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Letters from Burma
Drawn from her imprisonment by Burma's military junta, a collection of writings by the leader of Burma's National League for Democracy and the winner of the 1991 Nobel Peace Prize offers a portrait of Burmese culture and a program for political reform. Original.
209 pages, Paperback
First published January 1, 1995
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About the author
Aung San Suu Kyi
42 books328 followersBurmese political leader Aung San Suu Kyi won the Nobel Prize of 1991 for peace for her work, promoting democracy in her country.
Khin Kyi, a prominent diplomat, bore this opposition daughter of Myanmar to Aung San, a martyred national hero of independence.
Someone assassinated Aung San, her father, then the shortly independent prime minister de facto and father of Aung San Suu Kyi, his daughter of two years. She attended schools until 1960, when people appointed her mother as ambassador to India. After further study in India, she attended the University of Oxford, where she met her future husband.
With two children, she lived a rather quiet life until 1988 and then returned to nurse her dying mother. The brutal military strongman Ne Win ruled and slaughtered masses of protesters; she spoke and began a nonviolent struggle for human rights. In July 1989, the military government of the newly named Union of Myanmar placed Aung San Suu Kyi under house arrest and held her incommunicado. If she agreed to leave Myanmar, then the military offered to free her, but she refused until civilian government returned and freed prisoners. The newly formed group, the national league, affiliated her and won more than four-fifths of the contested parliamentary seats in 1990, but the military government ignored the results of that election.
From house arrest, people freed Aung San Suu Kyi in July 1995. In the following year, she attended the party congress of the national league, but the military government continued to harass her. In 1998, she announced the formation of a representative committee and declared it as the legitimate ruling parliament.
From September 2000, the military junta once again placed Aung San Suu Kyi under house arrest to May 2002. Following clashes between the national league and demonstrators in 2003, the government returned her to house arrest.
Khin Kyi, a prominent diplomat, bore this opposition daughter of Myanmar to Aung San, a martyred national hero of independence.
Someone assassinated Aung San, her father, then the shortly independent prime minister de facto and father of Aung San Suu Kyi, his daughter of two years. She attended schools until 1960, when people appointed her mother as ambassador to India. After further study in India, she attended the University of Oxford, where she met her future husband.
With two children, she lived a rather quiet life until 1988 and then returned to nurse her dying mother. The brutal military strongman Ne Win ruled and slaughtered masses of protesters; she spoke and began a nonviolent struggle for human rights. In July 1989, the military government of the newly named Union of Myanmar placed Aung San Suu Kyi under house arrest and held her incommunicado. If she agreed to leave Myanmar, then the military offered to free her, but she refused until civilian government returned and freed prisoners. The newly formed group, the national league, affiliated her and won more than four-fifths of the contested parliamentary seats in 1990, but the military government ignored the results of that election.
From house arrest, people freed Aung San Suu Kyi in July 1995. In the following year, she attended the party congress of the national league, but the military government continued to harass her. In 1998, she announced the formation of a representative committee and declared it as the legitimate ruling parliament.
From September 2000, the military junta once again placed Aung San Suu Kyi under house arrest to May 2002. Following clashes between the national league and demonstrators in 2003, the government returned her to house arrest.
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February 7, 2017
"When bathing in the rain was no longer one of the great pleasures of my existence, I knew I had left my childhood behind me."
"From where does man's passion for recording people and events spring? Did cave dwellers paint hunting scenes to pass an idle hour or was it fulfilment of an unconscious need to immortalize their deeds for posterity? "
This is Amazing stuff. I didn't know she was already married and settled in UK before she came to Myanmar and joined the struggle against military regim, to be house arrested for 21 years. The 52 once-a-week letters were written soon after begining of her house arrest and aren't as boring as you would expect a politician's writing to be. They are a bit like Nauru's writings -tracing bits of culture, traditions, rains history, day-to-day life under oppressive regime, struggle agunst same, income inequities, dances, music, her own house arrested life etc, never going into too many details at any one time. There is a chapter on tea, another on seasons, a few on festivals and so on.
Her own life and nature seems too simple for such a popular leader as she often talk about it - it includes worrying over water leaks during rains in her own home to reading a crime mystery novel on a free Sunday. Then, there is her love for poetry, children and flowers and a decent sense of humor. Talking about telephone connection problems:
"In Burma, one should approach the telephone with a prayer on the lips and determination to try, try and try again."
She has a charming way of making political rheotic more real. She would begin her letter with description of a child birth ceromony,reflect as to what babies so cute and only then go into high child morality rates.
About foreign investors:
"To observe businessmen who come to Burma with the intention of enriching themselves is somewhat like watching passers-by in an orchard roughly stripping off blossoms for their fragile beauty, blind to the ugliness of despoiled branches, oblivious of the
fact that by their action they are imperilling future fruitfulness and committing an injustice against the rightful owners of the trees."
And finally, a rather handy quote to remember these days:
"To view the opposition as dangerous is to misunderstand the basic concepts of democracy. To oppress the opposition is to assault the very foundation of democracy."
Read
May 20, 2020It is a challenge to read this book, published in 1996, and not consider the events that have occured since its publication. In fact, they change the whole tenor of the book.
Aung San Suu Kyi's collection of articles "Letters from Burma" was my choice for this month's Nobel Laureate read. She won the 1991 Nobel Peace Prize. Since Suu Kyi's release from house arrest, and the return of her political party to power in 2016, there has been increasing violence, and human rights abuses of the Rohingya Muslims in Western Burma.
And Aung San Suu Kyi is silent. The woman whose work has been called "unflagging" in her efforts for peace and conciliation (by Nobel committee) has stood by as people are murdered.
Habiburahman and Sophie Ansel state in FIRST, THEY ERASED OUR NAMES: A Rohingya Speaks "She had the power to save lives. She was free and the world was listening... But Aung San Suu Kui chose power."
This from the same person who states in her 1996 letters "Not only should one speak only the truth, one's speech should lead to HARMONY AMONG BEINGS, it should be like and pleasant as it should be beneficial." (Emphasis is mine...) And goes on in several essays to speak of her devotion to the Buddha and the Noble Eightfold Path, lovingkindess, and humanitarian efforts.
It is senseless violence and genocide causing ripple effects in the entire region, and 'The Lady' could have stopped the genocide decades ago. How is that lovingkindness?
Suu Kyi's Letters shed light on Burmese customs, festivals, her political party, her own life in house arrest, and her devotion to Buddhist teachers and philosophy. They are also accompanied by lovely pencil drawings on each page. The book itself lacks a cohesive structure and tells very little of Suu Kyi herself, but as I mentioned in the beginning, it is hard to read it without the shadow of recent events.
Aung San Suu Kyi's collection of articles "Letters from Burma" was my choice for this month's Nobel Laureate read. She won the 1991 Nobel Peace Prize. Since Suu Kyi's release from house arrest, and the return of her political party to power in 2016, there has been increasing violence, and human rights abuses of the Rohingya Muslims in Western Burma.
And Aung San Suu Kyi is silent. The woman whose work has been called "unflagging" in her efforts for peace and conciliation (by Nobel committee) has stood by as people are murdered.
Habiburahman and Sophie Ansel state in FIRST, THEY ERASED OUR NAMES: A Rohingya Speaks "She had the power to save lives. She was free and the world was listening... But Aung San Suu Kui chose power."
This from the same person who states in her 1996 letters "Not only should one speak only the truth, one's speech should lead to HARMONY AMONG BEINGS, it should be like and pleasant as it should be beneficial." (Emphasis is mine...) And goes on in several essays to speak of her devotion to the Buddha and the Noble Eightfold Path, lovingkindess, and humanitarian efforts.
It is senseless violence and genocide causing ripple effects in the entire region, and 'The Lady' could have stopped the genocide decades ago. How is that lovingkindness?
