Daw Suu's Letter from Burma #28 (r)

[mwl@xxxxxxxxxxxxx]

> Mainichi Daily News, Monday, June 3, 1996
> 
> EVERY STURDY STRUCTURE HAS A SOUND ROOF
> 
> "Repairing the roof"
> 
> Letter from Burma (No. 28) by Aung San Suu Kyi
> 
>         There is a Burmese saying to the effect that if the roof is not sound the
> whole house becomes vulnerable to leaks.  That is to say, if soundness is
> lacking at the top there are bound to be problems all along the line until
> the very bottom
>         It has certainly been my personal experience over a number of monsoon
> seasons that a leaking roof renders other improvements to a house futile.
> During the six months of rain, every spare basin, bucket, saucepan and
> plastic container in my house has to be commandeered to catch the rivulets
> that flow in merrily.  When there is an especially heavy downpour the
> containers have to emptied frequently and the myriad small leaks that appear
> quite suddenly (and disappear just as suddenly) at unexpected places have to
> be mopped up.
>         Keeping the inside of the house dry becomes a constant juggle with a
> variety of vessels and rags.  I tried to stop the incessant drips with
> intricate arrangements of plastic sheets, waterproof tape, putty and other
> gummy substances.  But all these maneuvers succeeded merely in stemming the
> torrent temporarily and over the years paint, plaster and woodwork in the
> path of the worst leaks steadily deteriorated.
>         So making the roof rainproof was at the top of the priority list of
> essential repairs that we decided has to be undertaken during this dry
> season.  Only when the roof was sound would it become worthwhile to put new
> paint on walls that have been neglected for several decades and, in general,
> to make the house cleaner and brighter.
>         There were some who had the, in my view, horrifying idea of replacing the
> original tile roof with a corrugated iron one but I held out firmly for
> rescuing the old tiles and supplementing those that had been damaged beyond
> redemption with other ones.  As soon as the tiles were brought down from the
> roof the advocates of corrugated iron were totally won over.  Each tile was
> solid and beautifully crafted and baked into it were the name of the company
> that had produced it, the date (1936, presumably the year the house was
> built) and a number.
>         The tiles fit so well into each other that in one part of the roof where
> the supporting woodwork had rotted away a sheet of tiles as firmly linked
> together as the best Lego model had managed to keep in place.  And once they
> had been washed clean the tiles glowed a soft red and looked as good as new.
> I must confess some of us waxed quite lyrical over the beauty and durability
> of the tiles.

<snipped>

Dear Auntie Suu:

You are absolutely right. The roof is one of the most important part of a house. If the 
roof is sound, the people can live in peace. If the roof leaks, the whole house can 
become flooded. If there is only one or two leaks, you may easily repair the roof. 
However, if the roof is porous, the whole roof needs to be replaced.

Likewise, the citizens in a country cannot live in peace without a sound government on 
top. If the government on top is corrupt, the economy of the country will go down the 
drain. Burma is a country without a sound government to shelter the citizens. It has the 
same porous roof for 34 years, and citizens are living in fear and misery. You may get 
away with patchwork if a small part of the government is corrupt. However, when the 
whole government is corrupt, the government needs to be changed. For Burma, it is time 
to remove the old roof and replaced with a new one -- that is -- NLD and its 
representatives.

A house cannot withstand severe weather without a good foundation. Burma cannot 
withstand any more political turmoil without a sound constitution. It is time for 
everybody to sit down and work together for the new constitution that truly represents 
wishes of Burmese people.

With love and support,

Maung Yei Chan