Goodbye Say Hei...amazing woman!

Goodbye Say Hei on PhotoPeach



So our amazing Say Hei has gone ... and I've had a weekend to think about the magic moments of Say Hei's time in Campie School. Here's some of them.

Magic Moment 1
On Friday I took Say Hei over from my house to the beach. As we went down steps to the beach, she was nervous. " I afraid." No it's OK Say Hei. I took her arm and we walked onto the sand. The sea was far out so we walked half way towards it. "Stop. I afraid. When sea comes... it comes fast or slow?" She thought the sea was going to rush in and drown us. It was so so funny and she was so excited that in her 50s, she had been to the sea for the first time in her life. What a privilege to share that moment with her. She's got the photo sadly.

Magic/Tragic Moment 2
Driving past the sea near Levenhall, she said, "My sister, you very lucky. Every day you go to school you see this beautiful sea. Every day I go to my school, I see Thai police arresting my Burmese people."

Magic Moment 3
Say Hei, Marc and Fraser from P7 and I went to meet Don Ledingham at East Lothian Headquarters. The boys impressed all of us with their knowledge and understanding of the plight of the Burmese people. Later, Say Hei said "Your students have many rights... rights to speak to the leader. My students have no rights. One day, I hope my students will have rights as yours."

Magic Moment 4
Apart from the entire ceilidh being an incredibly magic moment where parents, staff, children and visitors all mingled beautifully. In her speech (which you can see on www.campieschool.com), Say Hei said, "I never thought in my life that I would ever be in your country."

Magic Moment 5
On the last night, Fiona O' Donnell (East Lothian MP) coming to listen to Say Hei and Paw Ray tell her about their situation. Paw Ray had been in Glasgow and returned with 2 new friends who drove her back. Then there were 10 in the house and the conversation became more and more obscure. Fiona turned round and said, "Being in your house is like being on another planet!" It was a huge complement.

Magic Moment 6
Later that evening, Gaynor and I had unpacked Say Hei's suitcase 3 times trying to get everything she'd been given by Campie into her baggage allowance. Gaynor had to stay so long that we all had a chippy tea. After a long time, Seth said to Gaynor, "Mum we need to go home. We've been here 5 hours." Then he looked at his ex headteacher, remembered his lovely manners and said, "But it's been really good!"

Magic Moment 7
At Edinburgh Airport at 4.30am on Saturday, Say Hei's baggage allowance was 23 Kg. Her bag weighed in at 30 Kg and the second bag that Campie were paying for was 7 Kg. So Gaynor and I unpacked her bag, moving Campie's letters for CDC and Louise Laing's Heinz tomato soup into the little bag. The queue behind us were not impressed but we were giggling our heads off. And surely this has to be the most obscure but effective example of excellence in a headteacher and the chair of a Parent Council working together! I mean 4am on a Saturday morning! (although that is why neither of us made it to the Musselburgh Community Planning event at 10am. Sorry, folks.)

So many others, Sarah Boyack showing the Scottish Parliament, watching her horror as we ate ice cream, visiting our Burmese refugee student friends at Newbattle Abbey College, waking up to the smell of Burmese breakfast cooking, Campie children saying bye to Say Hei and much more.

Say Hei, you came and gave us so much. Thank you Amazing Lady.

Sheila Laing

If you have any magic Say Hei moments yourself, put them in a comment or send them to us and we'll blog them. slaing@campie.elcschool.org.uk

Pudsey and Ceilidh

Today Pudsey came to Campie and surprised the children ... and Say Hei and Paw Ray.

Tonight we had a brilliant ceilidh for Say Hei and Paw Ray and our friends.

Pudsy and Ceilidh on PhotoPeach

A row from Louise

Just got a huge row from Louise for not telling her that the photos of Say Hei are on the Campie School website on www.campieschool.com.

Sorry, if you go to Campie School website and click on Burma on the right hand side, you will see all the posts about Burma and Say Hei. I think I better put them on here too.... but right now I am going to the Scottish Burma Ceilidh at Campie Primary School at 7pm. Watch this space, photos to follow.

Sheila

News from Waley, Thailand.

Report from a friend in Thailand, "All the refugees in Waley who came as a result of fighting on Sunday night were sent back by the Thai authorities at 9 am this morning." The refugees did not want to return because they were frightened and were forced to go back to Burma against their will. This is very distressing.

Go back to Burma!

On the Irawaddy we read, "The Thai army has announced that it will not allow Burmese villagers to cross the border again if hostilities resume. Observers say this policy is a result of a request by the Burmese government to the Thais to deny shelter to Burmese refugees, and a Burmese demand that the Thai authorities pay 100,000 baht (US $3,000) compensation for any Burmese citizen killed on Thai soil."

Burmese Headteachers visit to Scottish Parliament

Today, Say Hei and Paw Ray visited the Scottish Parliament. Sarah Boyack, MSP and BEST trustee (Burma Educational Scholarship Trust) showed us round and gave us an explanation of how the Parliament works. She spoke about the transparency and accountability of the Scottish Parliament and of its commitment to equality. Say Hei and Paw Ray were very impressed but so sad because Burma is exactly the opposit of this, as the recent elections in Burma show.
(PS Our headteachers are actually Karen ethnic group not Burmese.)

More fighting on the Thai Burma border

Today our Karen headteachers heard that there is more fighting on the border and more people are running away into Thailand. Many of the local Burmese and Karen people and organisations are trying to help them even though the Thai authorities want the new refugees to return to Burma. The situation is very tense and fearful.

We read on www.irrawaddy.org that...

"...More than 400 villagers fled late on Sunday night from the town of Valley, which straddles the Thai-Burmese border, following a resumption of hostilities between Burmese government forces and breakaway Brigade 5 of the Democratic Karen Buddhist Army (DKBA), according to Thai authorities.

We are all so joyful at Aung San Suu Kyi's freedom and it's amazing to hear her dignified and courageous speeches. However, let's keep remembering the poor Burmese and Karen people who struggle every day to survive in poverty, hunger and fear.