In his green Pajero when Lee and his family were returning to his residence in Yangon, his adjutant sitting next to the driver was in a frenzy to glorify his commander’s achievement. At the rear Su was in between Lee and Kim. With an indifferent attitude Su kept listening to what Captain Un had to say, but her heart was far away in the desert of Arabia. She was brought back by a question from her dad. Lee asked, “Su, what are you thinking?”

“I’m curious, how did you get two promotions in a year?”

“Under normal circumstances it’s not possible, but during wartime it’s possible.”

“Are we at war?”

“Of course, though it’s a civil war. Nevertheless, it’s a war. Matter of fact, civil wars are far more destructive than traditional wars.”

“Who is responsible for this civil war?”

“In the Rakhain state, Rohingya terrorists are responsible for it.”

“The homes of these Rohingyas are being burnt down, they are being thrown out of their homes, continuously they are being attacked and humiliated, shouldn’t we expect some sort of response to all this?”

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“Where did you get all this information?”

“Aren’t you forgetting something? Dad, I’m a journalist. While visiting a number of villages in Ruthidaung, I’ve witnessed all this with my own eyes.”

“When they are victims of arson, they should ask for assistance from the security forces, instead of indulging in terrorism. Angry people are burning down their homes in response to their terrorism.”

“Instead of generalizing would you please give me some solid evidence of their terror activities.”

“The Maung Dao massacre is a very good example of it, what do you say, Captain Un?”

Captain Un had been quietly following their conversation. The moment his boss asked for his opinion, without any kind of delay he said, “Of course!”

Su responded to Captain Un by saying, “No one has provided any evidence which could be used to incriminate any particular group for the massacre.”

At this point Captain Un turned his head and said, “Miss, most of the inhabitants of Maung Dao are Rohingyas. The scope for other groups to commit this kind of crime is quite slim.”

“The scope might be slim, but it’s not impossible. I’ve heard it from a number of people that it might be the work of the security forces.”

Lee said to Su, “Do you have any evidence to corroborate this claim?”

“Nope.”

“It’s not right to make this kind comment without any evidence.”

“Aren’t you people blaming the Rohingyas for the massacre at Maung Dao without any kind of evidence? Is it right?”

“A Rohingya terrorist killed Hin Kao, we have video images of it.”

“Before that incident Nuru and his family had been held as hostages for about two weeks, didn’t you get that information?”

“Calm down sweetheart. It’s a folly getting into an argument with your loved ones over it. I know why you are defending the Rohingyas.”

“No dad, I’m not defending anyone, I’m simply stating the facts.”

By this time Lee’s green Pajero had reached his residence in Yangon; before stepping out of the vehicle he told his adjutant to spend the night in his guest room. Very early in the morning, they were to leave for Sittwe, and having said this, he headed straight for his bedroom. Kim glared at her daughter, and then gingerly followed her husband.