Freedom From Fear was commissioned by Jenny Moon for Hillcrest Christian College in 2012. The piece is a powerful dedication to the Karen people of Myanmar, seen through the eyes of a young girl who had been lucky to come to Australia and become student of the school.
Esther Moo was 15 years old when she first remembered meeting her parents. She was born in the jungle during fierce fighting between the Karen Liberation Army and the Burmese Military. Her mother and father, both guerrilla warfare freedom fighters gave Esther to her grandparents so as she and her siblings could survive. She grew up in a small village not knowing if her parents would ever come home. Her mother and father lived off the jungle for over a decade, not even knowing the privilege of being able to cook food or see their children.
Esther met up with them again as a teenager and the family decided to get out of Burma before they would all be killed. The Burmese military indulged in frequent raids on the small, isolated villages, killing innocent civilians, including women and children. Men were often forced into slavery and many girls were raped and tortured. The village and all animals and food would be torched to the ground. Esther’s family escaped to the Thailand border where they lived with thousands of refugees, many of who are still their today. After meeting Keith Francis, Principal of Hillcrest Christian College, he arranged for the process of immigration and years later the family now live peacefully in Brisbane. Esther is training to be a doctor so she can return to her people and help give them freedom from fear.
Sample recording courtesy of Hillcrest Christian College Choir, directed by Jenny Moon