Where Rangoon River Meets the Sea

(This story  from hubpages was written by a Filipino sailor.)

Yangon (formerly known as Rangoon) River in Myanmar (otherwise called as Burma) have many woven tales that are waiting to be heard. The military rule literally killed the tourism industry in the country. The house arrest of former lady president Aung San Suu Kyi enraged her followers and supporters and caused the disarray and apathy of the public.

The displacement caused by military junta crowded the river with boat people seeking temporary comfort onboard commercial vessels. Most Burmese women nowadays are engaging in sex trade and the prospective customers are usually sailors.

Flashback

The April of 2001 saw our ship anchored to the delta formation at the mouth of Yangon river. More than ten members of customs and marine authorities of the military junta of Myanmar (now the union of Myanmar) boarded our panamax-type of tanker vessel (more than 39,000 gross tonnage deadweight). After signing important papers, some proceeded to the provision room and got some items ranging from meat to dairy products like milk and cheese). They’re backpacks were full when they left the ship.

We were about to load bunker fuel from their port but were not allowed to go ashore. Instead Myanmar girls boarded our vessel for ten days. Different stories of their lives were retold in a staccato English and how they thrive as boat people embarking from ship to ship.

Boat People
Military rule displaced many innocent people in Myanmar, especially those who support their lady president all the way.

Our captain gave us the go signal to have a girl partner for the next ten days. I didn’t want to because I was afraid to contract a STD (sexually transmitted disease), but he persuaded me to have one. He had chosen the most beautiful from them, but, my co-Filipino sailors like the girl that captain gave me.

Thilawar Port in Rangoon.

Well, as a good subordinate, I said to the girl to go with my friend who has more money to spend for rest of their stay. I had to settle to other girl who’s more matured than me. My captain explained that those scenes were typical to all seafarers. It’s up to me to control my urge whenever women lure sailors to indulge in paid sex.

True to captain’s advise, I nearly had an STD when the condom failed to fit in my organ because my girl immediately inserted my organ to hers’. The good thing was it resulted only to UTI (urinary tract infection) Girls are more prone to UTI than boys. Other sailors who didn’t use protection contracted STD, like syphilis because others have already the virus in their bodies. They explained that once you use a girl with an infection, like HPV (human papilloma virus) it will trigger your old disease to come out.

Sex encounters lasted only for three days. Even the garbage of our captain had many used condoms, relayed by our steward. Next days were spent by girls helping chores in the galley, doing karaoke and having night cap at the ship’s saloon.

You will pity these Myanmar girls because they’re not brave enough to raise their voices for the change they’re wishing for their government system. They have to stay in the waters of Yangon in order to be safe, for a while.

My new woman-friend told me that she lost her husband during the attacks of military men in their village. She had nowhere else to run because his only child (a boy) was captured by those abusive men. She had to save money as much as she can in order to escape (again) the brothel she’d been in. Their mama-san or pimp (an old lady) always get all their money. She cannot even buy new undies, showing her worn out ones to me.

I told her that what they’re experiencing also happened in my country, Philippines. Many activists were put into jail and oftentimes kill or declared missing during the time of Marcos regime. I consoled her that hope is as near as the rays of the sun. As long as the day still exists, it will replace the darkest nights in their lives.

Note: One Filipino oiler suffered a ruptured appendics during our stay in Myanmar. He had to be operated in the local hospital for appendectomy. Although, medical practitioners said that they lack modern medical equipment, they tried their best to give comfort to their newfound patient at bay.

Semi Democracy Burmese Style (3)

(This episode is Than Shwe legally granting a slush fund for himself.)

Just before the recently elected Union Parliament (Pyidaungzu Hluttaw) was initiated on January 31 the State Peace and Development Council (SPDC) promulgated a law establishing a slush fund for the Commander-in-chief of Burma’s armed forces on January 27.

By this law Than Shwe generously granted himself unlimited amount of money out of State Budget to use for whatever he fancies. This is the English version of that law called The Special Fund Law.

