An American's New Year Eve in Burma
Part 1. NIGHT BUS TO RANGOON
On one of my recent trips to Burma I spent some time in Moulmein. I had arrived there by train from Rangoon . The condition of the train and rails was so decrepit that I found myself constantly bounced up and slammed back down onto my seat with tooth cracking force. But more disturbing were the sightings of children on work crews smashing rocks into gravel and hand carrying huge loads of rock along the rail line. This labor pool of dusty, exhausted zombies was made up of children who appeared to range in age from 5 to 14 years..............
Some time in the middle of the night I felt someone kicking my foot and demanding, "Papers. Papers". I rose out of my haze and there before me stood a uniformed soldier with an outstretched hand demanding my passport. I rummaged around in my pockets, withdrew the document and passed it to him........................The next thing I was aware of was the bus had stopped, people were lining the aisles and getting off. It was bright as day outside. Huge spotlights were driven by large, noisy generators. The passengers from a bus ahead of us were all lined up in front of tables with their open baggage being inspected by soldiers.
My heart picked up its rhythm as I considered the possibility of having my luggage searched, my camera opened and the Bo Mya pictures discovered. I thought about retrieving my camera, ejecting the memory card and stashing it somewhere on the bus. .........................Part 2. NEW YEARS EVE IN RANGOON
The next time I was awakened it was by the driver directing me to get off the bus. We were on a wide paved street in a residential area of Rangoon and all the other passengers were disappearing into the night as others were met by family and friends. I was approached immediately by an alcohol loaded voice yelling "taxi ?".
"My country good", my host belched at me, "I Army." Then the totally unexpected admission…"I Army. Army bad. Very bad." Then to my astonishment he then began to cry. "I Army. Army very bad," he choked. From his anguished behavior I realized I was sharing the cab with an extremely tormented and conflicted army officer............
Again I was surprised when the driver would not accept payment for the ride. He grinned at me and wished me a "Happy New Year". As I grabbed my bag and exited the taxi I shook the Officer's hand as he continued his tearful wail, "I Army. Army bad, very bad."
As I climbed the dark stairs to the guest house reception I thought this might signal a very happy new year. Maybe the situation in Burma had some hope after all. I wondered how many Army officers shared this man's anguish............
READ THE FULL STORY ON http://burmadigest.info/2009/01/30/new-years-eve-in-burma/
= = = = = = = = = = = = = =
__._,_.___
****************************************************
Mukto Mona plans for a Grand Darwin Day Celebration:
Call For Articles:
http://mukto-mona.com/wordpress/?p=68
http://mukto-mona.com/banga_blog/?p=585
****************************************************
VISIT MUKTO-MONA WEB-SITE : http://www.mukto-mona.com/
****************************************************
"I disapprove of what you say, but I will defend to the death your right to say it".
-Beatrice Hall [pseudonym: S.G. Tallentyre], 190
Change settings via the Web (Yahoo! ID required)
Change settings via email: Switch delivery to Daily Digest | Switch to Fully Featured
Visit Your Group | Yahoo! Groups Terms of Use | Unsubscribe
__,_._,___