Even the dead could not travel to cemetery in peace in Burma

Written by NWL

When the government is not only unable and/or unwilling to protect its own citizens, but also fails miserably in ensuring that its citizens have access to basic human needs, the responsibility rightly falls on the responsible citizens humanitarian workers to take care of well-beings of the public. If that government also becomes a source of the problem rather than part of the solution, only courageous and responsible citizens humanitarian workers can rise up to the challenges.

The story of Free Funeral Service Society (Yangon), FFSS (Yangon), like those of other humanitarian organizations, is the battle against poverty, consequences of poverty and natural disasters. However, FFSS (Yangon) has to achieve those noble goals while overcoming obstacles and prohibitions put in place by the government and deep-rooted superstitions of the society.

On April 23, 2011Noble Laureate Aung San Suu Kyi  donated US $15,000 to FFSS (Yangon)  

Recently, FFSS (Yangon) celebrated its 10^th birthday. Noble Laureate Aung San Suu Kyi participated in the celebration by donating money and cutting the ribbon. FFSS (Yangon) has many definite and solid reasons to celebrate. Throughout its lifetime, regardless of challenges and pressure from the government, FFSS (Yangon) for free of charge

-          offered funeral services to poor bereaved families,

-          provided medical treatments, long-term and short-term care to the poor and disadvantaged and underprivileged and donated blood to whoever is needed,

-          offered humanitarian assistance and supplies to victims of natural disasters

-          constructed hand-pumped water wells in areas severely hit by drought, and

-          educated underprivileged and orphans.

Background

Burma is so stricken with poverty that even the dead could not travel to cemetery in peace. This is not an exaggeration. However, because of one man’s leadership and tireless efforts, a group has been formed so that not only the dead can peacefully leave the world in peace but also the living, especially the poor, can prolong their journey to cemetery.

Burma is a country of predominantly Buddhist, a religion that values above all else the philanthropy and the value of helping those in need. Yet, until 1997 there was no social service organization dedicated to helping the poor. This is because successive authoritarian governments have put in place prohibitively stringent restrictions on the freedom of association and the freedom of speech.

With political, social and academic lives withering, poor civilians of Burma have been living from hand to mouth without adequate access to basic health care for more than five decades. With per capita expenditure on health $43 (2.3% of GDP), it is no wonder WHO reported the life expectancy at birth 54 while the regional average is 65.

The Birth of FFSS (Yangon)

In 2000, two elderly persons of very different social and economic status crossed their paths in Rangoon General Hospital. One is U Thuka, famous well-respected Burmese literature guru, artist and movie director, the other old, frail and mundane lady from a poor underprivileged family. They came to the hospital to seek help from doctors and medical technology to fight the battle against their own diseases. However, only U Thuka left the hospital alive.

The old lady, having lost the battle, died while U Thuka was recuperating. She was taken care by her family at the height of her battle with the disease. Her family, although very poor, made a regular visit and comforted her in the hospital. However, as the old lady was in her terminal stage and the doctor asked the family to take her home, the family stopped visiting her. Lying on the dead bed alone, the old lady had to go through her final journey alone. U Thuka later learned that her family could not financially afford to take her home and could not pay for the medical expenses. Her family, severely stricken by poverty, could not even afford to pay for the funeral expenses. The old lady died in solitude. With no one around to take ownership and responsibility of the corpse, the old lady was labeled anonymous and ownerless corpse and the hospital cremated her body.

U Thuka, seeing all tragic unfolding of the fate of the old lady, was heart-broken and reasoned that had they not been crippled by economic hardship, the old lady’s family would not have abandoned their mother. They would be in agony and devastated for not being able to provide a proper funeral service for their mother. In fact, the story of the old lady and her bereaved family permeates throughout Burma. U Thuka said that contrary to deep-rooted belief of many, it was the job of the noble to offer funeral services to the departed and bereaved families. A vision to form an organization to perform that job was conceived, and Free Funeral Service Society (Yangon) came into existence on January 1, 2001. Kyaw Thu, a famous much-loved actor and a disciple of U Thuka became a passionate humanitarian foot soldier who, to this day, devotes his career to helping the poor.

