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Salient. The Newspaper of Victoria University College. Vol. 20, No. 3. April 12, 1956
An Idea to Win the World
An Idea to Win the World
The immediate future of the countries of South-East Asia and New Zealand depends on what idea grips the hearts and minds of the youth of Asia.
This past summer 3,000 students crowded into a Rangoon theatre built to hold 2,000. They were attending a special showing at Government request of "The Vanishing Island," the ideological play which accompanied the Moral Re-Armament World Mission throughout Asia.
The student body of Rangoon University is noted for its radical, revolutionary character. Members of the Cabinet expressed doubt whether the students would listen, yet there was wrapt attention throughout the play. At the end the President of the student body, ignoring threats of personal violence made to him earlier, leapt on to the stage and said, "I want to make the spirit of this play the spirit of my university and nation."
Some weeks later, speaking in Helsinki on his return from Moscow, Prime Minister U Nu of Burma said, "I wish to thank you for the new possibilities Moral Re-Armament has opened up for the youth of Burma." The Moral Re-Armament World Mission of 242 people from 28 countries travelled 35,000 miles in three months at the invitation of 10 heads of state in Asia and the Middle East. They demonstrated for a billion people the ideology of inspired democracy.
From Tokyo to Cairo the response of students and of all men was overwhelming.
The Vice-Chanceller of Madras University evaluated the response of his 23,000 students following the visit of a similar task force earlier. He said, "Before you came, the students talked of nothing but Communism. Now the one topic is Mora) Re-Armament.
In Cairo President Nasser received the World Mission in his official residence. To the press he declared, "This ideology could be a solution to save the world from the conflict between the so-called West and East. We should all believe in it."
He implemented this conviction by sending 34 professors and student leaders from the Universities of Cairo and Alexandria for three weeks' training at the World Assembly for MRA at Caux, Switzerland, at Government expense.