(Direct
translation of late Naing Win Swe’s “Ma Thein Shi Si Pote Pay Bar”.)
(On 6 January 1966
General Ne Win’s Revolutionary Socialist Government stupidly prohibited the
civilian populace from transporting, storing, distributing, and trading of 460
basic commodities including the staples such as rice, peanut-oil, and salt. Hta-nyet
(jaggery) was one of those restricted commodities and a large scale smuggling
trade of Hta-nyet had developed overnight in Middle Burma where most of it is
produced.)
“Hey, Yin Maung, working for the Railways is like walking
on the tight rope strung between two deep cliffs. If you fell your body would
be broken into many pieces, do you understand? What we’re doing here like
taking money from the smugglers is dangerous job, you know that. But we are
human and we have to eat if there is something to eat. It’s not our fault at
all and they shouldn’t blame on us for doing what we’re doing.”
“Ha. ha, they can’t blame us for eating when someone
is putting into our mouths. Yin Maung, you should never think about when you
will lose your job or when you will be jailed. You can go crazy just by
worrying about. We’re working for Railways because we’re bad and we’re corrupt.
We must take bad money. That’s right, we must take bribe from the smugglers.
Only problem is everyone knows we’re corrupt and taking bribe money. But we are
honest and we do not hide our corruption, ha ha ha!”
I agreed with
Mya Own’s philosophy of taking bribe money honestly from the smugglers without
giving them a trouble. “Yes, yes, you’re
right, we’re right!” agreed me totally. By then train had left the Indaw-gyel
Station and Mya Own was so drunk he couldn’t even wave his flag to signal the
driver. By the time train departed Nyaung-doe Station he was so drunk he
started vomiting once or twice. Then he started dancing and singing aloud in
his guard compartment.
“I’m drunk, so drunk, so bloody drunk, I just want to
fuck Ma Mya Thein.”
“Ma Mya Thein has a husband,” I warned him.
“So what? I do not care, I just want to screw her.” By then train had decelerated as it approached the Pin-chaung
Station.
“Already at Pain-chaung!”He
whispered to himself and sat down crooked on his seat.
We both knew
that once at Pain-chaung Station the station master Aung Naing Myint and his
railway policemen would board the train and search for smuggled Hta-nyets and
confiscated whatever Hta-nyet they found on the train. We also knew that Ma Aye
Myint and Ma Aye Shwe, two smugglers who never got along well with Aung Naing
Myint, were already hiding in the train toilets. Even we both were quickly
sober by the tragedies waiting at the Pin-chaung Station. Mya Own even sighed
heavily on his seat.
“That mother-fucker Shorty Aung Naing Myint! Just
because he is a Station Master he always fucks us up because he has his
policemen. Those motherfucking cops were militiamen putting on new uniform just
yesterday. Hey, I don’t give a shit whatever happens. I don’t care and I’m
going to sleep, Mya Own is sleeping now.”
I could see
the small Pin-chaung town appearing on the bend and I just lied down on the opposite
seat. We were right though as the Pin-chaung station master and his henchmen took
their time and didn’t even leave one pound of Hta-nyet on the train leaving
train-ful of devastating Hta-nyet smugglers.
I went up and
stood near Thin Thin and her friends as I always did and could hear their sad
prayers to Lord Buddha to help them. The sisters Ma Nyunt Yee and Ma Nyunt Tin
were turning their faces away from us so that others couldn’t see their sad tears.
Only then Ma
Aye Shwe and Ma Aye Shwe both came out of the toilet crying. The Railway Police
sergeant, a very old thin man, pulled out the bribe money he got from them and
tried to return the money to them.
“That’s why I warned you two before. I told you two I didn’t
want your measly money. But you two forced me and put your stuff underneath my
seat. Now they caught me and took Hta-nyets away. I can lose my job and at my
age nobody will take care of me if I lose this job. No I’m fucked. You all
should be sorry for us too, not just we feel sorry for you girls.”
My Nyo Nyo wasn’t
one of Hta-nyet carrier girls but she was also badly affected by all the
desperation and sadness on the train. I looked away at the same Pin-kan-daught
Moutain Ranges she was staring away at and thought of the day she would be
facing the same troubles once she was forced into Hta-nyet trade. When I turned
back my face inside she did the same and we were facing each other.
She then tried
to smile at me. She was growing up quickly and her eyes were no longer shy like
before and were seemingly saying so many words to me gently and silently. I
loved her so much. I also felt like she was telling me that her family had been
suffering so much because she couldn’t be in Hta-nyet trade since my
prohibition.
I realized by
then how much I loved her and how eager I wanted to take care of her and her
family. I knew I would be in heaven once we were married and living together.
But I also knew that that time was far far away as with my lousy salary I couldn’t
marry her yet.
“You know, I’ll never carry Hta-nyet. I will die of
starvation, but I’ll never face such desperation and sadness,” whispered she just form me to hear.
By then the
train was crossing noisily over the Kalar-myaw Bridge. She with both eyes full
of tear was right beside of me. That day was the day the last barrier between
us was broken. She was no longer shy at me like before. We hadn’t kissed or
even hugged yet but we could face each other and smile instantly at each other.
We also knew we could hear each other what we had in minds without saying words
out loud.
Every day on
the train she would put her basket beside her on the bench expecting me. If I didn’t
come soon she would look up and down at wherever I was on the train. When I
came over she would give me a big bright smile. Normally I came up to her at
munch times.
Once the train
was at Nyaung-doe Station I went down and bought some curries for both of us.
Then I climbed up to their car and sat beside her. She always packed more rice
for me too. Once we opened the lunch packs and started eating together I happily
felt like we were already husband and wife, just happily married.
She would always
pick up a piece of meat from the curry first and gave it to me like a loving Burmese
wife always does to her husband at meals. She would then happily smile once I
ate that meat. Her big bright eyes were filled with love and tenderness and I
felt like I was on the moon.
Once the train
reached the Indaw-gyel Station Nyo Nyo remided me to go back to my work as I as
the train clerk had to check tickets and accept cargoes. I didn’t want to go
yet as the terminal Kyauk-pan-daung would be soon and that would be the end for
that day. But I still had to leave my dear Nyo Nyo.
Her eyes would
be following me till I entered the Guard Compartment and she couldn’t see me no
more. Her friend Thin Thin and Nu Nu would always tease her for doing that and
they would then laugh at each other like any other young girls their age do.
“Hey, don’t say that, that is too much,” I could hear Nyo Nyo stopping them after they said some naughty
words.
“Hey Nyo Nyo, you are too much, far too much. We once had
boyfriends too. But not this much like you,” I
heard their retort back too.
“Hey, this is not too much!”
Nyo Nyo’s
happy laughter would follow me and I still would remember till I went to bed
that night and fell asleep. Then I met her again in my sweet dreams.
********************************
The legend is that,
as he lay dead on the battleground his comrades picked wild flowers and covered
his remains with the flowers before they retreated as they didn’t have enough
time to bury him.
This fictionalized
semi-autobiographical novel vividly depicts the utter sufferings of a society
under the brutal Socialist System as both the rulers and the ruled become the
hapless victims of that Evil Satanist Ideology called Socialism where State Controls
almost everything and People Starve.)
