Saying Goodbye

So, this is it. I’m sitting here trying to figure out how on earth to articulate how I feel about leaving and about everything that has happened in the last year.

I spent my last day in Mae Sot not in Mae Sot at all, but in Myawaddy, Burma (just across the border) with two of my good friends. It was amazing to see the National League for Democracy’s offices being open and publicly visible, and for people to be freely talking about Aung San Suu Kyi and politics and not fearing reprisals from the government, so different from the atmosphere when I was there in June 2011. On Sunday night, after a BBQ at some friends’ house, we all went and watched The Lady together at a bar run by and for Burmese ex-political prisoners. It was a wonderful way to end my time in Little Burma.

My last breakfast in Burma

There is so much I will miss from my strange little border town. From the yelling Tokay’s, to the old Thai ladies that practice their traditional dancing on my street at 6.30 every night. I will miss my bike (which I have given to one of the girls at work), my soi (street) dogs, and constantly eating mangoes. And on the topic of food, I will miss the incredible variety of Thai food on offer in Mae Sot, as well as the unique and delectable Burmese foods – so many different salads, breakfasts of curry and naan or rich noodle soup with coriander and onions. It’s all so amazing and so delicious. Of course, there are many things that I will not miss, vicious dogs chasing me on my bike, being hit by motorbikes, having to cover myself in deet to dissuade the ever-present mosquitoes, the smell of fish everywhere and the distinct possibility that anything I order that I don’t know exactly what it is will probably taste fishy (I really do not like fish). I will not miss the heat, but at the same time, I will miss it very much. I have not become acclimatised at all, 38 degrees for weeks in a row is too much but the thought of anything less than 25 makes me think cold thoughts. I will miss the freedom I feel living here, even though at times I feel trapped and isolated; this has been a wonderful place to simply be myself without anyone having any prior conceptions about me. 

One of the children on our Dry Food Programme

Of course, the things I will miss the most are my amazing job, my incredible family of friends, and my awe-inspiring Burmese colleagues. The work I have been involved in this past year has taught me more than I could have ever imagined, about everything. I now know far more about Burma than ever before, not to mention healthcare, which I previously knew nothing about. I know how to develop websites and write annual reports, design and implement self-income generation projects and improve local staff capacity. My inspiring colleagues have taught me about their lives, the struggles they face at home in Burma on a daily basis, and how to carry on in the face of brutal oppression. It has been an honour, and truly humbling to meet and work with each and every one of them. 

 

And my friends here in Mae Sot. Wow. What a fantastic bunch of human beings. Supportive, hilarious, inspiring, motivated, conscientious, party-fuelled, and insanely hard working people who I am so grateful to have met and to call my friends. Saying goodbye to them all last night was a lot harder than I had thought it was going to be. The past few weeks with them have been by far the best time I have had in Mae Sot, and I am so glad that I am leaving on a high note; I am already speculating on my return. 

Somtam and sticky rice

One of the main reasons the market stinks.

Vegetarian Laarb. Indescribably good.

This year has been one that I can never forget. Realising life-long dreams has only been a part of it. I have achieved so much more than I could have thought possible, in so many areas. Burma is changing, and I think it is still too early to speculate on what might happen there in the next few years, but one thing I know for sure is that I want to be a part of it. 

Tomorrow, I am off to Melbourne to seek my fortune, so if anyone hears of any jobs there, let me know! Also, if you are there, get in touch and let’s hang out. I am also very excited to tell you that last week I had a paper published in a German-based academic journal (the paper is in English), so if you are interested in brainwashing or cults, have a read.

And finally, I would like to say one more big thank you to all my friends and family. Without your continual support, the past year would not have been possible, and I will always be grateful for your help. As for the immediate future, this is the end of The Far Away Lands for now. If my life becomes terribly exciting in Melbourne, I may write from time to time, so check back every once in a while if you are interested. I hope to be living somewhere else exotic and interesting within a year at the most (very possibly back in Mae Sot), so this is definitely not the end. Thank you all for reading, and for all your lovely feedback. It’s been fun to share it with you.

I’ve said it before, and I will say it again: I love this town and I love these people. I have truly witnessed life here: birth, death and marriage; pain, suffering, oppression; hope, emancipation and joy. I will miss it all more than you can know.

The most beautiful Soi dog ever, the lovely Joon

My favorite food in Thailand: Noodle Soup! The best noodle shop in Mae Sot is at the end of my Soi.

Happy New Year!

There has been so much going on recently that the past few weeks have gone by in a blur, and now I have less than a week left here, which I am not very happy about at all.

Firstly, happy Songkran (from Thailand), and happy Thingyan (from Burma), or, in English, happy New Year! This last weekend marked the New Year here, and what a way to mark it. Both countries partake in the biggest, most elaborate nation-wide water fight you’ve ever seen in your life. It is difficult to accurately describe the mayhem that takes over Burma and Thailand during this incredible holiday. There is parting and dancing in the streets and water being thrown from passing pick-up trucks, as well as people roaming the streets with water guns and manning enormous barrels of water to throw at everyone and anyone.  Other than monks, very very young babies, some elderly people and street workers, absolutely no one is immune, and there is no mercy: if you are out in the streets, you will be saturated for the entire time you are outside. There is food and drinks being shared with everyone on the streets, and a paste made of talcum powder and water being lovingly smeared on everyone’s face.

