2/28/2021

My Dear Friend & POTUS, JRB,

            I am trying speed writing. I have set the timer for 15 minutes & will try to complete this missive in that time. That doesn’t include posting the letter, which I hope I get around to today.

            I need to speed myself up so I can join my Friends for Meeting for Worship at 10:00 after preparing a quick breakfast for my husband & I. I am pressed for time because I met with the Yangon Friends at 6:00 this morning. Only 1 of the 9 participants was in Yangon with the rest being spread across 3 continents. After 30 minutes of silent worship, we pondered what the UN could do to help Burma & reminded one another that War is Not the Answer.

            One Friend shared an article from the Guardian which suggests that the West screwed things up in dealing with the Rohingya crisis by failing to match our strong rhetoric with action. They wrote we should “do away with performative misrepresentations of (our) own influence, which misguide and undermine the movement for change.”

Rather than talking tough, I think we should follow the lead of Indonesia Foreign Minister Retno Marsudi who is trying to get the military to talk with the DCN leadership. This standoff can end with some kind of reconciliation which the people of Myanmar will have to figure out.

I am reminded of the lyrics of a song that Quakers like to sing about our founder, George Fox, which say that you can’t kill the devil with a gun or a sword. So, lest we be tempted to send UN “peacekeepers” into Yangon, let’s remember that the threat of violence does not solve problems.

If I had more time, I’d figure out how to slip a word about elephants into this note as I was excited to see protestors riding elephants in Ongyaw, but alas, my timer just rang so I am closing.

PBWY,