Promise of a bright future ahead

Promise of a bright future ahead

Bright Future Ahead

PROMISE OF A BRIGHT FUTURE AHEAD

- Paper cutting art design by TAN-CHENG 譚正

A dynamic youth laps above the horizon casting her dream into the sky. Her left hand raising a torch with flame ablaze, so that the world could see the light of future. Her right hand is clutching a book inscribed the word “Baha’i” that is the Holy Writings of Baha’u’llah. In which He foretold of a New World Order

Behind her is the horizon of a future modern world. A World symbolized with modern tall skyscrapers and a satellite disk. Morning sun raised at it full shine, brightly crowning this dancing youth with the glory from high above.

This picture symbolizes the promise of the Baha’is for a bright future ahead. And this promise is in the hand of the young people with female playing the leading roles soon to come.

This picture is one of strength, majesty and hope, as visible in her torch and Holy book. Holding aloft a light that never fails, she represents courage of a progressive young generation lapping toward a bright new world.

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This was a piece of paper cutting art of the last century in 1985 India. It was published as the cover of a Chinese deepening material of the Baha’is. Volume GLORY B.E. 143. in Malaysia. 

This was a piece of art of extraordinary creativity of paper cutting. When most artists create their art on paper with pen or brush. This piece of art was cut out of a piece of black hard paper. A time consuming paper cutting skill less artists in the world practice with.

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CHEENA BHAVANA - Location where the above art created in 1985

Dear Principal of Baha’i at Hong Kong

Dear Principal of Baha’i at Hong Kong
1987

Dear Principal of Baha’i at Hong Kong - a letter from a young Cambodian refugee written in  detention center. 

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25.7.1987 Xxxxxthany Xxxxx Or Thany Xxxxxx ROOM 4, I.D.C. Soi Suan Phlu P.O.Box 12.1088 Bangkok 12. Thailand Dear Principal of Baha’i at Hong Kong I did not write to you for many months because I have been busy studying your Baha’i correspondence course.  After sending the answer sheets back to Malaysia, on 24.6.1987 I went to Bangkok hoping to meet Mr. Wong Fook Yee. But he was not in the Baha’i Center at Bangkok when I reached there on 25.6.1987. On 26.6.1987 I returned to my god father’s home with my full brothers. On 27.6.1987 night, I and my brothers were detained by immigration officers for the reason of illegal staying in Thailand. We were detented in police station of Bankmat for about 7 days. After that we were locked up in Buriram’s jail for about 24 days while waiting for a court trial. On 21st.7.1987 we were sentenced by a judge  to 5 months imprisonment and 1000Bath each person for offending the law. Now  we are at Suan Phlu Detention camp at Bangkok. I am very sad…… pity my brothers who are staying in the youth camp instead of going to school. Instead I and my brothers live in jail.  Whether I live in the jail or in Suan Phlu detention camp are the same …no freedom….. I don’t throw away my Baha’i Books or Prayers of Baha’u’llah. Would you solve my problem, please?  And you ought to help me to solve my case that involves my life and future. Would you help to give good advices to me please. Principal, members, teachers, students, my life in jail today are difficult but it is easy for those rich men. When they have money, they can do many things, buy cake or food for lunch. For me and my brothers never have enough to eat. Don’t know what is desert, don’t know what cake is. Prisoner’s life is very difficult, however I like to show my truth pursue that I don’t want to return to live in my country, I want to live in a third country. But I don’t know how to go about it. I ask for help from you. Because every day other Associations and Religious groups came to visit and help their own members. And I awaiting  my Baha’is association to visit me, but don’t see any one come to meet me. So you ought to solve and help me too. Lastly, I evoke to Spirit of Baha’i to help me and provide me a good advice and living supply to me who live in jail that has no freedom. Hope you help me and provide to me some sundry. Oh. Excuse me please and correct me. And I have changed my name THANY KHOUN. Don’t wonder. Hope! Hope to receive your reply and your supply. From (signed) Xxxxxxthany Xxxxx Or Thany Xxxxx

Thany’s original letter was written in Local English style which may not be easy to understand for outsider. I have rephrased his letter into the a Common English version we  easier understand his situation in the detention camp in Bangkok.