Burma's Ho Chi Minh Trail (1)

HISTORY of modern Burma is basically the seemingly-never-ending series of  brutal conflicts between the Communists and the Socialists. Started out as the ideological and personal conflicts between CPB Than Htun and BSP Kyaw Nyein it has morphed into the  long-running deadly civil war between the Burmese Communists and the Burmese army.

Even after Kyaw Nyein was permanently removed from the political stage by 1962 coup General Ne Win kept the civil war alive by rapidly expanding his army just to exterminate the CPB. But because of massive Chinese support of men and arms after the deadly 1967 race riots in Rangoon’s Chinatown the CPB forces at one stage totally controlled the large Burmese territory east of the Salween River.

CPB called that so-called liberated area North-Eastern War Region. Their strategic plan to win the long-running civil war was to link their mainly-ethnic forces in the NE War Region with the totally-Burmese CPB Headquarters on the Pegu-Yoma Ranges at the centre of Burma.

Semi Democracy Burmese Style (2)

(This episode details the truly unique 15 minutes a day Union Parliament.) 

The recently elected Union Parliament (Pyidaungzu Hluttaw) convened on Jan 31, 2011.

But it appears the Union Parliament of Burma did not or would not sit every weekday as a normal parliament from any civilized nation would be expected to do. Even if the Parliament sits in a particular day it would not sit for more than 20 minutes that day. On average the Union Parliament sits for only 15 minutes a day.

Apparently Than Shwe has learnt his lesson from Myint Aung’s refusal to serve as the Defense Minister and thus he re-programmed the Parliament schedule to go slow as to suit his tight but tricky selection of key persons from among the senior army officers.

On February 8 the second day of the Union Parliament, President-elect Thein Sein submitted the list of 34 proposed ministries and also the second list of 30 hand-picked ministers to the Union Parliament. Obviously both lists were handed to him by his real boss Than Shwe.

Semi Democracy Burmese Style (1)

(This episode is the Cabinet Selection in new Union Parliament.) 

The recently elected Union Parliament (Pyidaugzu Hluttaw) convened on Jan 31, 2011. During next three days the Parliament first elected three candidates for the President and two Vice Presidents of Union of Burma.

The three were Thein Sein (current Prime Minister), Tin Aung Myint Oo (current Secretary 1 of SPDC), and Sai Mau Kham a civilian representing the ethnic minorities. On Friday the fourth of February Thein Sein was elected as the President. He received 408 votes out of total 659 votes while Tin Aung Myint Oo and Sai mau Kham received 171 and 75 votes.

And President-elect Thein Sein immediately received from his real boss Senior General Than Shwe the list of 34 proposed ministries and the second list of 30 ministers. Thein Sein had to submit two lists to the Union Parliament and get approval as the new constitution requires.

Ye Min Tun's 8-8-88 Uprising

(This is the direct translation of Ye Min Tun’s ‘Four 8 Uprising and Me’.)  

Practicing politics in Burma is an extremely high risk profession. A politician in dictatorial Burma could be arrested any time and during the long BSPP (Burma Socialist Program Party) rule it could be outright dangerous for a politician to be arrested. Since I was very young I’d heard the tragic stories of many jailed politicians whose lives were forever destroyed. 

I often witnessed the MIS men in a Mazda E2000 mini-truck regularly taking away that old red-flag Communist Yee Mhaing (a) Nyo Mhaing whenever the dates of politically significant events from past approached. Sometimes he came back in few days but sometimes it could take months or even years. His life was so unstable he didn’t have a job. He couldn’t even work as an itinerant laborer and I sometimes felt really bad seeing him wandering from one teashop to another teashop.

I’d also seen mildly-mad Tin Aung Htun who used to live near my great uncle’s house when I was a young boy. He was arrested and tortured by Ne Win’s Government for his involvement in 1974 U Thant Uprising. Since then he would avoid a crowd. Whenever he saw a group of students in school uniform he became really scared and always tried to hide. Even though some students in our neighborhood laughed at his habit of running away and hiding inside the house whenever someone teasingly said to him that the students were coming I always wondered why did he become like that.

