Music for Human Rights

By Pollina

Music is an art form that can bring people, no matter what race or religion they are together. One of our first meeting with HREIB started out by singing. Myo said that they always start their training sessions by singing songs together as a group. He said that it helps people relax and think clearly, which proved to be true because all of us had fun and felt closer to others.

When we arrived in Mae Sot, we had a meeting with the AAPP and they had a German band, Durgas, playing. The sound of music just flowed through the air. At first everyone was just standing, stiff as boards, but the music was so inspiring that everyone started dancing with strangers. When the lead singer said the word "Burma," I had tears in my eyes. I felt his passion, and the song made me want to do more for this movement.

At the Mae la refugee camp, there was a group of handicapped men, mostly due to landmines. During the service at the church, they sang and it was so incredible. With music, they shared a sense of community. We visited them in their quarters at the camp. These men have no family, just other strangers in the refugee camp that they met, but singing made them brothers. After all that they had been through, one could feel their comradity and bond. While they were singing, I saw them smiling even though they lost one of the greatest abilities, their sight. They said they never sang before they arrived at the refugee camp. If they were back in Burma, they would live in misery. Singing gave them hope.

There seems to be a strong sub-theme throughout this trip: Music is very powerful and can make a huge difference.