International Migrant Discrimination: October 2007 Archives
I've had a picture burned into my mind for almost a month, now, . I think about it every time I hear about the ongoing crisis in Burma. The news I read in this morning's Boston Globe was a small piece of good news, fortunately, but it doesn't remove the cloud that looms over Burma or the image that has been etched into the back of my eyes.
I will not link to, or display the picture on the front page. It is too graphic. But I will attempt to describe the circumstances that led to it. If people want to click through, I will display it.
On September 29, hundreds of people were massacred in Rangoon, Burma, in an attempt to stifle campaigns for democracy in the country. Customarily, riot police use rubber-coated rods to stifle unrest. Outside of the Number 3 High School in the Township of Tarmwe, soldiers beat protesters with heavy metal rods. One young student was killed on the spot after his skull was bashed in. His body was soon carried away, but in a nearby gutter, a piece of his brain remained.
That's the picture that has been burned into my mind. A brain in the gutter next to a high school. There are pictures that capture a moment. Then there are pictures that stand for something greater. Seeing part of a young student's brain, a brain that might have been used for great things, languishing in the gutter next to a place of learning says more than my words ever could.
I will not link to, or display the picture on the front page. It is too graphic. But I will attempt to describe the circumstances that led to it. If people want to click through, I will display it.
On September 29, hundreds of people were massacred in Rangoon, Burma, in an attempt to stifle campaigns for democracy in the country. Customarily, riot police use rubber-coated rods to stifle unrest. Outside of the Number 3 High School in the Township of Tarmwe, soldiers beat protesters with heavy metal rods. One young student was killed on the spot after his skull was bashed in. His body was soon carried away, but in a nearby gutter, a piece of his brain remained.
That's the picture that has been burned into my mind. A brain in the gutter next to a high school. There are pictures that capture a moment. Then there are pictures that stand for something greater. Seeing part of a young student's brain, a brain that might have been used for great things, languishing in the gutter next to a place of learning says more than my words ever could.
Continue reading Burma Orange: A Stain on the Earth's Conscience.
