8/1/2021

My Dear Friend & POTUS, JRB,

            I just got off a Zoom call with the Yangon Friends Meeting. We had silent worship for a half hour & talked about the situation in Myanmar for another 45 minutes. We are disturbed by Gen Min Aung Hlaing’ (MAH)’s announcement that he will be Prime Minister for the next 2 years.

I find it difficult to hold MAH in the Light when I know little about him. One Friend noted that his name indicated that he was born on a Thursday. I am not sure what effect that has on a person. Do you know what day of the week you were born on? I was surprised to learn that I was born on a Saturday, because my dad always told me that I was born on a beautiful fall day when he was having a great trading day at his office. That must have been the Friday before I was born when he left my mom at the hospital to labor on her own. Since I was kid #3, he must have assumed his presence in the hospital was unnecessary.

            As the Yangon Friends group was sharing, our Polish Friend recalled the Warsaw uprising on this day in 1944 when the people, including children, launched a coordinated attack on the Nazi forces. She has an 8-month-old baby & expressed her concerns for the women & children of Myanmar who were facing the same kind of repression experienced by the families back in 1944. We collectively lamented the profound effect of this trauma for the children of Myanmar & the long-term effects it will have on the whole country.

            The UN will soon decide which person to seat as the representative of the people of Myanmar. Please do what you can to encourage the leaders of the world to demand that Kyaw Moe Tun remain as Myanmar Ambassador to the UN rather than being replaced by the delegate of the junta.

            I hope Mass restored your soul & brought you peace of mind.

            BYBS,