A letter from Scott and Khanita Satterfield in Thailand
October 9, 2007
Dear Friends,
The night had been still, not even the air moved. It was as if after days filled with movement, marching, and protesting everything had stopped to wait for that which inevitably would come. And it would come, too. Mornings always saw brutal retaliation for protesting against the government and the Buddhist monks who had led this round of protests knew it would be no different. The people, devout and encouraged by the prayers and chants for peace and freedom, slept in their homes and shops knowing these few weeks since mid-August were as close as they would come to freedom before their monks would be trampled upon. The monks slept, and the time neared when they would awaken and walk to the chapel for meditation, then go out to accept the morning alms of food and flowers before another day of protest.
The soldiers entered the temple grounds well before the monks awoke. They were quiet, surrounding a building where the younger monks slept in small, ascetic quarters, and the buildings where the abbot and older monks slept. The soldiers did not know how long they stood there waiting for the order. Maybe it seemed long to them, but it didn’t matter. The order came and they struck quickly. Weapons were fired over the tops of the windows and into the heavy wooden shutters. Doors were kicked down and monks were dragged out of their rooms to the courtyard where they were beaten and taken away. Hours later, as protest turned into riot on the streets of Burma’s capital, someone entered the temple and took pictures of the shot-out windows, the damaged buildings, and the blood-stained sandals left behind by the soldiers who had beaten the feet of several monks who had led the marches. Looking at the pictures on television, they seemed surreal and terribly sacrilegious in the army’s violation of what is holy.
What had begun as a peaceful protest against the economic mismanagement of the country by the military junta and then grew into a protest against corruption and tyranny, had by the end of September turned into a slaughter. The leaders, as ruthless as they are incompetent, could not tolerate the monks’ peaceful demonstrations anymore. The monks had kept the laity out of it, fearing for them and knowing that their saffron robes and the fear of damnation would protect them for a while. But on that morning, while the monks were rounded up and temples were cordoned off, fear and greed triumphed righteousness. Then the people of Rangoon took to the streets. Maybe that was what the government wanted; their crack-down came swiftly and mercilessly. Many were killed and more were taken away.
Since that day, news has been slow to leave Burma. What comes out is due to the determination of computer hackers able to get around the Internet blocks the government has set up. People with mobile phone cameras have taken hundreds of photos and videos and sent them to news agencies.
A young monk involved in the protests tells of how they were taken from the temple and kept in a small school building. Every day they knelt with heads on the ground to be beaten by the soldiers. After the beatings, which went on for days, the soldiers would sneak into the room and ask for forgiveness. They knew what they were doing was a sin, yet they couldn’t disobey their commanders, not without suffering a worse fate than a beating. Later, as if expecting a rebellion from the fearful soldiers, senior monks appointed by the junta arrived and disrobed the captive monks. Defrocked, humiliated, and dressed in street clothes there would be no more sin for the soldiers to endure. The young monk never lost his faith, never renounced his ordination even if it meant he might die. Eventually, the defrocked monks were released, but arrests and disappearances continued.
Our ministry is with the Christian schools of Thailand, not with Burma, but the peace vigil in Chiang Mai for the International Day of Action for a Free Burma has made us reflect on the tribulations of our neighbors in Burma. It was last Saturday, October 6, a rainy day for us. It began at a Buddhist temple where Buddhist, Christian, and Muslim laity and clergy met to chant and pray for peace. Then the group marched to a mosque, where more prayers and injunctions for peace were shared. Finally, the group marched to Sacred Heart Cathedral, where Protestants and Catholics with Buddhist and Muslim brothers and sisters once again prayed. Habakkuk’s cry to the Lord was remembered. “How long, o Lord, must I call for help, but you do not listen? Or cry out to you, ‘Violence!’ but you do not save? Why do you make me look at injustice? Why do you tolerate wrong?” The Lord answered, “The stones of the wall will cry out, and the beams of the woodwork will echo it. Woe to him who builds a city with bloodshed and establishes a town by crime!”
Our media report on a big event like this only to let it die off as the next big event enters into the news cycle. But this cannot be forgotten. We encourage you to visit the Presbyterian Church Web site and learn what our denomination is doing in solidarity with the people of Burma, learn about the Christian church in Burma, and learn what you can do to help by visiting the Web site of the Buddhist Peace Fellowship.
What happens in Burma has consequences everywhere for everyone. Ignore it and we risk it awakening in our homeland one day. The words of Martin Luther King, Jr. hold a truth we must remember, “Injustice anywhere is a threat to justice everywhere.”
God’s peace and grace be upon us all.
Scott and Khanita
The 2007 Mission Yearbook for Prayer & Study, p. 119
