{"id":3443,"date":"2025-10-24T05:06:12","date_gmt":"2025-10-24T05:06:12","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/myanmarmuslim.news\/en\/?p=3443"},"modified":"2025-10-24T06:12:45","modified_gmt":"2025-10-24T06:12:45","slug":"a-nation-that-never-rewards-its-true-patriots","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/myanmarmuslim.news\/en\/2025\/10\/24\/a-nation-that-never-rewards-its-true-patriots\/","title":{"rendered":"A Nation That Never Rewards Its True Patriots"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

Dr Ko Ko Gyi @ Abdul Rahman Zafrudin<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Proposed Medals to award to<\/strong> Burmese Democracy Activists<\/a><\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

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The late eminent journalist Ludu Daw Amar<\/strong> once sighed with weary wisdom:<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cAh\u2026 our country\u2019s karma has never favored the truly good and capable people. Whether during the struggle for independence or after freedom was gained, countless noble souls sacrificed their lives for the nation. Yet, despite their devotion and suffering, they never received the rewards they deserved. That, my dear, is the saddest thing of all.\u201d<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Among the \u201cnoble souls\u201d she referred to were General Aung San<\/strong>, Ko Ba Hein<\/strong>, Ko Rashid<\/strong>, the revered Sayagyi U Razak<\/strong>, and even Thakin Than Tun<\/strong>\u2014individuals who gave their lives for Burma\u2019s independence and dignity.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Today, decades later, her words still echo painfully true.
There are countless people who have sacrificed their lives and livelihoods, been detained and tortured in notorious interrogation centers, become disabled, or left their loved ones to go underground or into rebellion. Many have been displaced within the country or forced to live abroad as refugees. Thousands who joined the Civil Disobedience Movement (CDM)<\/strong> lost their jobs, houses, shops, and all their possessions. Others devoted their time, energy, and limited resources to support the 8888 Revolution<\/strong>, Daw Aung San Suu Kyi<\/strong>, and the National League for Democracy (NLD)<\/strong>\u2014only to be forgotten once power was achieved.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Daw Aung San Suu Kyi\u2019s cold remark still pierces like a dagger through their hearts:<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cI don\u2019t need the woodcutters anymore; I need the wood sculptors now.\u201d<\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Even General Ne Win<\/strong>, for all his dictatorship and the ruin he brought under the BSPP regime, at least recognized those who contributed to independence. He granted them titles, positions, and public honors. Hard-working citizens, outstanding students, veterans, even rebels who surrendered, and dedicated civil servants were acknowledged and rewarded.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

But in the new Myanmar, worse still is the religious and racial discrimination<\/strong>\u2014especially against Muslims, particularly those of mixed heritage<\/strong>. Discrimination extends also to Christians and non-Bamar ethnic minorities, though in varying degrees.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Ironically, under the old Burma Star<\/strong> medal regulations, even navy or air force personnel who served just in a designated war zone<\/strong> were eligible for recognition. Yet in present-day Myanmar, those who have sacrificed the most for the nation\u2019s democracy and freedom are neither recognized nor remembered.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

As the Spring Revolution<\/strong> continues, one must ask:
Will the future Federal Democratic Union of Myanmar<\/strong> finally honor its true patriots\u2014those who fought, suffered, and sacrificed without reward?
Or will it, too, forget its own woodcutters once the sculptures are complete?<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Read also:<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

1\/ Flashback : Awards I got<\/a><\/h4>\n\n\n\n
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2\/ Burma Star<\/a><\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

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Medal created and awarded by the British Government c. 1945, image created by Col Andr\u00e9 Kritzinger<\/a> – Own work (Derivative)<\/p>\n\n\n\n

3\/ \u101c\u103d\u1010\u103a\u101c\u1015\u103a\u101b\u1031\u1038\u1019\u1031\u102c\u103a\u1000\u103d\u1014\u103a\u1038\u101d\u1004\u103a\u1019\u103b\u102c\u1038<\/a><\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

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<\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n

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Pho Sai<\/a>\u00a0(\u1006\u103d\u1031\u1038\u1014\u103d\u1031\u1038<\/a>\u00a0\u00b7<\/strong>\u00a0\u1015\u1036\u1037\u1015\u102d\u102f\u1038<\/a>)\u00a0–\u00a0\u1000\u102d\u102f\u101a\u103a\u1015\u102d\u102f\u1004\u103a\u1016\u1014\u103a\u1010\u102e\u1038\u1019\u103e\u102f<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Dr Ko Ko Gyi @ Abdul Rahman Zafrudin Proposed Medals to award to Burmese Democracy Activists The late eminent journalist Ludu Daw Amar once sighed with weary wisdom: \u201cAh\u2026 our country\u2019s karma has never favored the truly good and capable people. Whether during the struggle for independence or after freedom was gained, countless noble souls […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":3445,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[20,7,6,11,10,16,123],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-3443","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-anti-racism","category-articles","category-history","category-myanmar-muslims-history","category-news","category-opinion","category-story"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/myanmarmuslim.news\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/3443","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/myanmarmuslim.news\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/myanmarmuslim.news\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/myanmarmuslim.news\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/myanmarmuslim.news\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=3443"}],"version-history":[{"count":7,"href":"https:\/\/myanmarmuslim.news\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/3443\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":3464,"href":"https:\/\/myanmarmuslim.news\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/3443\/revisions\/3464"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/myanmarmuslim.news\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/3445"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/myanmarmuslim.news\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=3443"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/myanmarmuslim.news\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=3443"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/myanmarmuslim.news\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=3443"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}