Suu Kyi's Letters shed light on Burmese customs, festivals, her political party, her own life in house arrest, and her devotion to Buddhist teachers and philosophy. They are also accompanied by lovely pencil drawings on each page. The book itself lacks a cohesive structure and tells very little of Suu Kyi herself, but as I mentioned in the beginning, it is hard to read it without the shadow of recent events.
April 6, 2024
Originally written for a Japanese newspaper after Aung San Suu Kyi’s house arrest was lifted after 15 years. This is a very honest account of her country, her culture and her people and the challenges they face.
Having been to Myanmar twice I felt like I was back there in the pages of her letters.
A very insightful read of a very complicated but endearing country.
Four stars.
Having been to Myanmar twice I felt like I was back there in the pages of her letters.
A very insightful read of a very complicated but endearing country.
Four stars.
April 27, 2016
When I was a freshman in high school, I watched with my English classmates a movie called Beyond Rangoon, wherein white people think trying to have fun in 1988 Myanmar is a great idea to spend money on. Scanning through the Wiki page, I see "film may have had an impact beyond movie screens", "celebrated democracy leader thanked filmmakers", "helped raise world attention on a previously "invisible" tragedy", all alongside a movie poster of a floating Truth has a witness. and staring blue eyes. All that might have been fine and dandy when I was a young student with no control over my imbibed curriculum, but that white savior simplification of politics is fit only for child's play, and is why I will never read Finding George Orwell in Burma when works like this exist. I'm sure there are books that go more in depth into the origins of Burma and extend further into the future of today's Myanmar than this slim collection of weekly articles meant for a Japanese newspaper, but when it comes to topics like these, every read work is a trust exercise. I'm not interested in knowledge that obfuscates more than it supports.
As hinted at above, this is not at all an intricate layout of Aung San Suu Kyi's life in context with Burmese reality of the time, filled with endless numbers and dates and technical jargon. I mean, technically it is, what with her constantly grounding each of her 52 topics in Burmese culture, politics, social justice history and the economics of globalization, but it is never a list, or a documentary, or a research project undertaken for the chance of tenure. Whatever she talks about, spanning from transportation to religious infrastructure to the number of lives lost to assassination and imprisonment, starts and ends with the people and this much sensationalized heritage life has bequeathed them. There is no mention here of Beyond Rangoon; there is only the slightest acknowledgement that a novel written about contemporary events would be passed over as an Orwellian fabrication with little originality and only a fraction of merit.
It is good, then, that the structure Aung San Suu Kyi works within here is not an effort of literary composition, or some fictional drabble that will live on as a well known cultural artifact that does nothing to encourage real political action. This work is far less concentric, far more faceted, and has no time to waste on clever acronyms of ideologies when students are being arrested, activists are being sentenced to seven years imprisonment in the space of an invisible afternoon, and festivals of water and light are carried out around blockades and through soldier-strewn thoroughfares. This is not your classic metaphor or the thought exercise of political science classrooms. This is a turn of history that involves everything that came before working towards all that is hoped to follow after, and life lived politically is just as flesh and blood and dream as the rest of them.
It's not hard to draw lines between military action there and police movement here, even less so when it comes to the two country's students, bureaucrats, and socioeconomic platforms. Even the steamrolling of the less populated concerns in favor of the greater comes through with the Rohyingya Muslims, about whom Aung San Suu Kyi has so far said nothing. Much of what she wrote here is admirable in its intellectual compassion and empathetic theorizing, but as always, actions speak louder than words. Much has changed since the days of '96 when this work was published and I was but five years old, but it seems that it is still necessary to wait for the world to change. I look forward to it, to say the least.
As hinted at above, this is not at all an intricate layout of Aung San Suu Kyi's life in context with Burmese reality of the time, filled with endless numbers and dates and technical jargon. I mean, technically it is, what with her constantly grounding each of her 52 topics in Burmese culture, politics, social justice history and the economics of globalization, but it is never a list, or a documentary, or a research project undertaken for the chance of tenure. Whatever she talks about, spanning from transportation to religious infrastructure to the number of lives lost to assassination and imprisonment, starts and ends with the people and this much sensationalized heritage life has bequeathed them. There is no mention here of Beyond Rangoon; there is only the slightest acknowledgement that a novel written about contemporary events would be passed over as an Orwellian fabrication with little originality and only a fraction of merit.
It is good, then, that the structure Aung San Suu Kyi works within here is not an effort of literary composition, or some fictional drabble that will live on as a well known cultural artifact that does nothing to encourage real political action. This work is far less concentric, far more faceted, and has no time to waste on clever acronyms of ideologies when students are being arrested, activists are being sentenced to seven years imprisonment in the space of an invisible afternoon, and festivals of water and light are carried out around blockades and through soldier-strewn thoroughfares. This is not your classic metaphor or the thought exercise of political science classrooms. This is a turn of history that involves everything that came before working towards all that is hoped to follow after, and life lived politically is just as flesh and blood and dream as the rest of them.
It's not hard to draw lines between military action there and police movement here, even less so when it comes to the two country's students, bureaucrats, and socioeconomic platforms. Even the steamrolling of the less populated concerns in favor of the greater comes through with the Rohyingya Muslims, about whom Aung San Suu Kyi has so far said nothing. Much of what she wrote here is admirable in its intellectual compassion and empathetic theorizing, but as always, actions speak louder than words. Much has changed since the days of '96 when this work was published and I was but five years old, but it seems that it is still necessary to wait for the world to change. I look forward to it, to say the least.
November 14, 2017
I struggled with some of the innocent dreams contained in these little essays, covering a year in the life of the author post her house arrest, considering what is happening with the Rohingya Muslims. The essays cover some Burmese traditions, some political events, actions of the junta, the dreams and hopes for democracy, some of the people and some geographic descriptions. The writing is quite dry at times but there is not a lot written about this poverty stricken country.
November 26, 2021
Very beautifully written at times, with interesting insights into Burmese culture, however, it reads very much like a Manifesto in places, one that has become very questionable in light of recent events. So I couldn't help but feel a bit irritated by the hypocrisy of some of the tenets of democracy she promotes, since clearly, in her eyes, these tenets do not apply to the members of the Rohingya population.
An example....
"When we ask for democracy, all we are asking is that our people should be allowed to live tranquilly under the rule of law, protected by institutions which will guarantee our rights, the rights that will enable us to maintain our human dignity, to heal long festering wounds and to allow love and courage to flourish. Is that such a very unreasonable demand?"
I wonder if Aung San Suu Kyi might ask herself the same question now....
An example....
"When we ask for democracy, all we are asking is that our people should be allowed to live tranquilly under the rule of law, protected by institutions which will guarantee our rights, the rights that will enable us to maintain our human dignity, to heal long festering wounds and to allow love and courage to flourish. Is that such a very unreasonable demand?"
I wonder if Aung San Suu Kyi might ask herself the same question now....
April 24, 2022
Prior to reading this book, my knowledge of Aung San Suu Kyi was rather limited. I knew that she was the daughter of a Burmese nationalist (who fought for independence from the British) and that she was under house arrest for a while because she advocated for democracy when Myanmar was a military dictatorship. Because of that she won the Nobel Peace Prize and I also remember reading that she married a British man and that the constitution in Myanmar doesn't allow her to become president because of that marriage.
So, what happened after I read this book? My knowledge of Aung San Suu Kyi is still rather limited. I feel like I didn't learn much from this book. It's a weekly journal of 52 entries from 1995-1996. Most of the time Aung San Suu Kyi talks about her political party and how they managed to operate even though they faced so many obstacles. She mentions quite a few colleagues, but I didn't know any of them so it was very hard for me to connect. Every now and then, she talks about a Burmese tradition or some cultural aspect, but it just felt so random amidst all the political talk. Well at least, I know now that Aung San Suu Kyi is very interested in Japanese culture and she loves reading mystery books. Too bad she didn't provide any concept, context or introduction to what this book is about. For people without any knowledge of Burma, this book feels very abrupt.
