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| Children lining up for food in Karenni State |
Video shared by John Gilmartin
Morning old Burma friends
Today’s NYT front page has a recent visit with insurgent forces in Myanmar. As a teenager I read Somerset Maugham, and fell for the romantic colonial Burma he created. Imagine my surprise when years later I’m sitting in the old Strand Hotel enjoying a very different place from his thriller.
Today’s Times has a short video of the current insurgency. For me, Burma is the most ‘Asian’ place. I spent fair amounts of time in China (not just Beijing), post war Vietnam (Nhatrang, Dalat and Hanoi), Dhaka, Pyongyang and most of India. Old hands in old Rangoon told me truisms about their place; ‘we call the government the velvet fist; when we gained independence the British said we had the most potential for success of all their former colonies; don’t be fooled by the quiet demeanor.’
The insurgencies and juntas have been continuing for at least 40 years now. Tenacity is the word I think of now.
I hope the paywall lets you see this report. John
John,
ReplyDeleteAnother historical message that reminds me of being in the Strand Hotel in Rangoon in 1966 while with the Peace Corps in Thailand. Jim