Challenges Leadership and Social Revolution

The undertaker or the funeral service provider, regardless of what it is labeled, the job of burying the dead body has been regarded as the work of lower class or even that of subhuman in many societies. Burma is one of such society. People avoid undertakers. They refuse to touch them. They fear that undertakers will pay a visit. They even feel discomfort to see them. People superstitiously regard undertakers as agent of death. Meeting them is like greeting the death. Touching them is the sign of prelude to death. Being outcasts of the society, undertakers live in cemeteries where they work.

Furthermore, any activity or object related to funeral is also associated with misfortune or something with tendency to bring in disaster and death. Like they would never die, people in some super superstitious area ban hearse, funeral van, from passing through their streets. Although unfounded in its causal relationship and unsounded in logic, such superstitious ideas permeate in Burma society.

Kyaw Thu, an academy award winning actor and artist and also an admirer and disciple of U Thuka, is critical of such nonsensical superstitious beliefs. He is well-loved by the people and very successful in his acting career. He is Tom Hank of Burma but only differs in that he, because of his outspokenness against the military government, is banned by the government from acting and has been a target of harassments by the government authorities.

In 2007, he and his wife were detained and interrogated by the military government for offering water and alms to thousands of monks who participated in Saffron Revolution against the military government. Because of his support for pro-democracy monks, he and his art were totally banned from public appearances, from newspaper to magazines to TV and theater screens.

In 2009, Yangon City Development Committee (YCDC) issued order, making the parking of hearses in the city illegal. Amidst, a hike in fuel costs, this caused great disturbances to FFSS (Yangon) operations. Unable to operate within city, FFSS (Yangon) was forced to relocate to a remote place far outskirt of the city.

Kyaw Thu believes that everyone on earth from birth to death and whether alive or dead belongs to someone and should be treated in dignity and in respect. It an inhumane and disgraceful job of a civilized society to abandon and/or dispose of the corpse irresponsibly and haphazardly.

He, against the tide of widespread superstitious beliefs, has launched campaign of mass education through every available, although very limited, channels, such as in class education, Facebook, and foreign based radio broadcasts.

Regardless of adversaries, prohibitions and challenges, his ideas and implementations of humanitarian works enjoy wider acceptance of the public. His organization has been growing, multiplying and expanding domains of humanitarian assistance. Volunteers from all walks of lives, from teachers to actors to musicians to physicians, participated in his daily operations.

Many years after the formation of FFSS (Yangon), evidences of social transformation are beginning to appear. In the beginning before the government destroyed his acting career, Kyaw Thu the undertaker or the funeral service provider was shunned or refused to act together in movie making by this colleagues. Now, his deeds and the values he provides to the society were beginning to be appreciated. His former friends and artists and colleagues rekindle their friendship with him by participating in fundraising performance concerts.

As role models of the society begin to embrace the contributions of FFSS, citizens follow. Unquestionable success of FFSS (Yangon) led to opening of 50 branches in different cities throughout Burma. For example, newly wedded couple donated all their gifts they received from the wedding ceremony to the FFSS (Yangon). Sometimes, newly wedded couple donated their efforts to the FFSS by driving hearse van on the day of their wedding.

Amidst waves after waves of harassments and unfair charges against him, Kyaw Thu has led FFSS (Yangon) courageously to the new height that no humanitarian organization in Burma has ever dreamed before.

Functions of FFSS (Yangon)

Although initially formed to provide only the funeral service to the dead and bereaved family, FFSS (Yangon) scope of operation has been expanding, serving underprivileged and vulnerable population.

Funeral Service

If there is a funeral and there is a request for the service, FFSS will provide the service free of charge. Regardless of the location of the corpse, FFSS (Yangon) takes responsibility and ensures that proper funeral service is provided in accordance with the bereaved family’s request, tradition and religion. Functions of funeral services generally involve:

-          Transportation of corpses from home or hospital to mortuary to cemetery.