"Unity in diversity has to be the principle of those who genuinely wish to build our country into a strong nation that allows a variety of races, languages, beliefs and cultures to flourish in peaceful and happy co-existence. Only a government that tolerates opinions and attitudes different from its own will be able to create an environment where peoples of diverse traditions and aspirations can breathe freely in an atmosphere of mutual understanding and trust."
So, what happened after I read this book? My knowledge of Aung San Suu Kyi is still rather limited. I feel like I didn't learn much from this book. It's a weekly journal of 52 entries from 1995-1996. Most of the time Aung San Suu Kyi talks about her political party and how they managed to operate even though they faced so many obstacles. She mentions quite a few colleagues, but I didn't know any of them so it was very hard for me to connect. Every now and then, she talks about a Burmese tradition or some cultural aspect, but it just felt so random amidst all the political talk. Well at least, I know now that Aung San Suu Kyi is very interested in Japanese culture and she loves reading mystery books. Too bad she didn't provide any concept, context or introduction to what this book is about. For people without any knowledge of Burma, this book feels very abrupt.
"Unity in diversity has to be the principle of those who genuinely wish to build our country into a strong nation that allows a variety of races, languages, beliefs and cultures to flourish in peaceful and happy co-existence. Only a government that tolerates opinions and attitudes different from its own will be able to create an environment where peoples of diverse traditions and aspirations can breathe freely in an atmosphere of mutual understanding and trust."
June 21, 2022
“Visitors to my country often speak of the friendliness, the hospitality and the sense of humour of the Burmese. Then they ask how it is possible that a brutal, humourless, authoritarian regime could have emerged from such apeople. A comprehensive answer to that question would involve a whole thesis but a short answer might be, one as writer has put it, that Burma is indeed one of those lands of charm and cruelty. I have found more warmth, more wholehearted love, more tenderness, more courage and more caring concern among my people as we hope together, suffer together and struggle together, anywhere else in the world. But those who exude hate and vindictiveness and rave about annihilating and crushing us are also Burmese, our own people”.
- By Aung San Suu Kuu Yi, Letters from Burma
.
.
Is it bad if i said that i actually enjoyed
her letters about burmese culture, buddhist teachings and her perceptive views about burmese in general more than her political works in National League for Democracy (NLD) ? - be it the way tea was done with condensed milk (just like other Southeast Asian Countries), How Monsoon season could be a blessing and a curse at the same time for us - too much rain, the flood will come, too little rain , the farm will not produce much, the water festivals (Thingyan) or even Union Day. I have no idea at all who is Aung San Suu Kyi aside from she’s the face of the Myanmar’s whenever Democracy were mentioned and she has been in and out of house arrest for as long as i can remember & undeniably, she has been through alot fighting for her own country. Here’s where the book gets tricky when you are reading the one that was published ages ago and the person writing it already goes against everything she stands for. (Cough *rohingya* Cough *genocide). But, I am reading Southeast Asia this year and despite her fell from grace, i believe what she has done for Myanmar’s journey to achieve democracy is admirable. She preached about human rights , the unfairness whenever ruling parties tried to charge her of inciting political unrest whenever there’s protest and rally and the abuse of power by the military. A series of poignant letters about her own country - It can be about cultural activities, political treatment/acts and even tradition/religion that practiced by Burmese in places that she did visit. Illustrations done by Heinn Htet - is certainly gorgeous and you almost can see how captivating Myanmar is with the way Aung San Suu Kyi penned her thoughts on these letters. Overall, i would say it gave you a good overview of ‘Myanmar’ - Brief but done in tasteful manner. However, if you want a detailed history of the country, I am not sure this is the book you should go for.
- By Aung San Suu Kuu Yi, Letters from Burma
.
.
Is it bad if i said that i actually enjoyed
her letters about burmese culture, buddhist teachings and her perceptive views about burmese in general more than her political works in National League for Democracy (NLD) ? - be it the way tea was done with condensed milk (just like other Southeast Asian Countries), How Monsoon season could be a blessing and a curse at the same time for us - too much rain, the flood will come, too little rain , the farm will not produce much, the water festivals (Thingyan) or even Union Day. I have no idea at all who is Aung San Suu Kyi aside from she’s the face of the Myanmar’s whenever Democracy were mentioned and she has been in and out of house arrest for as long as i can remember & undeniably, she has been through alot fighting for her own country. Here’s where the book gets tricky when you are reading the one that was published ages ago and the person writing it already goes against everything she stands for. (Cough *rohingya* Cough *genocide). But, I am reading Southeast Asia this year and despite her fell from grace, i believe what she has done for Myanmar’s journey to achieve democracy is admirable. She preached about human rights , the unfairness whenever ruling parties tried to charge her of inciting political unrest whenever there’s protest and rally and the abuse of power by the military. A series of poignant letters about her own country - It can be about cultural activities, political treatment/acts and even tradition/religion that practiced by Burmese in places that she did visit. Illustrations done by Heinn Htet - is certainly gorgeous and you almost can see how captivating Myanmar is with the way Aung San Suu Kyi penned her thoughts on these letters. Overall, i would say it gave you a good overview of ‘Myanmar’ - Brief but done in tasteful manner. However, if you want a detailed history of the country, I am not sure this is the book you should go for.
March 29, 2020
Es un libro excepcional.
Desde mi completa ignorancia de la situación de Myanmar, reconozco que este libro me ha sorprendido, espantado, enamorado, puesto de los nervios y enseñado muchísimo. Si bien son cartas de la Nobel de la paz, Aung San Suu Kyi, en ellas se explican tantas cosas que no podría haceros una reseña que le hiciera justicia. Y encima el libro viene con un montón de ilustraciones preciosas de un país que siempre ha llamado mi atención.
Lo reconozco, aunque fuera Nobel de la Paz apenas si me sonaba su nombre. No sabía de su arrestro domiciliario y cómo su vida ha sido una guerra constante por la libertad de su país y la suya propia. No sabía su historia. No conocía los hechos del 8 de Agosto de 1988 y no sabía todo lo que ha tenido que pasar en este país en estos últimos 30 años. Por un lado mea culpa, pero por otro una vez más me hace pensar lo asquerosamente eurocentristas que somos y cómo olvidamos completamente la historia del resto del mundo, como si no importase.
En este libro se hace un resumen de mil cosas. Aparecen desde recetas de platos típicamente birmanos, hasta canciones, referencias al mundo occidental, a Japón, China o Tailandia; momentos de su vida personal, momentos del día a día de una persona confinada en su casa. La lucha por la libertad. La lucha contra un gobierno dictatorial dirigido por unos pocos y "aceptado" por el resto. La llamada de socorro de alguien que tuvo que aguantar sola algo tan duro como 15 años entre 4 paredes sin nada, en silencio, con una radio y unos pocos libros. Sin familia, sin amigos, sin televisión, ni internet, ni cualquier otra cosa. Ese momento en que ella misma dice que lo mejor de su país es la gente, pero también lo peor. Esa rabia que te corroe de ver como en esta, y otras mil cosas, como individuos que formamos parte de una sociedad terminamos siendo cómplices de cuantas atrocidades se cometen a diario.
Creo que es de recibo que este libro se lea. Como información para conocer a una mujer que debería ser mucho más reconocida mundialmente. Como manera de conocer la historia de alguien que ha tenido que sufrir como pocos. Como historia de superación y de lucha incansable. Como manera de abrir los ojos a occidente. Cómo crítica social e individual. Es que se me ocurren mil maneras de leer este libro y todas buenas. En serio, MUY INTERESANTE.
Reseña YT:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3RuQN...
Desde mi completa ignorancia de la situación de Myanmar, reconozco que este libro me ha sorprendido, espantado, enamorado, puesto de los nervios y enseñado muchísimo. Si bien son cartas de la Nobel de la paz, Aung San Suu Kyi, en ellas se explican tantas cosas que no podría haceros una reseña que le hiciera justicia. Y encima el libro viene con un montón de ilustraciones preciosas de un país que siempre ha llamado mi atención.
