of the family's expenses. Meanwhile, you and your brother were still students and you could not give your hands to your mother to help solve your family's economic crisis because you were also involved in the political struggle. Your mother knew that political prisoners are not provided with sufficient water (for bathing and drinking), food, medical treatment or even space for sleep. Therefore, political prisoners absolutely depend on the support of their families for the preservation of their lives. Some political prisoners have died from a lack of essential assistance such as medicine and nutritious food. Therefore, she regularly visited her husband. Even though they faced a lot of misery, she sold the gold rings she was keeping for their retirement in order to provide for your father. Her visits to prison saved not only your father but also us. I really appreciated, honored and respected her like my "aunt." The regime intentionally tries to break the spirit of political prisoners by sending them to remote prisons far away from their families so that they suffer psychological misery and lack of support from the family. Your father was moved from Insein to Tharawaddy prison at the end of November 1991. I was also transferred, but to Thayet prison. Soon after, on December 10,1991, there was a peaceful demonstration in support of Daw Aung San Suu Kyi who was awarded the Noble Peace Prize. University students celebrated this demonstration in the Rangoon Arts and Science University honoring the people's leader. We heard that you had bravely participated in it. I honored you for your courage but we soon learnt that the junta had forcefully dispersed the demonstration and over 200 students were arrested. You were one of them. After that you were sentenced to 10 years imprisonment with hard labor by a military tribunal. Your arrest brought more suffering for your family. Like trouble upon trouble, they were forced to leave their home by the authorities. Many families have been forced to relocate as their properties are resumed to make way for new projects. A plot of land is provided as compensation and they are allowed to take as much of their old house as they can carry. This usually leaves the affected family without a home. When I heard this I felt really sad for your mother because I knew she could not afford to build a new house. She had already sold all of her possessions to support the family while your father was imprisoned. So she had no choice but to sell the new plot of land to be able to rent a house in the suburban area. In 1992, senior general Saw Maung, who took control of the state by force in 1988, retired. General Than Shwe then became the chairperson of the State Law and Order Restoration Council (SLORC). When he took power, in order to receive international support, he gave a SLORC amnesty (11/92). That amnesty said that anyone who was considered not to be a danger to the country must be released as soon as possible. You can imagine how happy we all were. We believed that we would all be considered innocent. For the next few days, we waited for the time our names would be called out. But very few of us who had not completed our sentences were released. All our hopes were in vain. No matter what happened to us, your name was one of the few and you were freed. We rejoiced at your release, as we knew you could return to help your family. After I was released from prison in September 1992, we met unexpectedly in the downtown area of Rangoon. We sat together at the cold drink shop for two hours. I saw tears in your eyes as you explained your situation. You were struggling to survive from day to day and all the while the MI had you under their sur- veillance.Your younger brother was out of school and worked to support the family. However, no matter how hard you tried to find a job, it was impossible because the MI would threaten any future employees. Once you were about to be appointed at a company but, unfortunately, the MI discovered this and warned the director of the company that you were an ex-political prisoner. So you lost again. However, the worst thing was your mother was suffering from a mental illness. It seemed the trials she had faced throughout her life had finally taken their toll. Sometimes she spoke nonsense to herself and she could not divine what was good or bad. I could imagine how terrible this made you feel. Your spirit was noble. You always relied upon yourself. Therefore when we offered you some money to start a small business, you refused it and said that you wanted to keep trying until the last minute. It was a surprise for us to see your mother. She ordered
you not to be involved in politics anymore and when we visited you,
she showed her dissatisfaction in her manner. In the meantime, MI
would often visit you and ask many questions. Sometimes they said
malicious things to destroy your dignity, such as: While you were telling me this, I saw you were trying
hard not to cry. Cherry, I never thought that this meeting between
you and I would be the last. Cherry, you succeeded in killing yourself. The news of your death spread quickly across the country. You drank the poisonous anti-insect killer. Didn't you? It produced a very bad smell but you were not afraid of drinking it. You knew our Buddha's doctrine: When one kills oneself, one will go into hell repeatedly 500 times. What drove you to do it? I prayed for you in front of the Buddha image to spare you this fate because you were the victim of a cruel dictatorship. Under an authoritarian system where a human being isn't recognized as a human being, we lose the difference between 'human being' and 'not being' as well as our freedom. Cherry, believe us. All the suffering you felt -we will change into strength. We will erode and scorch their oppression with molten lava. This grief, this feeling of deep hurt and bitterness will become a volcano, which is going to explode. After that, Cherry, it will blow up the place where your dead body was--- Nonetheless, I dare say, you will be with us forever until the world ceases to exist. Cherry, I hope, although your life was sacrificed somewhere amid this unfulfilled revolution, before the sun has risen, your soul will always be in our hearts. I deeply remember you, . |
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| Above: Cherry who died aged twety four years old. |