The Taste of Peace in Kachin Land

(This article was written by late Tin Than Oo (a) Lt. Col. Mg Mg Oo in 2003.)

It was a scene I would never forget.

It was about 25 years ago. A cloud of thick black smoke was rising in waves after waves above a place the beauty of which was breathtaking. The temperature was bone-chilling as it was in winter. Even though we tried to keep ourselves warm by the fire, our backs were usually covered with a thin layer of ice. The mist had disappeared only at about 10 in the morning; and only at that moment, the enchanting beauty of the place came into view.

The Mount Emoboum rose high up into the sky, clear and blue like the colour of a massive stone of sapphire, with its crest capped with snow and mist in a cone shape. Flanked by Cheinyin range with snow-covered peaks in the north and the high Mayok range in the south, the view of the Emoboum looked so marvellous.

Unfortunately, the magnificent beauty of nature which looked like the masterpiece of an artist, was tarnished by those who were not able to solve the political conflicts resulting from the ideological differences. The beauty of nature was tarnished by those elements.

Irrawaddy Media : A Donor Stooge?

(Email sent by the Danish Embassy in Bangkok to the Irrawaddy's donors.)

Dear all,

I would like to inform you that the Danish Embassy has decided – after many years of support at a high (may be too high) – level, to discontinue our financial support to the Irrawaddy magazine for 2011.

The decision is based on our current project where the Irrawaddy unfortunately have not delivered what was promised in the project agreement nor have they been able to follow up on the contractual amendments the Irrawaddy themselves requested for.

The contractual agreement between the Danish embassy and Irrawaddy included several project components that in time could help the Irrawaddy become more sustainable and thus less dependent on donor financing.

Unfortunately it seems that this is not a priority for Irrawaddy at this stage. They seemingly prefer the easier option to be totally dependent on donor contributions, an option which in our eyes gives the magazine a less convincing profile than the alternative model, which would show all out efforts to make this a sustainable organization run by exile Burmese, of course with some donor support.

Now the organization appears as a donor stooge run by people who do not feel a great urge to rationalize procedures, to consider possible savings and in general to show the necessary will to prudently manage the scarce donor funds made available to the organization.

It is worth noting that the magazine, which 2010 budget exceeded one million US$, employs 62 members of staff at their Chaing Mai office, with inter alia a very generous and liberal travel policy for senior staff, only sells around 200 magazines per month.

Kind regards,

bjarke

BJARKE MANNICHE NIELSEN / BJANIE@UM.DK

SENIOR PROGRAMME OFFICER

ROYAL DANISH EMBASSY, BANGKOK

10 SATHORN SOI 1(SOI ATTAKARN PRASIT) / 10120 BANGKOK

WWW.AMBBANGKOK.UM.DK

(Stooge : A person who is paid by someone in authority to do a secret job for them.)

Burma in Limbo - Part 8

U Nu on Time's Cover.

BORN on 25 May 1907 Prime Minister of Burma U Nu was well over forty in early 1950s and he was becoming wiser and veering towards right in his political orientation after years of ruling Burma. 

He used to be a closet Communist or at least a Socialist just a few years ago. Victory to Communism; Defeat to Burmese Communists - was what he yelled out at departing Than Htun on the very day CPB was expelled from AFPFL in December 1946.

Maybe he was well aware of the old adage ‘If one is not a Communist at 20 one is heartless but if one is still a Communist at 40 one is brainless’.

He was really sick of blatant corruption rapidly eating away the fortunes from the state-owned enterprises. And basically almost all large-scale economic enterprises in Burma were state-owned after years of overzealous nationalization as a legacy of Aung San and his leftwing extreme-nationalists. This translated extract is what he wrote in his autobiography Saturday Born.