7/31/2019 Oh Come Ye Back

1/3

Oh Come Ye Back!

By Saneitha Nagani

I hope President U Thein Sein was not in the mood of singing an old Irish song Danny Boy

when he asked the Burmese people living overseas to return to Burma and help rebuild the nation.He is not missing us for sure; if he did there would never be people in ethnic minorities areas like in

the Kachin State fleeing their villages in drove to seek sanctuary in neighbouring countries like China.

This is not the first time he has asked us whom he and the former military regime of which he was

the Prime Minister branded us as subversives or traitors to come back. Until now I cannot make

out the real motive behind this invitation. As the saying goes, Home is where the heart is then

speaking for myself, my heart is not there any more. My heart is here in Australia, my adopted

country and it is where I felt at home for the last twenty four years. Australia has given me not only

shelter and protection but also treated me like a human being. No way am I going to turn my back to

this country and go back to the country of my birth where I was treated like dirt.

To some Burmese I may sound a bit ungrateful or even unpatriotic and I guess they have their right

to criticise me as such. But if they can put themselves in my shoes they are bound to have a better

understanding of the feelings I have for my country of birth. I have given it the best part of my life

working in hazardous environment and in remote places. My colleagues and I were paid a monthly

salary of a meagre sum; a hundred and twenty five kyats for the dangerous job we have to do each

day. That money would not be enough for a military official to spend a night in the brothel. To me,

my life has been wasted just because of their stupid polices and stupid ideology. Born at the wrong

time, I suppose. Now that I am in the twilight years of my life I cannot find any reason why I should

be going back. I do not wish to seek a fortune for myself and even living on my pension is more than

enough to make a clean and comfortable living.

When I was young I did not see the essence of what was said about a place of dwelling in the

Mangalasuttam - Dwelling in a suitable locality and having done good in the past; to establish

oneself in the right course, this is the supreme blessing (Patirupa-desa-vaso-ca pubbe ca kata-

punnata atta-samma panidhi-ca etam mangalam uttamam). Since then I have came to realised that

one can obtained a happy life by having fewness of wishes and by being content with what one

have. I do not need mush to live an ethical life. One can live ethically in a country where rule of

law prevails. A country with a democratic form of government not in name or on paper only but

real in every sense must have an independent judiciary and the rule of law. Former Secretary One of

the State Peace and Development Council (SPDC) Lieutenant-General Khin Nyunt in his speech given

at a meeting of service personnel in Myingyan Township in June 2000 he said that, Being a member

of the world community, Myanmar is also making every endeavour to follow the correct path of

democratic system which is being practiced by most countries in the world. But the nation will not

become a democratic one under the influence of others forcibly shaped by some Western nations.

By now he would have wished that Burma has a democratic system with rule of law and an

independent judiciary so that he would not have been treated by Than Shwes military regime as he

would under a Western democratic system. Even though I was born and brought up in Burma

under the Ne Wins military dictatorship (which later changed its system into a Socialist Dictatorship

under One Party State system) I have no trouble living under a genuine Western democratic systemin Australia. Burma has laws but they are more like a zebra crossing for pedestrians; if one believed

7/31/2019 Oh Come Ye Back

2/3

that motorists would abide by the traffic rules then one would have himself to blame for being run

over. In Burma people have neither respect for laws nor they are by any means fair and just. I have

shown some examples in the attachments to highlight this point.

When I made the decision to seek political asylum in Australia twenty-four years ago I did not make

it carelessly or light-heartedly. Much as I loved my country of birth I have made a pledge that I will

never go back as long as there a hint of the military government in Burma. As a man I will stay true

to my pledge. When people asked Daw Suu what would be her advice to those who wanted to come

back, she simply said that it is up to the individual to make his or her own decision. The fact remains

though, while the President is wooing the Burmese living overseas to come back to Burma and help

rebuild the nation there are still in the hundreds, if not thousands, who are still languishing in jails all

over the country; there are fighting still going on in ethnic minorities areas and thousands who had

to flee their homes and seek sanctuary in neighbouring countries. How much confidence that people

like me who was on the so-called black list of theirs to feel secure if I were to go back and help?

How much trust can one puts on the government when it uses security as a pretext to hold hostage

to months old baby so that its mother who was an activist to turn herself in? How much trust can

one puts on the government when not only the husbands who expressed their opinion against the

government but also the spouses and children were put on their black list?

If the President has to extend his invitation the Burmese living overseas to come back for the second

time then it would be safe to assume that not many must have gone back so far. In my opinion, I do

not think that the Presidents message was not lost. It is not a matter ofcommunication failure but

it was more like a failure of the Public Relations exercise instead. As it was mentioned in the

Attachment A when the State Law and Order Restoration Council gave permission for Burmese

citizens who wanted to come back to resettle in Burma, it issued a declaration (Declaration No. 3/93)

to allow them to do so. Now there is a Parliament but so far no legislation of any kind has been

passed to allow the Burmese people living overseas to go back to Burma legally if they wish to do so.

It will only be either out of greed or foolishness for some to take unnecessary risks to do business in

Burma. Investors need laws, regulations and institutions that are predictable, stable, and

transparent. Economic development without legal certainty can neither be workable now nor in the

future. As Professor U Khin Maung Kyi has mentioned in his paper, Burmese Gleam: Will It Endure

and Glow or Flicker and Die?: A Prognosis of Recent Economic Changes in Burma that, The

Singapore government advocates the good government thesis with strong and dedicated leadership

supported by the public consensus as the main ingredient of successful transformation to a

developed economy. Here the Singapore model defines good government as the government ofhighly qualified and competent people whose actions are predictable, consistent, transparent, and

impartial. Using that gauge of good government the government that President U Thein Sein is

leading now will be no where near the pass mark.

The Burmese people living overseas, even if they either have businesses of their own or have

business skills, it will neither be practical nor desirable to drop everything and go back to work in a

country where there is no rule of law to protect their businesses. In this context may I remind the

President that how the people like Michael Nyunt, Daw Win Win Nu (the former operator of

Mandalay Beer) and Mr Ross Dunkley (former part owner of Myanmar Times) would feel about

venturing into Burma to do business again when they have been stripped off of their possessionsbefore? It is the issue of credibility that must have been on the minds of Burmese living overseas

7/31/2019 Oh Come Ye Back

3/3

when they feel reluctant to accept the Presidents invitation. To be frank, for those of us who has

not committed any criminal act even though that we are being invited to come back and help while

at the same time we were treated as if we were not as worthy as much as the notorious drug lord

Khun Sa. Maybe Khun Sa got money (even though it may be proceeds of crime) and it must have

been good enough for the government to let him invest and rebuild the countrys economy. We do

not have that kind of money legally the government owed us money for the years we have served.

Well all I can say about the Presidents invitation for me to come back is Thanks, but no thanks.

END [Attachments A, B, and C]

AttachmentA-Those Who Have ReturnedIMG.pdf

AttachmentB-CrimeDidPayforKhunSaIMG.pdf

AttachmentC-KhunSaandTheWelcomeHeGotIMG.pdf