Please don't prevent the hearse crossing your ward.

Tuesday, 27 April 2010 14:43 Khaing Suu

Interview with Kyaw Thu

New Delhi (Mizzima) - Kyaw Thu, actor turned founder of free funeral service, has been honoured with the "Citizen of Burma" award by the expatriate Burmese community through online voting.
Burmese communities living in 14 cities in the U.S. have voted to honour several leading social activists with "Citizens of Burma awards" on April 24 this year.

Q: Tell us how you feel on receiving the award?

A: I am glad that the expatriate Burmese acknowledge social workers in the country. I also thank them. I knew I got the award when the free funeral service association from Muse Township telephoned and congratulated me, but I did not believe it. I was sure after reading my e-mail when I got back home. I was informed by the group in the evening.

Q: Why do you think you were honoured?

A: I do my best in my work and carry out my responsibility. I believe I received the award because I adhere to morals while I am working. It is a kind of morale booster for me, like a dose of energetic drug. I will be more committed to my social work.

Q: What do you think of the voting system for the Citizen of Burma Award?

A: "Of course it is a good system. This kind of system is practiced everywhere in the world, except in Burma. For example, our film academy awards are not selected like this. It should follow the selection system of Oscar awards. The academy awards in Burma are so selective and handpicked. The citizen of Burma awards are voted for five from 24 candidates and then one among them is selected.

Q: Whom do you want to thank for this award?

A: I turned myself from film actor into humanitarian worker because of my wife, Shwe Zi Gwet. I got interested in social and religious work because of my son, Pyi Thein Kyaw and my daughter, Myit-mo Kyaw. I thank them. I am also thankful to those who voted for me and the expatriate Burmese who organized this award.

Q:Please tell us about your social work?

A: We are providing free funeral services regardless of being rich or poor. We also help to support sanghas and monks when they die. We also assist poor communities withThu-kha free clinic for medical care and conduct summer English classes for poor kids and open Thu-kha Alin (Delightful light) library where you can study for their development.

Q: How did you change yourself from a film star into social worker?

A: I was annoyed dealing with several people, while I was acting as a film star. Then I went to uncle U Thu Kha and told him my bad feeling. He told me, "Maung Kyaw Thu.. Uncle wants to ask you. Do you know the name of the Prime Minister of France? I said I don't know. Then he asked me the name of Italy's Prime Minister, which I did not know either. Then he asked me do you know Charlie Chaplin and I said 'yes'. This is the answer, he said. If a famous actor works for welfare of others, he would be more well-known and successful than others, he suggested. Then I used my popularity as a stepping stone for humanitarian work.

My parents had worked in the film industry. As I knew film directors well, I started acting in "Chit Kyo Lay Ta-Myin" (a thread of love) after I married and got well-known. I felt tired when I acted for almost 25 years. My son and daughter went to a dharma talk of Aung-San Taw-Ya abbot when they were studying in fourth or fifth standard and they asked me would actors suffer in hell. I was shocked by the question and I started religious work. With guidance of the abbot, I read books and with guidance of uncle U Thu Kha, I turned myself into humanitarian work.

Q: What difficulties do you face when working for welfare of others?

A: I have had many difficulties, since I can't do social and humanitarian work undisturbed. I am not doing politics, but some still see us as interfering with the government. There are so many problems. I even faced many obstacles, until I was about to be sued or imprisoned. I have been resolutely working for what I think is right and we are surviving till now. I don't take a penny as donation since I started my humanitarian work in 2001. I go to different free funeral associations on my own expense. I spend for my food from my own pocket. But I pay for staff who should earn salaries.

Q: How do you evaluate the 10-year progress of your work?

A: We have started our work with 20 or 25 people. Now we can organize more than 200 staff members, including volunteers. The funeral vans have also expanded to 17 or 18, from one or two. The association runs systematically now and has expanded to motor vehicles department and the medical department.

Q: Where do you get funding?

A: I don't raise funds. I spend what I get from donors. Our NGO is not similar to NGOs in foreign countries, as we don't submit proposal for our works. But we spend systematically what we receive.

Q: Then how did you start your work?

A: At the beginning, the people who were involved in the association donated money and bought a funeral van. Later we continued to work with donations we received from local communities and Burmese living abroad. The donation we received is fair and square for our work. Burmese living abroad donate to us annually. They collectively donated for the X-ray room. We also receive funding from returnee sailors.

Q: What are your monthly or annual expenses and is it enough for your work?

A: Just for free funeral servicing and for the clinic, our spending is roughly 300 Lakhs (30 million Kyat) a month. For a year, it could be 36 million Kyats. We get enough funding and we spend only for what is necessary. We don't waste the funds for unnecessary items. Until now, it is working fairly.

Q: What are your immediate needs?

A: We are renovating some buildings. The X-ray room should be finished in June. But we don't have an office for free funeral service. We run the office in the clinic in a room. We have to repair the patients' care room. We have to build car garages, buy a generator and dig a deep-well. These are immediate needs.

Q: What if you get permission (from authorities who prevent you) to work in the entertainment industry?

A: I have been prohibited since 2007. I am not allowed to act or to write. Even if I were granted permission for such entertainment work, I will not do it. I don't enjoy such work, as I have to work with many people and I will not earn merit by doing such work. I will continue my humanitarian work which earns merit for me. If the situation is favourable, I want to direct some films on real historical events. I will commit myself on welfare of others.

Q: We hear that you have difficulty using Facebook?

A: Yes, But I didn't register myself, as friends from England and Singapore helped me register on Facebook. I write and upload on what I have been working. When I got more than 10,000 fans, I don't know who complained against me to the facebook authorities and they switched me off. I can't write anymore. Now I can give comments, but I can't upload new items on what I want to write. It is not good to interfere with people who are providing free funeral service and free medical care.

Q: Does Facebook support to some extent your humanitarian work?

A: Yes. It is very supportive. I receive many donations through Facebook. Expatriate Burmese, who are living in different corners of the world and are losing contact with Burma, can know about our free funeral service and make donations. Similarly, I think the Citizen of Burma award appears widely in Facebook. That is why I thank friends who assisted me to run a Facebook page.

Q: Is there any other branches apart from Rangoon office for your free funeral service?

A: Similar associations in other townships are separate from ours. They were formed by emulating our work. But they invited me during opening ceremonies and I went to more than 50 townships prior to 2007. I couldn't go to such ceremonies after 2007, as I have difficulty getting a travel permit. I also deliver some talks for removing superstitious thinking and I drive the funeral van myself to take bodies to funerals.

Q: Anything you want to add for the readers?

A: I will continue this social work for the rest of my life. This kind of humanitarian work can be done only in our manly world (existence) in 31 realms of existence of beings. For this reason, I commit myself for such deeds. I see the superstition of our people when I perform funeral service. Please help me to eradicate such social malaise. If a funeral van comes onto a street, the locals resist saying that it should not come this way or that way and many people assume a funeral van is not a blessed thing. Some locals resist a funeral van from entering their street because they just paved a new road. These actions are not good. Are the people from that road immortal? Please help the dead to go straight to the burial sites. These people chop, cut and eat animals. I would like to say please don't prevent the hearse carrying the dead from passing along the road or the ward where you live.