Lo reconozco, aunque fuera Nobel de la Paz apenas si me sonaba su nombre. No sabía de su arrestro domiciliario y cómo su vida ha sido una guerra constante por la libertad de su país y la suya propia. No sabía su historia. No conocía los hechos del 8 de Agosto de 1988 y no sabía todo lo que ha tenido que pasar en este país en estos últimos 30 años. Por un lado mea culpa, pero por otro una vez más me hace pensar lo asquerosamente eurocentristas que somos y cómo olvidamos completamente la historia del resto del mundo, como si no importase.
En este libro se hace un resumen de mil cosas. Aparecen desde recetas de platos típicamente birmanos, hasta canciones, referencias al mundo occidental, a Japón, China o Tailandia; momentos de su vida personal, momentos del día a día de una persona confinada en su casa. La lucha por la libertad. La lucha contra un gobierno dictatorial dirigido por unos pocos y "aceptado" por el resto. La llamada de socorro de alguien que tuvo que aguantar sola algo tan duro como 15 años entre 4 paredes sin nada, en silencio, con una radio y unos pocos libros. Sin familia, sin amigos, sin televisión, ni internet, ni cualquier otra cosa. Ese momento en que ella misma dice que lo mejor de su país es la gente, pero también lo peor. Esa rabia que te corroe de ver como en esta, y otras mil cosas, como individuos que formamos parte de una sociedad terminamos siendo cómplices de cuantas atrocidades se cometen a diario.
Creo que es de recibo que este libro se lea. Como información para conocer a una mujer que debería ser mucho más reconocida mundialmente. Como manera de conocer la historia de alguien que ha tenido que sufrir como pocos. Como historia de superación y de lucha incansable. Como manera de abrir los ojos a occidente. Cómo crítica social e individual. Es que se me ocurren mil maneras de leer este libro y todas buenas. En serio, MUY INTERESANTE.
Reseña YT:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3RuQN...
December 21, 2018
In 1991, Aung San Suu Kyi was awarded the Nobel Peace Prize. She was awarded this for being a steadfast peaceful resistance to the draconian, petty and brutal Myanmar regime. She was under house arrest for 21 years as the leader of the National Defence League. She took all of the threats, disruption and harassment from the and look it back in the face with a wry smile and unlimited courage. She would have her friends and colleagues arrested regularly, her road was frequently blocked, especially if she had been planning to hold a meeting or gathering.
All of these overt and covert attacks would have ground most people down, but she bore it with good grace and resilience. She was sustained by her drive to see the country she loves, one day gain a functioning democracy. In these fifty-two letters, she discusses the problems that they have as a country, describes the plight of those that have suffered at the hands of the regime and the repression of the population. It is also full of minutia, she talks about the weather, taking tea and the festivals that were still permitted.
In some ways I liked this, she speaks with a strong voice and brings to life the country that very few have seen from outside. All the way through she has a very clear aim of bringing urgent and necessary change to the country change all the time she was in custody, an aim that the authorities to every opportunity to frustrate. She was released in 2010 and won the election in 2015. She has not been able to hold the presidency because she is the widow and mother of foreigners – provisions from the constitution that seem to have been written specifically to prevent her from being eligible. She was awarded the position of State Counsellor and wields power from there. She has faced criticism in the past couple of years as she has seemingly deliberately ignored the plight of the Rohingya people and the genocide that they are suffering. It tarnishes what is a good book and until that point a life that should have been celebrated.
All of these overt and covert attacks would have ground most people down, but she bore it with good grace and resilience. She was sustained by her drive to see the country she loves, one day gain a functioning democracy. In these fifty-two letters, she discusses the problems that they have as a country, describes the plight of those that have suffered at the hands of the regime and the repression of the population. It is also full of minutia, she talks about the weather, taking tea and the festivals that were still permitted.
In some ways I liked this, she speaks with a strong voice and brings to life the country that very few have seen from outside. All the way through she has a very clear aim of bringing urgent and necessary change to the country change all the time she was in custody, an aim that the authorities to every opportunity to frustrate. She was released in 2010 and won the election in 2015. She has not been able to hold the presidency because she is the widow and mother of foreigners – provisions from the constitution that seem to have been written specifically to prevent her from being eligible. She was awarded the position of State Counsellor and wields power from there. She has faced criticism in the past couple of years as she has seemingly deliberately ignored the plight of the Rohingya people and the genocide that they are suffering. It tarnishes what is a good book and until that point a life that should have been celebrated.
November 18, 2017
I never thought I would encounter:
1. Extremely dry writing
2. Pointless chapters that were written in order to beef up the book (I'm so glad that I learned that Aung San Suu Kyi loved whodunit books though - I can now continue living my life).
3. A political manifesto of questionable integrity in light of Aung San Suu Kyi's behaviour, disguised (poorly) as a part memoir part "this is what's really happening" part "I have no idea why she is writing this book at all."
4. Descriptions and story-telling so poorly done that a Lonely Planet blurb can do a better job
all in one book! After years of searching for a book meeting this specific criteria, I finally found it.
And I hated it.
1. Extremely dry writing
2. Pointless chapters that were written in order to beef up the book (I'm so glad that I learned that Aung San Suu Kyi loved whodunit books though - I can now continue living my life).
3. A political manifesto of questionable integrity in light of Aung San Suu Kyi's behaviour, disguised (poorly) as a part memoir part "this is what's really happening" part "I have no idea why she is writing this book at all."
4. Descriptions and story-telling so poorly done that a Lonely Planet blurb can do a better job
all in one book! After years of searching for a book meeting this specific criteria, I finally found it.
And I hated it.
March 11, 2018
Thực ra đã skip một số đoạn về chính trị, mình không có hứng thú với mảng này. Chọn cuốn này vì là cuốn về Miến Điện đầu tiên mình nhìn thấy. Cũng có thể tìm được một số thông tin về đất nước, thời tiết, phong tục.... Nhưng không thỏa mãn.
Nếu đoạn đầu tác giả miêu tả một chút về lịch sử, tình hình đất nước... đến động cơ để bà ấy thực hiện công việc của mình... Và cách mà bà thuyết phục được nhiều người đi theo mình như thế thì hay hơn.
Sách viết dưới màu chính trị nên đọc để nhận thông tin là chủ yếu chứ không có màu văn học.
Nếu đoạn đầu tác giả miêu tả một chút về lịch sử, tình hình đất nước... đến động cơ để bà ấy thực hiện công việc của mình... Và cách mà bà thuyết phục được nhiều người đi theo mình như thế thì hay hơn.
Sách viết dưới màu chính trị nên đọc để nhận thông tin là chủ yếu chứ không có màu văn học.
December 23, 2015
Letters from Burma is a charming look at the beauty of Burma and the struggles for democracy in the wake of the ignored election results of 1990. Burmese politics have obviously moved on since then (and lately for the better), but it's a revealing insight into the times from the woman at the center of the maelstrom. Told as a series of short letters (in a later era, they would have been blog posts), the book starts out with vignettes describing Burmese customs and daily life. They are quite evocative and more than a little charming. As we hit the middle of the book, more and more of the struggles of the National League for Democracy (NLD) party enter the stories, and we culminate focusing entirely on the NLD's persecution.
This was an important book at the time it was published, and still carries lots of historical importance, but as Burma continues to stutter toward open democracy, hopefully this book will continue to work its way onto the history shelves and away from contemporary Burmese politics.
This was an important book at the time it was published, and still carries lots of historical importance, but as Burma continues to stutter toward open democracy, hopefully this book will continue to work its way onto the history shelves and away from contemporary Burmese politics.
Read
February 19, 2018Với một cái đầu không đam mê chính trị thì tôi chỉ thích thú những đoạn nói về văn hóa và con người Miến Điện thôi.
April 18, 2025
Only a 3 hour drive from me is the country of Burma, where Burmese people have been fighting for freedom for decades. Wow, I learned so much about Myanmar (Burma), and its’ political climate, history, and culture. Aung San Suu Kyi is a brilliant freedom fighter, scholar, and poet. She wrote the series of letters that encompass this book. “Letters From Burma” was written in the year 2000, so I have more research to do to better understand the current state of affairs.
