When the centipede swallows the human

The young Karen boy watches his grandmother pound the husks from the rice. She tells him the story of an old hta.

“We can only dream this,” she says. “But in your time I think it will happen. A centipede will swallow all the human beings on the earth.”

The Karen hta fascinates me. It is a form of oral poetry, only it is much more than this. For many generations it was the way in which the Karen communicated; an educational medium in fact. A way in which the older generation passed on knowledge to the younger generation. Given that contemporary Karen written communication only occurred in the 1800s you can see the importance or oral communication to Karen history.

getting the message across

Anyone whose had experience with international agencies in the documentation of human rights knows their oft-repeated response is “We need facts. We need hard, objective documentation of names, places, positions and what actions were employed against the victims. We need documentation that shows injuries and deaths.” It’s a callous, often depersonalised response, part of me knows the need for it, but part of me is appalled at its ability to take the human out of the story.

Punk on the streets of Rangoon

I’ve been mulling over this photo for days now.
I can’t pull my thoughts into any cohesive explanation of it.
So I’ll just throw a few observations out there.

Punk at a buddhist celebration – I can’t find any connection in it.
It’s a party, which warrants a dressup, but parties are so rare in Burma and any gathering of say more than five people and you’re guaranteed a military presence. As it’s THE party of the year though, perhaps its an unprecedented opportunity.
People look happy…it’s nice to see
Punk can look quite aggressive don’t you think, I’m surprised there wasn’t some knee-jerk response.
Hip hop, punk…i’ve talked of hip hop before on this blog and perhaps there are similar arguments to why the Burmese embrace punk. In a tightly-controlled, conservative, religious and narrow-minded country, it becomes increasingly understandable why this anti-establishment genre of music is embraced.
It’s about youth rebellion, anti-authoritarian ideologies and distinctive clothing. Is it a protest clothed in piercings, rock shirts and mohawks?
The Burmese military probably had no idea what they were witnessing.

I wonder if the Ramones ever thought they’d make it to Burma?

Singing to an environmental message – the damning of the Salween!

For years now there has been talk in Thailand and Burma of the damning of the Salween River. But the talk has become insidiously real with last week’s announcement of the beginning of the construction of a hydro-electric power plant at Ta Sang in Shan State. It is the beginning of a series of dams planned for the Salween River and it is the money spinner of Thailand’s MDX Group and the Burmese government. Estimated to be worth US$6 billion, most of the power generated will be exported to Thailand, leaving the people of power-starved Burma with little benefit from its construction, but rather a whole lot of inflicted suffering.

Hip Hop for the disaffected

Hip hop.
It’s a little unexpected to hear it’s an increasingly popular style used in Burma’s music scene. But then perhaps not. Hip hop has a history of being the style of choice for the disaffected. Angry statements of injustice and a refusal to succumb to conventional forms of presentation. The bling hasn’t transferred across as yet but the stories of injustice have.