Poem: Honour, not Blame

It is much easier to start a war than to end it
It is much easier to start a fight or an argument
Once we start some resentment or unpleasantness
It is harder to resolve the conflict or to make amends
 
If we want to criticise or blame others
Look at ourselves first and we will see that
No one is perfect in this world
And least of all, ourselves.
 
If we wish to blame our past leaders for all our suffering
First of all we need to ask ourselves
If we had been in their shoes then,
Could we have done it much better than they had?
 
Would we have been wiser?
Would we have known exactly what to do? 
Would we not have made any mistakes?
Would we not have behaved just as foolishly at times?
 
Please try to walk at least a mile
In the shoes of our past leaders
Before you make harsh judgments
Or presumptions which are far from the truth
 
We cannot change what has happened in the past
We need to honour our past
Honour our past leaders
No matter who they were
And what they had done
Whether they did things positively
Or negatively

The present is what we need to concentrate on now
Honour our present leaders
Honour those who sacrificed their lives for us
Honour those who fought for us
Those who are dying for us
Those who are fighting for us
Honour those who made us who we are
Honour all our people
In the past and in the present
 
Because they make up all that we represent as a nation
So please
Honour everyone and look forward to our future

_{Feraya Nangmone
The author is a niece of Harn Yawnghwe, Advisor to the Ethnic Nationalities Council (ENC) and Director of Brussels-based Euro Burma Office (EBO) – Editor}