Read for Peace Corps Thailand Book Club :)
Read for Peace Corps Thailand Book Club :)
April 6, 2022
“Life is seldom dull for dissidents in Burma,” as Daw Aung San Suu Kyi remarks throughout the book. Letters from Burma brings 52 short writings between November 1995 and 1996 in the period following Daw Suu’s release from house arrest. The ‘letters’ were first conceived as a weekly publication for the newspaper Mainichi Shinbun in Japan and the collected letters in book form were also first published in Japanese. The tones and contents of the letters are totally different from her earlier collected writings Freedom from Fear, first published in 1991, which is more academic in its nature and was not intended to be published apart from its academic intention. In Letters from Burma, we could see the transformation from Aung San Suu Kyi the Academician into Aung San Suu Kyi the Politician.
Unlike her previous writings which I think are more objective and academic in their nature, the letters in this collection are more personal and filled with emotions. Daw Suu celebrates the struggles of ordinary people in Burma, as the country is referred to throughout the book, in their daily life following the 8888 Uprising that toppled the military government of General Ne Win in 1988 which was quickly followed by the transfer of power to military-led State Law and Order Restoration Council (SLORC). She brings to attention the problems faced by underpaid civil servants and teachers, but she also has special places for Buddhist monks and members of the National League for Democracy (NLD), the political party she co-founded in 1988, which she mentions in various letters. There are special sections written about NLD members who died in custody while being detained as political prisoners, celebrating their courageous decisions and readiness to be detained for their cause.
I could see why the writings here could seem dry for some people. The style of her writings in Letters from Burma is similar in some respects to socialist realism, although the writings are by no means advocating socialism. Firstly, it’s typical, which means it attempts to bring the scenes of everyday life of the people, as could be seen from stories about electricity cut in Burma and celebration of various festivals throughout the year which the people are still able to enjoy despite the political repression they experience. Then, it’s also realistic, although how realistic it is could also be debatable, given Daw Suu herself provides commentary on the nature of repression she experienced as Orwellian in its nature but was still filled with temporary enjoyments. Finally, it also brings about some ideas of partisanship (or ‘discipline’ as the term is continuously used here), as many letters are dedicated to the ideals of the NLD and its cause, although it could also be seen in the context of the struggles for achieving multi-party democracy in Burma.
Nevertheless, I think the writings here would make a good introduction to Myanmar (Burma) in general, the life and values of her people, the struggles they have to face in everyday life, as well as the cause that the NLD has been trying to achieve to bring about multi-party democracy in the country. One could see the love of Daw Suu for her people and her country. Even though she shows criticisms towards the military government that has put her under house arrest and detained many NLD members, there is no open contempt as she even describes how she grew up surrounded by military officers who had struggled for Burma’s independence with her father, General Aung San. As in her previous book, there are some parts dedicated to the philosophy of Buddhism and how this philosophy influences her approach and outlook on everyday life. Certainly, life is not dull for dissidents in Burma.
Unlike her previous writings which I think are more objective and academic in their nature, the letters in this collection are more personal and filled with emotions. Daw Suu celebrates the struggles of ordinary people in Burma, as the country is referred to throughout the book, in their daily life following the 8888 Uprising that toppled the military government of General Ne Win in 1988 which was quickly followed by the transfer of power to military-led State Law and Order Restoration Council (SLORC). She brings to attention the problems faced by underpaid civil servants and teachers, but she also has special places for Buddhist monks and members of the National League for Democracy (NLD), the political party she co-founded in 1988, which she mentions in various letters. There are special sections written about NLD members who died in custody while being detained as political prisoners, celebrating their courageous decisions and readiness to be detained for their cause.
I could see why the writings here could seem dry for some people. The style of her writings in Letters from Burma is similar in some respects to socialist realism, although the writings are by no means advocating socialism. Firstly, it’s typical, which means it attempts to bring the scenes of everyday life of the people, as could be seen from stories about electricity cut in Burma and celebration of various festivals throughout the year which the people are still able to enjoy despite the political repression they experience. Then, it’s also realistic, although how realistic it is could also be debatable, given Daw Suu herself provides commentary on the nature of repression she experienced as Orwellian in its nature but was still filled with temporary enjoyments. Finally, it also brings about some ideas of partisanship (or ‘discipline’ as the term is continuously used here), as many letters are dedicated to the ideals of the NLD and its cause, although it could also be seen in the context of the struggles for achieving multi-party democracy in Burma.
Nevertheless, I think the writings here would make a good introduction to Myanmar (Burma) in general, the life and values of her people, the struggles they have to face in everyday life, as well as the cause that the NLD has been trying to achieve to bring about multi-party democracy in the country. One could see the love of Daw Suu for her people and her country. Even though she shows criticisms towards the military government that has put her under house arrest and detained many NLD members, there is no open contempt as she even describes how she grew up surrounded by military officers who had struggled for Burma’s independence with her father, General Aung San. As in her previous book, there are some parts dedicated to the philosophy of Buddhism and how this philosophy influences her approach and outlook on everyday life. Certainly, life is not dull for dissidents in Burma.
December 5, 2012
‘Letters From Burma’ is a collection of beautifully written letters which touches all the topics related to Myanmar (Burma) ranging from daily activities of a Burmese such as tea-shop sitting, traditional festivals such as Thingyan(Water Festival/Burmese New Year) to serious topics like SLORC (the State Law and Order Restoration Council)’s abuses and frequent harassments on pro-democracy activists and NLD members (including a brief biography of the members of the NLD executive committee). These letters were sent to a Japanese newspaper around 1995-96 when (Daw) Aung San Suu Kyi was released from her house arrest since 1990. This is a great book! Simple and easy to read vivid portrayals can easily enable the reader to imagine what life in Burma was like in those days. Highly recommended to any individual (naturally foreigners of course) who’s looking for a quick introduction on Burma, her people and her culture. I suggest one should also read her two other books (‘Freedom from Fear’ and ‘Voice of Hope: Conversations with Alan Clements) to grasp not only comprehensive account of Burma and her politics but also to gain insight into how the inspirational and courageous leader thinks and acts.
February 6, 2021
Đọc nhân lúc tình hình chiến sự ở Miến Điện đang hồi căng thẳng trở lại. Cuốn sách này của bà Suu Kyi như làn gió mát thổi qua một cơn bão táp. Bà tiếp cận độc giả trước hiện thực bằng những góc nhìn đẹp đẽ và thơ mộng. Như một câu trong bức thư cuối bà giải bày, tập hơn những bức thư này nói về chính trị, mà chính trị là về con người; nên ở đó ta thấy một nước Miến Điện phong phú với lễ hội, phong tục tập quán; với khí hậu với ẩm thực. Đó còn là con người niềm nở, mến khách, những con người không mỏi mệt vì nền dân chủ.
Song song ở đây, bà cũng nói về cái hạn chế, hạch sách, bảo thủ của chế độ quân phiệt bằng những ẩn dụ, lồng ghép vô cùng đắt giá. Dễ thấy bà viết những chương những đoạn này không bằng sự khích bác hay kích động, mà chỉ đơn giản kể lại những gì đã xảy ra, nhưng đồng thời không thiếu một sự cương quyết vô cùng mạnh mẽ. Cuối cùng rồi thì, Thư gửi từ Miến Điện tiếp cận người đọc bằng sự hy vọng, vào niềm tin tất thắng như đường lối bất bạo động của chính bà Aung San Suu Kyi vậy. Một cuốn sách nhỏ nhưng tuyệt đẹp, cũng nhiều biến động về một nước Miến Điện không hẳn là ai cũng biết. Rất hay.
