The answer my friend, is blowing in the wind

Listen to the birds as they happily chirp on the trees. Listen to the street vendors as they hawk their wares in the market places and the bazars. Listen to the people as they talk in hushed tones at the coffee shops, casting a frequent eye at passer-bys. What are they talking about. Ah yes of course - reconciliation. At last. First the Myanmar government stuck to the word reconsolidation and the opposition led by the NLD stuck to reconciliation. Now at last the two sides have met and have agreed that they are indeed talking about the same word, "reconciliation". Where do we go from here. What do we do in the days ahead. At one time, former Prime Minister U Nu once admitted publicly that the country was beset with 16,000 problems. President U Thein Sein, our new president had admitted that there was an urgent need to tackle the problem of "poverty". A seminar was held at Naypyidaw in May 2011 to discuss about this subject. What I am saying is that there will indeed be many, many problems to be tackled. However the reality is that first of all there needs to be a political will. By convening this seminar on "poverty alleviation", the new government had demonstrated beyond any doubt that the political will is there. Another important subject that the new government had identified is "Economic Reform". This was the subject of another forum to discuss economic reform. This forum was attended by representatives of all registered political parties and Daw Aung San Suu Kyi, who attends as an invited guest, although the NLD was not a registered political party. She was seen sitting next to Dr. Maung Myint, the presidential advisor on economic affairs. Of course there will be nay sayers and perennial pessimists. In the Burmese language there is a word for such kinds of people, "bay hating bu phyaw". It does not matter, actually. As they say, it is in the nature of things. In every discussion there will be many points of view so who ever is in the ruling government at any given time should "listen to the people". We have to see "reconciliation" as a process and not like a one time deal. Nobody said it was going to be easy. It is not easy because it has to be done on a national scale. That was why it was so important for Daw Aung San Suu Kyi, who represented the NLD to meet President U Thein Sein. For Myanmar this meeting has historic significance. The people look upon Daw Aung San Suu Kyi with hope and admiration. So to that extent they are happy. There is another reason why we should all be happy. Over the years many Myanmar citizens left the country for many reasons - economic, political, social. There has been a lot of polarization among Myanmar communities abroad. Those who saw themselves as "democracy activists"', those who hold Myanmar passports and are on good terms with the government and it's diplomatic personnel. There is another group of Myanmar who just wanted to be neutral and engage in business activities or pursue their professional studies. Now the political landscape is changing rapidly. Many of the Myanmar citizens who are living abroad are feeling less challenged to meet or talk to those from the opposing side. At least the are more willing to nod their heads in recognition that the other guy is just a simple human being, not a devil with horns. Maybe that is what we need as this national reconciliation process moves on like a huge train. See the other guy as a human being instead of putting arbitrary labels like "pro-government, thar ku, activist, democracy activists etc." These words just divide us. After all we have all eaten the same rice, breathed in the same air, marveled at the same ruins of the Bagan temples, relished the same mon hin ga. After all we were all born in a country called "Myanmar Pyi". See the rest on the screen.