A few background introductions to this letter. Is was 30 years ago……….:

1- Thany is a Cambodian young man I personally never met. I know him through correspondences he wrote directly to me from a refugee camp in north of Thailand. I was Refugee affair Co-coordinator in 1987. Perhaps I was the only outside help he could get hold of, he decided to “escape” from refugee camp at the North of Thailand border and took the risk of “illegally” entry to Thailand  to venture south to Bangkok City to seek help from me on 25.6.1987. That particular afternoon, I was not in office. Two days later he was de-tended by immigration for “without passport”. This is his letter from the detention camp. After this letter there were a couple more letters from each others. After that his fate is unknown to me.

2- July 1987 I completed my work contract and left Thailand.  By the time I hear from him again he was writing the following letter to NSA Hong Kong from Immigration Detention Camp in Bangkok. Because my name was mentioned in his letter, the Hong Kong office felt obligate to passed a photo copy to me.  Just a photo copy of his letter with no remark, no verbal information on what the NSA has replied to him

3- What desperate help this Cambodian young man was seeking? This is his own words:

“……..…..I like to show my truth pursue that I don’t want to return to live in my country, I want to live in a third country……………… I evoke to Spirit of Baha’i to help me and provide me a good advice and living supply to me who live in jail that has no freedom”.

This cry for freedom voices 30 years ago in last century is still heard today among waves and waves of  new refugees around the world.

This letter in 1987 I have  Rephrased, summarized and Googledlized for precise Google Translation into other languages.

CHEENA BHAVANA Visva-Bharati University

CHEENA BHAVANA,  Visva-Bharati University in 1984

中國學院, 印度國際大學
 CHEENA BHAVANA
 Visva-Bharati University

Tagore (1861-1941)

Tan Yun-shan 譚雲山 (1898-1983)

Visva-Bharati University was establisged in 1922.

CHEENA BHAVANA at Visva-Bharati was established under guidance of Tagore himself with the help from  Prof. Tan Yun-shan 譚雲山 in April 1937.

During the time of Tagore and Tan Yun-shan 譚雲山, scholars from Europe craved to study and research at Cheena-Bhavana, Visva-Bharati. 

Famous French sinologist, Sylvain Levi (1863-1935) joined Visva-Bharati as the first Visiting Professor who taught Chinese and Tibetan and present during the inauguration ceremony of Visva-Bharati. 

Xu Beihong徐悲鴻 (1895-1953) from China researched and taught at Visva-Bharati, Cheena-Bhavana.

Cheena-Bhavana was established with the lofty ideals of strengthening the age old cultural ties between India and China, promote Sino-Indian understanding, translate back Buddhist scriptures into Indian languages and become a pivotal research centre in Sino-Indian studies.

But recent decades it has shrunk as a ‘department of Chinese language’ and the whole department has not been able to produce a single research paper in a referred journal in the recent few years.

However, there is strong sign of changes recent years after the University signed MoU with a university in China. And a few more MoU with other Chinese Universities are on planning.

After brief war between China and India September-October 1962, Nehru came to Visva-Bharati for annual convocation on 24 December 1962. 

Nehru was very hurt after China war and was criticizing China in a vicious manner in his convocation address.

However, when Nehru saw Prof. Tan Yun-shan 譚雲山, crying bitterly under a tree in white-clad Ashram suit, he changed his speech. He proclaimed,

“In Visva-Bharati you have got various departments. You have got the Cheena-Bhavan under a distinguished Chinese scholar (Tan Yun-shan). That is a good thing to remind you always that you are not at war with China’s culture or the greatness of China in the past or present. (See Jawaharlal Nehru’s Speeches, vol. 4, p. 27.). ”

Prof. Tan Yun-shan 譚雲山 was close to Nehru, Gandhi and Tagore.

http://muktodhara.org/?p=3465

Tagore and Tan Yunshan

1984, I came to Shantinagathan and stayed for two nights in a hostel mentioned in Lonely Planet travel guide book. (I might came once earlier in 1983, but memories at this age of 62 is unclear now. I never wrote any diary while in India for 2.5 years)

I strolled around the campus and met an African student majoring Comparative Religions and a subject in Arts. He brought me around and to see his art classroom. There were sculptures. He show me his drawing of an Indian potrial.  This is a drawing practise in his class and the model for this drawing was a rickshaw man in real life. The school invite him sometimes to be their model in drawing lessons. The school chosen him because this rickshaw man has a unique.

This African friend I newly met also took me for a walk to the nearby rice farm.  The rice farms were very different from the padi (rice) farms back home in Malaysia. My maternal  grandmother in Sabah also has a big rice farm which I been to once.

This rice farm in Shantinagatan is vast and one felt like to run over the vast big field. See images belows.