Song song ở đây, bà cũng nói về cái hạn chế, hạch sách, bảo thủ của chế độ quân phiệt bằng những ẩn dụ, lồng ghép vô cùng đắt giá. Dễ thấy bà viết những chương những đoạn này không bằng sự khích bác hay kích động, mà chỉ đơn giản kể lại những gì đã xảy ra, nhưng đồng thời không thiếu một sự cương quyết vô cùng mạnh mẽ. Cuối cùng rồi thì, Thư gửi từ Miến Điện tiếp cận người đọc bằng sự hy vọng, vào niềm tin tất thắng như đường lối bất bạo động của chính bà Aung San Suu Kyi vậy. Một cuốn sách nhỏ nhưng tuyệt đẹp, cũng nhiều biến động về một nước Miến Điện không hẳn là ai cũng biết. Rất hay.
January 2, 2024
A great place to start if you're looking to be introduced to what life was like during Aung's house arrest, the beauty of her country and it's people. A quick read, and a hard one. I loved the beautiful prose, there's gentleness in her writing and so much light depicted in friendliness, peoples sense of humour and hospitality. I mostly enjoyed the letters about Burmese traditions, from how to take tea, the annual Water Festival and others like this but found it hard to digest the darker, brutal and humourless life the Burmese contend to, letters which slipped in between the pages of this book informing the reader of the complex issues the Burmese face.
"As the sun begins to go down the sky lights up in orange hues. The Burmese refer to this hour as the time of blazing clouds and also as the time when the ugly turn beautiful because the golden light casts a flattering glow on most complexions. How simple it would be if a mere turn of light could make everything that was ugly beautiful." ~ Aung San Suu Kyi
"As the sun begins to go down the sky lights up in orange hues. The Burmese refer to this hour as the time of blazing clouds and also as the time when the ugly turn beautiful because the golden light casts a flattering glow on most complexions. How simple it would be if a mere turn of light could make everything that was ugly beautiful." ~ Aung San Suu Kyi
April 21, 2017
This makes for interesting ironic reading now that Aung San Suu Kyi is effectively head of state and the NLD is using the same censorship laws that prevented them from functioning under military rule. Suu Kyi tends to idealise and exoticise Burmese traditions as she presents them to her Western reader, and often shows herself as deeply privileged, especially when she talks about shopping for steak in Oxford, or the entire chapter on the Japanese tea ceremony lesson she had from an American teacher at Oxford. She's also very old-fashioned in a funny way, like when she describes the chivalrous old way of celebrating Thingyan when only women would throw water on men, and deplores the intoxication associated with Thingyan in recent years. An especially ironic section to read is her narration of adopting the Rakhine Thingyan customs during an NLD event. Rakhine customs are praised for their beauty, perhaps that extends to ethnic cleansing of Rohingya...
May 18, 2012
The letters that Aung San Suu Kyi wrote to a Japanese newspaper after her first period of house arrest are intelligent and charming and a great insight into many parts of Burmese culture. Covering topics from traditional seasonal and Buddhist festivals, to economics, the law and of course the political situation in Burma, it is a must read for anyone interested in the thoughts and ideas of a modern day heroine.
April 14, 2015
It was really short and easy to read.
The pictures in my edition were amazing and went well with her letters. It was engaging and it gave me an insight of some things within Burma such as their culture and politics through the writings of an amazing political icon of Burma.
The pictures in my edition were amazing and went well with her letters. It was engaging and it gave me an insight of some things within Burma such as their culture and politics through the writings of an amazing political icon of Burma.
February 22, 2017
Special woman like her father General Aung San. I like her books.
May 7, 2023
Tác giả sách Aung San Suu Kyi là một nhà hoạt động chính trị ở Myanmar, bà thành lập Đảng Liên đoàn quốc gia vì Dân chủ (NLD). Cuốn sách là tổng hợp 52 bức thư bà gửi từ Miến Điện cho một tờ nhật báo của Nhật Bản trong 52 tuần. Khoảng thời gian đó là năm 95-96 khi bà được tương đối tự do nhưng vẫn thường xuyên bị quân đội quản thúc tại nhà.
Do vậy phần lớn nội dung bức thư sẽ là hoạt động chính trị, các cuộc gặp mặt liên quan đến đảng NLD và chính quyền Myanmar lúc bấy giờ. Mình biết thêm được chút ít về tình hình chính trị nội bộ thời điểm đó của Myanmar, khi chính quyền do quân đội kiểm soát không có nhiều sự dân chủ với rất nhiều các lệnh cấm, bắt bớ, khám xét vô lý. Ví dụ như cho người lạ ở qua đêm mà không thông báo với chính quyền sẽ bị bắt, tình trạng quan liêu tham nhũng bòn rút tiền của dân đến mức để được lắp đặt điện kinh doanh cũng cần một khoản tiền đút lót, hay những vụ bắt giữ người lúc nửa đêm và tuyên kín những bản án lên đến hàng chục năm tù mà không có sự minh bạch. Tác giả cũng đề cập tới một vài nét văn hóa và con người Argentina, thế nhưng trong tình hình bà bị chính quyền quân đội hết phỏng tỏa lại bỏ phong tỏa, kìm hãm các hoạt động chính trị của tác giả thì cũng chẳng lạ khi văn hóa, truyền thống không thể là nội dung chính. Phần lớn cuốn sách bà viết về những hành động của đảng NLD, các hành động kìm kẹp của chính phủ thời điểm đó đối với Đảng của bà và giọng điệu phần nhiều phản ánh lời than, phẫn uẩn của bà với chính đảng thời điểm đó.
Nhìn chung mình đánh giá nội dung cuốn sách có phần hơi khô khan và xa lạ với người đọc, nhất là người đọc Việt như mình khi không có nhiều kiến thức nền về Myanmar. Đặc biệt là tác giả muốn tri ân, viết nhiều về các chính trị gia khác trong đảng của bà nhưng những cái tên rất giống nhau, khiến mình không thể nhớ được vì thời lượng ngắn. Đây cũng là lý do mình chỉ cho 3 sao.
Sau khi đọc xong cuốn sách này, mình có tìm hiểu thêm về tình hình hiện tại của Myanmar, cập nhật một vài mốc nổi bật sau cuốn sách:
- Bà tiếp tục bị quản thúc tại nhà tới năm 2010
- NLD chiến thắng tranh cử rực rỡ vào năm 2015 và 2020
- Bà bị phương Tây chỉ trích nặng nề do không lên tiếng về cuộc xung đột sắc tộc, mà theo nhiều báo viết là có ý định diệt chủng, cộng đồng người Rohingya theo đạo Hồi ở Myanmar
- Quân đội đảo chính T2/2021 và tuyên bố tình trạng khẩn cấp
- Phiên tòa xử kín tuyên án Bà Aung San Suu Kyi 33 năm tù giam
- T2/2023, Myanmar tuyên bố kéo dài tình trạng khẩn cấp thêm 6 tháng, đẩy lùi khả năng tổ chức bầu cử sang tháng 8
Do vậy phần lớn nội dung bức thư sẽ là hoạt động chính trị, các cuộc gặp mặt liên quan đến đảng NLD và chính quyền Myanmar lúc bấy giờ. Mình biết thêm được chút ít về tình hình chính trị nội bộ thời điểm đó của Myanmar, khi chính quyền do quân đội kiểm soát không có nhiều sự dân chủ với rất nhiều các lệnh cấm, bắt bớ, khám xét vô lý. Ví dụ như cho người lạ ở qua đêm mà không thông báo với chính quyền sẽ bị bắt, tình trạng quan liêu tham nhũng bòn rút tiền của dân đến mức để được lắp đặt điện kinh doanh cũng cần một khoản tiền đút lót, hay những vụ bắt giữ người lúc nửa đêm và tuyên kín những bản án lên đến hàng chục năm tù mà không có sự minh bạch. Tác giả cũng đề cập tới một vài nét văn hóa và con người Argentina, thế nhưng trong tình hình bà bị chính quyền quân đội hết phỏng tỏa lại bỏ phong tỏa, kìm hãm các hoạt động chính trị của tác giả thì cũng chẳng lạ khi văn hóa, truyền thống không thể là nội dung chính. Phần lớn cuốn sách bà viết về những hành động của đảng NLD, các hành động kìm kẹp của chính phủ thời điểm đó đối với Đảng của bà và giọng điệu phần nhiều phản ánh lời than, phẫn uẩn của bà với chính đảng thời điểm đó.