Did I mention that this party goes on for more than four days? After day three I had blisters on my water gun trigger finger, and a developing ear infection from having so much water forced into it. This is seriously the absolute best national holiday I have ever had the pleasure to take part in. I really cannot think of a better way to celebrate anything. Everyone was so happy, Burmese, Thai and farang (foreign) people were dancing and celebrating exuberantly together, small children were elated over what was going on (really, some unbelievably joyous faces, it was beautiful to see), and the elderly, while taking on a much gentler water sprinkling technique, were also having the time of their lives drenching everyone and being drenched in return. 

Aside from wild water parties, in these past couple of weeks I’ve gone camping in a national park, gone back to Burma for the day, gone to Chiang Mai, and on Monday I spent the day visiting waterfalls with one of my local colleagues and her family. In between all this I have also been frantically trying to finish writing our 2011 Annual Report, and unfortunately I don’t think will be done before I go. It’s been a really fantastic few weeks, and I am now very unsure why on earth I am leaving, and the date is drawing rapidly nearer. 

My final week here will be filled with more frantic work, eating as much delicious food as possible, cheap haircuts, lots of cleaning of my house for my friend to move in, culling and packing, parting with all my amazing friends here, and most sadly, saying goodbye.

The world's best way to eat a potato?

Getting as good as I gave.

A Wolf in a Legitmate Governments' Clothing?

It’s an interesting time to be here. As you may or may not know, Burma held by-elections last Sunday, April 1st. These are the first elections since the General Election of November 2010, which marked the beginning of Burma’s current period of reform. The 2010 elections, however, have been widely regarded as a sham. The military junta that had ruled the country for nearly 50 years, ceded power to a new, nominally civilian government, that is full of retired, ex-military Generals. Hardly a significant power shift. The by-election earlier this month offered up 44 seats out of 600, a very small number, and not enough to hold much influence. Daw Aung San Suu Kyi’s party, the National League for Democracy, won 43 of these, and Daw Suu is due to take her seat in parliament for the first time on April 23rd. However, there are widespread reports of ballot fraud, for example, waxing voting papers so they couldn't be marked, peoples names mysteriously missing off electoral roles, and serious intimidation in the lead-up to election day.

There is no doubt that these elections are an incredible achievement for Burma, and a step towards democracy in a very big way. However, it is worrying that the international community is being so quick to reward the Burmese government by lifting sanctions, investing and so on. While there is no doubt that things are changing, Burma is still a heavily oppressed nation. The government still uses rape as a weapon of war, it still uses forced labour – it has said it will cease this practice by 2015, three years away – forced relocation is still a significant issue, ethnic conflicts continue to rage, and life in the border regions remains miserable for hundreds of thousands of people. The NLD, while an inspirational party, don’t represent all the people of Burma. Ethnic minorities are sorely misrepresented in the Party, which is primarily made up of ethnic Burmans. And it is these ethnic areas where human rights abuses are most flagrant. Freedom of speech is slowly improving, but it is still illegal to speak out openly against the government - Daw Suu’s victory speech was heavily censored. Landmines continue to be laid, and political prisoners continue to be arrested and have their rights violated. Take, for example, the most recent briefing from the Assistance Association for Political Prisoners, based here in Mae Sot:

Mahn Nyein Maung, an ethnic Karen leader, was sentenced to life plus three years this month for unlawful association and treason and released six days later. U Gambira, monk leader of the 2007 protests released as part of the January presidential order, was re-arrested for the second time since his release and was detained for a day and interrogated for hours. Such interrogation can have fatal consequences, as in the case of a 19 year old Shan woman, who fell to her death from a fifth story window after days of relentless interrogation and intimidation by the Bureau of Special Investigation (BSI).

Meanwhile, the situation in Kachin State has not improved, as reports of forced labour, abductions and other human rights abuses continue to come out. The sentencing of a farmer to 3 months of hard labour for refusing to move from their land to make way for a state development project is further evidence that protecting the rights of citizens is secondary to the interests of the state.

It’s strange being here right now: learning about these things first hand from the people that are suffering through them, while the rest of the world looks on with approving nods at the alleged changes being made. The government had absolutely nothing to lose in these elections, 44 seats is not enough to effect any change, but it undoubtedly improves the international community’s view of the country. A pretty ingenious move if you ask me. Burma was ruled by a vicious military junta for 50 years. It takes more than just 16 months to undo all that.

The struggle here is still so strong, yet international NGOs are pulling funding on the border all over the show, in favour of aid inside Burma. While this is also needed, there needs to be a transition period; the border and the few hundred thousand displaced people that live here are still suffering unimaginable hardships. International attention is shifting away from the very real needs here, and is instead favouring the new, exciting and somewhat deceptive developments inside. I went to Burma again for a few hours last Wednesday to do a visa run, to the town of Myawaddy just over the border (the border only opened up in December last year, after nearly two years of being closed). It was inspiring to see the NLD HQ in town, and it made me very sad to think about leaving. I have just two weeks left here before moving on to Melbourne and (hopefully) a paid job for a while, and while I am really excited to be going somewhere new, there is still so much to stay for.

Here is an article from the Washington Post discussing some of the things that are happening in Kachin State right now, and why lifting sanctions and international pressure is a terrible idea.

Tokay Ok!

This is a crazy busy week full of exciting adventure, new postcard coming on Monday I promise! In the meantime, here is a photo of the amazing Tokay that's been living outside my bedroom for a year. He chose my birthday to finally reveal himself to me, a pretty great present from mother nature if you ask me!