-          Cremation of corpses at the cemetery.

-          Burial of corpses.

Nineteen hearses are being used in this operation. One hundred thousandth funeral service was provided on March 21, 2011 since its founding in January 2001. In 2010 alone, 14,384 funeral services were provided.

Health Care Service

Starting from April 7, 2003, World Health Day, FFSS (Yangon) has been providing health care to the poor public. It started by providing financial assistant to poor pregnant women who could not afford needed surgery. By saving the life of a pregnant mother, FFSS helps save two lives at a time.

On March 2, 2007, Peasant Day, FFSS opened Thu Kha Clinic to the public. Forty eight doctors specialized in internal medicine, orthopedics, obstetrics and gynecology, ENT (Ear Nose and Throat), ophthalmology and dermatology are volunteering at the clinic. Thu Kha Clinic is equipped with a small-scale operation theatre, X-ray, ultrasound, ECG, dental X-ray, and a medical laboratory. In addition, eye clinic is planned and scheduled to open in May 2011. The equipments necessary for eye operation are being imported from Japan and Singapore.

Furthermore, FFSS (Yangon) donates necessary equipments and assistance for the disable, such as, wheel chairs, crutches, waling assistive devices. For those patients with chronic illness, FFSS (Yangon) offers hospital beds and portable oxygen tanks. For emergency patients, FFSS (Yangon) is there to donate blood.

34,722 patients were given free treatments and 196 bottles of blood were donated in 2010.

Disaster relief services

FFSS (Yangon) has been on the forefront of disaster relief operations in Burma.

In 2005, fire broke out in Hlaing Township Rangoon, destroying 1,500 homes and creating a dire emergency situation. FFSS (Yangon) members went to the refugee camps, constructed emergency hand-pump water wells to ensure that all homeless victims got access to clean and safe water. Furthermore, food, clothes and cooking utensils were provided to the fire victims.

Also in 2005, May 7, a series of bomb exploded in three busy bazaars in Rangoon, claiming 30 lives and injuring 162. Explosion occurred at Yangon Trade Center, Dagon Center and Junction Eight Center around 3 p.m. FFSS (Yangon) helped hospitalized victims at the hospital by offering necessary medical supplies.

In 2008, May 2, Nagis cyclone hit Rangoon and Irrawaddy delta, creating the worst humanitarian crisis situation in Burma’s history, claiming 77,738 lives and severely affecting 2.4 million lives. Kyaw Thu and his team dispatched to very hard-to-reach and devastated areas and provided victims with humanitarian supplies. Donations from local and abroad, about US$ 1,000,000, for the reconstruction work have been distributed systematically and directly into the hands of the victims.

In 2010, extreme heat had created a severe drought, causing millions of people to suffer from shortage of water. FFSS (Yangon) distributed drinking water to affected areas and constructed 35 hand-pump wells and storage tanks in Pegu Division, Magwe Division and Rangoon Division.

Until today, water wells and storage tanks are being constructed in vulnerable areas. Such helps are being provided with financial contributions from the Burmese citizens inside and abroad and some from Burmese organizations.

Education

Education is one of the precious items severely and intentionally destroyed by successive authoritarian regimes. Exacerbated by immense number of orphans and rising cost of living, education in Burma has become a luxury commodity affordable only by the elite.

FFSS (Yangon) opened summer basic English class in 2010 and 80 students enrolled in the class. In 2011, 500 children are being educated by 18 volunteer teachers. In addition, youths and students who cannot afford to attend government schools can learn in FFSS (Yangon) schools various subjects – advanced English, the humanitarian works, management, painting, art, acting and performance art.

A library, Thu Kha Light, was opened on January 13, 2010 so that underprivileged will not be totally deprived of access to education.

P.S. For more information on FFSS (Yangon): http://www.facebook.com/ActorKyawThu