Nhìn chung mình đánh giá nội dung cuốn sách có phần hơi khô khan và xa lạ với người đọc, nhất là người đọc Việt như mình khi không có nhiều kiến thức nền về Myanmar. Đặc biệt là tác giả muốn tri ân, viết nhiều về các chính trị gia khác trong đảng của bà nhưng những cái tên rất giống nhau, khiến mình không thể nhớ được vì thời lượng ngắn. Đây cũng là lý do mình chỉ cho 3 sao.
Sau khi đọc xong cuốn sách này, mình có tìm hiểu thêm về tình hình hiện tại của Myanmar, cập nhật một vài mốc nổi bật sau cuốn sách:
- Bà tiếp tục bị quản thúc tại nhà tới năm 2010
- NLD chiến thắng tranh cử rực rỡ vào năm 2015 và 2020
- Bà bị phương Tây chỉ trích nặng nề do không lên tiếng về cuộc xung đột sắc tộc, mà theo nhiều báo viết là có ý định diệt chủng, cộng đồng người Rohingya theo đạo Hồi ở Myanmar
- Quân đội đảo chính T2/2021 và tuyên bố tình trạng khẩn cấp
- Phiên tòa xử kín tuyên án Bà Aung San Suu Kyi 33 năm tù giam
- T2/2023, Myanmar tuyên bố kéo dài tình trạng khẩn cấp thêm 6 tháng, đẩy lùi khả năng tổ chức bầu cử sang tháng 8
February 5, 2022
February 2022: Letters from Burma
When I was in primary school, I had a notebook where I kept photos of world leaders from the newspaper. And this include, Aung San Suu Kyi, learned to know her as a graceful, strong leader from Burma (Myanmar). But I never get to learn her country’s story, why she was always in the newspaper. So, I picked up this book when I saw it in the library.
At first, I feel like learning about the country's culture, people and food. Towards the middle I start to grasp the political part, challenges the National League for Democracy (NLD) party members had to face in bringing democracy to Myanmar, against the military administration. It’s a collection of weekly articles wrote by Aung San Suu Kyi, for a Japanese newspaper, Mainichi Shinbun in 1995.
One of the issues that struck me is in chapter 43 & 44. Uncivil Service. It is about ‘contribution’ that the people had to pay to the civil servants, from the road permit of their vehicle, electricity, telephone etc. The author blamed this due to the maladministration of the government, poorly maintained facility and extremely low salary. Imagine if you have to pay a sum of amount to the doctor and nurses for satisfactory service? And not just that, patients had to compensate the hospital workers; cleaners, doorkeeper, administrative staff for smooth hospital stay. pg176.
However, I can’t stop wondering along the way, what actually happened to this country when it comes to the Rohingya issue. In chapter 16. Union Day Dances, the author wrote;
“Unity in diversity has to be the principle of those who genuinely wish to build our country into a strong nation that allows a variety of races, languages, beliefs and culture to flourish in peaceful and happy co-existence. Only a government that tolerates opinions and attitudes different from its own will be able to create an environment where people of diverse traditions and aspirations can breathe freely in an atmosphere of mutual understanding and trust.” Pg 65
And also, in Chapter 41. Some Problems with Definition, she wrote;
“To oppress the opposition is to assault the very foundation of democracy.” Pg165
When I was in primary school, I had a notebook where I kept photos of world leaders from the newspaper. And this include, Aung San Suu Kyi, learned to know her as a graceful, strong leader from Burma (Myanmar). But I never get to learn her country’s story, why she was always in the newspaper. So, I picked up this book when I saw it in the library.
At first, I feel like learning about the country's culture, people and food. Towards the middle I start to grasp the political part, challenges the National League for Democracy (NLD) party members had to face in bringing democracy to Myanmar, against the military administration. It’s a collection of weekly articles wrote by Aung San Suu Kyi, for a Japanese newspaper, Mainichi Shinbun in 1995.
One of the issues that struck me is in chapter 43 & 44. Uncivil Service. It is about ‘contribution’ that the people had to pay to the civil servants, from the road permit of their vehicle, electricity, telephone etc. The author blamed this due to the maladministration of the government, poorly maintained facility and extremely low salary. Imagine if you have to pay a sum of amount to the doctor and nurses for satisfactory service? And not just that, patients had to compensate the hospital workers; cleaners, doorkeeper, administrative staff for smooth hospital stay. pg176.
However, I can’t stop wondering along the way, what actually happened to this country when it comes to the Rohingya issue. In chapter 16. Union Day Dances, the author wrote;
“Unity in diversity has to be the principle of those who genuinely wish to build our country into a strong nation that allows a variety of races, languages, beliefs and culture to flourish in peaceful and happy co-existence. Only a government that tolerates opinions and attitudes different from its own will be able to create an environment where people of diverse traditions and aspirations can breathe freely in an atmosphere of mutual understanding and trust.” Pg 65
And also, in Chapter 41. Some Problems with Definition, she wrote;
“To oppress the opposition is to assault the very foundation of democracy.” Pg165
February 5, 2019
I originally read this in June of 2001, but the recent turmoil in Burma has led me to take it down off the shelf, and page through it again...
A collection of letters from the democratically-elected leader of Burma and winner of the 1991 Nobel Peace Prize, who has been regularly and repeatedly put under house arrest since 1989 by the military junta which rules her country. These brief pieces were written between November 1995 and December 1996, and range in topic from the overtly political to the spiritual and personal. Full of Suu Kyi's keen observations and ironic humor - "Life is seldom dull for dissidents in Burma" - they address everything from the importance of tea in the social life of the country to the terrible injustices that SLORC (the State Law and Order Restoration Council) has heaped on pro-democracy activists.
I am a great admirer of Aung San Suu Kyi, and wholeheartedly recommend this collection to all, and most especially to those who would like to know more about this great woman or the history of modern Burma. Although the topics discussed are frequently quite serious, the author's gentle humanity infuses every word, and I came away feeling spiritually cleansed.
Unrelated to any political and/or philosophical issues, one passage in particular has stuck with me since I first read it: "When bathing in the rain was no longer one of great pleasures of my existence, I knew I had left my childhood behind me". This could have been written especially for me!
Black and white line drawings by Heinn Htet.
A collection of letters from the democratically-elected leader of Burma and winner of the 1991 Nobel Peace Prize, who has been regularly and repeatedly put under house arrest since 1989 by the military junta which rules her country. These brief pieces were written between November 1995 and December 1996, and range in topic from the overtly political to the spiritual and personal. Full of Suu Kyi's keen observations and ironic humor - "Life is seldom dull for dissidents in Burma" - they address everything from the importance of tea in the social life of the country to the terrible injustices that SLORC (the State Law and Order Restoration Council) has heaped on pro-democracy activists.
I am a great admirer of Aung San Suu Kyi, and wholeheartedly recommend this collection to all, and most especially to those who would like to know more about this great woman or the history of modern Burma. Although the topics discussed are frequently quite serious, the author's gentle humanity infuses every word, and I came away feeling spiritually cleansed.
Unrelated to any political and/or philosophical issues, one passage in particular has stuck with me since I first read it: "When bathing in the rain was no longer one of great pleasures of my existence, I knew I had left my childhood behind me". This could have been written especially for me!
Black and white line drawings by Heinn Htet.
February 7, 2017
The 52 letters written by Aung San Suu Kyi depict the never-dull life of the leader of an opposition movement in what she herself describes as a Fascist Disneyland. The accounts of political repression are harrowing: arbitrary emprisonments, no right to convene, kangaroo courts and the such. The letters on the relationship between children and their imprisoned parents (Young Birds Outside Cages) and the ones on her companions who died while in prison (Death in Custody 1, 2 and 3) are extremely moving.
The courage she and her peers demonstrate in fighting the regime are inspiring, and put the life I ive in a democratic, free and mostly tolerant society in perspective: mine is a "normal" life, theirs isn't. The choice they made, to fight for an abstract ideal against very concrete consequences is fascinating.
Another point that strucks are the telling little anecdotes of lives under the junta. The need to register guests with the local police office, the daily fight against rampant inflation, the difficult to get a phone call through, the rolling blackouts. Those are all part of the high price paid by society for a regime it decided it did not want and was forced to remain with. The fact that the average Burmese must undergo these absurd curtailments and scarcities also puts much in perspective, and invites on reflection on what is the role of government: the military junta did not make life richer, fairer or simpler for their people, far from it.
Still, life goes on and some of the beauty of the land remains as when Aung San Suu Kyi narrates the New Year and Water Festival Celebrations, or on the beautiful account of her visit to Thamanya. These small moments of Burmese life seem to be behind Aung San Suu Kyi's courage and resolve to change.
The courage she and her peers demonstrate in fighting the regime are inspiring, and put the life I ive in a democratic, free and mostly tolerant society in perspective: mine is a "normal" life, theirs isn't. The choice they made, to fight for an abstract ideal against very concrete consequences is fascinating.
Another point that strucks are the telling little anecdotes of lives under the junta. The need to register guests with the local police office, the daily fight against rampant inflation, the difficult to get a phone call through, the rolling blackouts. Those are all part of the high price paid by society for a regime it decided it did not want and was forced to remain with. The fact that the average Burmese must undergo these absurd curtailments and scarcities also puts much in perspective, and invites on reflection on what is the role of government: the military junta did not make life richer, fairer or simpler for their people, far from it.
Still, life goes on and some of the beauty of the land remains as when Aung San Suu Kyi narrates the New Year and Water Festival Celebrations, or on the beautiful account of her visit to Thamanya. These small moments of Burmese life seem to be behind Aung San Suu Kyi's courage and resolve to change.
August 29, 2018
La leader politica birmana che ha sempre portato la bandiera della democrazia
La Birmania, oggi conosciuta con il nome di Myanmar - è soggetta a un regime spietato e autoritario. Aung San Suu Kyi, premio Nobel per la pace nel 1991, è stata la protagonista assoluta, il leader ideale del partito che ha tentato per lungo tempo di riportare la democrazia e i diritti civili nel paese. Questa donna tenace e coraggiosa ha subito, a causa delle sue idee, profonde umiliazioni, come l'arresto, la detenzione, l'allontanamento dalla famiglia, senza mai arrendersi alla violenza e alla cieca arroganza del potere. Per questo, quando parla della sua terra lo fa con la passione, la malinconia e insieme la lucidità che solo un politico di rango possiede. Lo dimostra questo libro con cui l'autrice consegna un ritratto della Birmania, evocando ora l'avvicendarsi delle stagioni, ora le feste della tradizione, ora gli usi e i costumi più significativi; e ancora, rende onore al coraggio e all'abnegazione di uomini semplici, artisti, intellettuali che, a prezzo di infiniti sacrifici, a volte della stessa vita, hanno sostenuto e sostengono la democrazia. Non solo: Aung San Suu Kyi denuncia con fermezza le penose condizioni di miseria della popolazione, privata dei diritti più elementari come l'istruzione e l'assistenza sanitaria, e si pone davanti ai potenti della Terra come simbolo della speranza in una forza più grande del potere armato.
La Birmania, oggi conosciuta con il nome di Myanmar - è soggetta a un regime spietato e autoritario. Aung San Suu Kyi, premio Nobel per la pace nel 1991, è stata la protagonista assoluta, il leader ideale del partito che ha tentato per lungo tempo di riportare la democrazia e i diritti civili nel paese. Questa donna tenace e coraggiosa ha subito, a causa delle sue idee, profonde umiliazioni, come l'arresto, la detenzione, l'allontanamento dalla famiglia, senza mai arrendersi alla violenza e alla cieca arroganza del potere. Per questo, quando parla della sua terra lo fa con la passione, la malinconia e insieme la lucidità che solo un politico di rango possiede. Lo dimostra questo libro con cui l'autrice consegna un ritratto della Birmania, evocando ora l'avvicendarsi delle stagioni, ora le feste della tradizione, ora gli usi e i costumi più significativi; e ancora, rende onore al coraggio e all'abnegazione di uomini semplici, artisti, intellettuali che, a prezzo di infiniti sacrifici, a volte della stessa vita, hanno sostenuto e sostengono la democrazia. Non solo: Aung San Suu Kyi denuncia con fermezza le penose condizioni di miseria della popolazione, privata dei diritti più elementari come l'istruzione e l'assistenza sanitaria, e si pone davanti ai potenti della Terra come simbolo della speranza in una forza più grande del potere armato.
August 14, 2015
É una collezione di lettere, scritte tra il novembre 1995 e il dicembre 1996, che toccano vari argomenti riguardanti la Birmania: dalla religione alla spiritualità, dalle feste tradizionali agli usi e costumi, e infine alla politica e lo SLORC.
La Birmania è governata da un regime militare dal 1962, e nonostante la vittoria schiacciante ottenuta alle elezioni del 1990 dalla NLD (National League for Democracy), la situazione non è cambiata.
Dal punto di vista politico, questo è uno di quei tanti libri che ti fanno riflettere, profondamente. Riflettere sul tuo paese, come su altri. Avere la democrazia nel proprio paese non è scontato, e bisogna sempre ricordarselo (e soprattutto farlo ricordare).
Ma Aung San Suu Kyi, oltre alla situazione politica, ci permette anche di conoscere molte cose di questo paese.
Tra le festività che racconta, c'è Thingyan, la festa dell'acqua e il preludio al Capodanno, in cui era usanza che le donne gettassero dell'acqua su ogni uomo che incontravano, per "pulirsi" dalle impurità del passato (oggi non è più esattamente così).
Ci descrive anche le stagioni della Birmania (la stagione calda, la stagione delle piogge e quella fredda), o dell'importanza del té nella loro cultura.
É un bel libro, da leggere almeno una volta, per conoscere una delle grandi donne dei nostri tempi.
La Birmania è governata da un regime militare dal 1962, e nonostante la vittoria schiacciante ottenuta alle elezioni del 1990 dalla NLD (National League for Democracy), la situazione non è cambiata.
Dal punto di vista politico, questo è uno di quei tanti libri che ti fanno riflettere, profondamente. Riflettere sul tuo paese, come su altri. Avere la democrazia nel proprio paese non è scontato, e bisogna sempre ricordarselo (e soprattutto farlo ricordare).
Ma Aung San Suu Kyi, oltre alla situazione politica, ci permette anche di conoscere molte cose di questo paese.
Tra le festività che racconta, c'è Thingyan, la festa dell'acqua e il preludio al Capodanno, in cui era usanza che le donne gettassero dell'acqua su ogni uomo che incontravano, per "pulirsi" dalle impurità del passato (oggi non è più esattamente così).
Ci descrive anche le stagioni della Birmania (la stagione calda, la stagione delle piogge e quella fredda), o dell'importanza del té nella loro cultura.
É un bel libro, da leggere almeno una volta, per conoscere una delle grandi donne dei nostri tempi.
April 17, 2014
I picked up this book with high expectations as I was very interested into the real truth behind Burma's most famous political figure and her personal role in the struggle versus her public image. This book is funny, touching, wry and an intensely individual look into Aung San Suu Kyi's Burma - the past, present and visions of the future written in beautiful simple and direct letters. You definitely get the sense that she is directly talking to you and that she genuinely cares and feels rather than an idealistic portrayal. Sometimes it feels like the struggles and political turmoil is underplayed but that is because of how the author chooses to focus more on the people and hope they carry rather than the insurmountability of their trouble.A brilliant personal memoir.
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