Singing to the Dead: A Missioner's Life among Refugees from Burma PDF
Preview Singing to the Dead: A Missioner's Life among Refugees from Burma
SSiinnggiinngg ttoo tthhee DDeeaadd AA MMiissssiioonneerr’’ss LLiiffee aammoonngg RReeffuuggeeeess ffrroomm BBuurrmmaa VViiccttoorriiaa AArrmmoouurr--HHiilleemmaann Singing to the Dead this page intentionally left blank Singing to the Dead a missioner’s life among refugees from burma Victoria Armour-Hileman theuniversityofgeorgiapress athensandlondon PublishedbytheUniversityofGeorgiaPress Athens,Georgia30602 ©2002byVictoriaArmour-Hileman Allrightsreserved DesignedbyBettyPalmerMcDaniel Setin10/14MinionbyBookcomp,Inc. PrintedandboundbyMaple-VailBookGroup Thepaperinthisbookmeetstheguidelinesfor permanenceanddurabilityoftheCommitteeon ProductionGuidelinesforBookLongevityofthe CouncilonLibraryResources. PrintedintheUnitedStatesofAmerica 06 05 04 03 02 c 5 4 3 2 1 LibraryofCongressCataloging-in-PublicationData Armour-Hileman,Victoria,1958– Singingtothedead:amissioner’slifeamongrefugeesfromBurma/VictoriaArmour-Hileman. p.cm. isbn0-8203-2358-6(hardcover:alk.paper) 1.Armour-Hileman,Victoria,1958–. 2.Mon(SoutheastAsian people)—Thailand—Bangkok. 3.Churchworkwithrefugees—Thailand—Bangkok. 4.Refugees—Burma. 5.CatholicChurch—Missions—Thailand—Bangkok. 6.Missionaries—Thailand—Bangkok—Biography. I.Title. bv3317.a76a32003 261.8'328—dc21 2001008022 BritishLibraryCataloging-in-PublicationDataavailable Thegoldensheldrake,orBobHtaw,usedasanornamentinthisbookisthe nationalsymboloftheMonpeople.Appearingontheirflagandreferredtoinsongs andstoriesthroughoutMonhistory,theBobHtawrepresentstheMonpride intheirculturalidentityaswellastheirstruggleforfreedomfromoppression. Contents Preface vii Acknowledgments xvii blessingsintherain FlyingBuddha 3 FlorenceNightingale 16 MothersandSons 33 beyondrisk ASoldierintheJungle 47 ABasketofPrayers 61 DancingwiththeHurricane 73 deathrailway ALetterfromPrison 83 SellingDeath 95 Misunderstandings 105 WhereOurSympathiesLie 117 Safe 127 TheSoundofthePrisonGate 130 v vi contents atruefriend TheStoriesWeTell 139 WherethePoorSearchforJustice 149 SnowyRiver 166 crossingborders PresidentsandKings 189 WhenMonlandIsFree 203 OneStepForward 209 SingingtotheDead 219 thefaceofgod AStrangeReception 233 ACaseofStomachache 238 TheLionandtheDragon 243 Preface On August 8, 1988, Burma came to the attention of the world when soldiers opened fire on unarmed demonstrators who were calling for democracy and anendtotwenty-sixyearsofmilitarydictatorship.Themassacredrewinterna- tionalcondemnationandwithinthecountryspurredwidespreadprotests.In response to the growing unrest, on September 18, 1988, the Burmese govern- mentstagedamockcoupanddeclaredpowertobeinthehandsofthenewly formedStateLawandOrderRestorationCouncil(slorc).Theslorcchanged thecountry’sofficialEnglishnametoMyanmar,achangerejectedbymostop- positiongroupsanddemocracy-movementleaderswhodonotrecognizethe legitimacyofthegovernmentoritsauthoritytomakesuchachange,especially withoutconsultationofthepopulace.Throughoutthebook,Irefertothecoun- tryasBurma,ratherthanasMyanmar. The first act of the slorc was to quell the nationwide demonstrations through a crackdown on protestors. Tactics included firing machine guns at unarmedcrowds,aswellasarrest,torture,andimprisonmentofknowndissi- dents.Althoughobjectivenumbersofcasualtiesareimpossibletoverify,some sourcesestimatethatasmanyastenthousandpeoplemayhavebeenkilledin themassacresofAugustandSeptember1988. Despitethechangeinthenameandsomeshufflingofindividualsatthehigh- estlevelsofpower,theslorcwasstillamilitary-ledregimewhoseagendawas essentially the same as the Burma Socialist Programme Party (bspp), which hadruledsince1962,stiflingfreedomofexpression,committinggrosshuman rightsviolations,andbringingtheoncestrongeconomytothebrinkofdisaster. Theonlynoteofhopewasthattheslorcpromisedtoholdfreeelectionsonce “peaceandtranquility”hadbeenrestored. vii viii preface ThenextsnapshotsofBurmathattheWesternmediagavetheworldcame twoyearslater,whennationalelectionsresultedinadecisivevictoryforapop- ularoppositionparty,theNationalLeagueforDemocracy(nld),whichwon morethan80percentofthecontestedparliamentaryseats. Thelandslidevictoryofthenldnodoubtcameasasurprisetotheslorc, which had placed the nld’s most prominent leader, Daw Aung San Suu Kyi, underhousearrestinJuly1989andhadharassedorarrestedotheropposition leadersanddissidents.Despitetheelectionresults,theslorcrefusedtohand overpowertoaciviliangovernment,andDawAungSanSuuKyiremainedun- derhousearrestuntil1995. Famousdaughterofanequallyfamousfather,andNobelPeacePrizewinner of1991,DawAungSanSuuKyiisarguablyBurma’sbest-knowncitizen.Tothe world,shebecamethecentralsymbolofthestruggleinBurma,and“democ- racy”becameitsbattlecry. ethnicconflict TheabovehistorysummarizesthehighlightsoftheconflictinBurmaasrep- resented in the Western media. The real story is more complicated. Much of the struggle has taken place out of sight of the Western media and far from thecapitalcity.Further,theleadersofthedemocracymovementwerenotonly students,asisthecommonperception,butalsoworkers,monks,andmostof allmembersofBurma’sethnicgroups,whoboretheworstoftheoppression ofitsmilitarysocialistdictatorshipbefore1988andcontinuetobeartheworst oftheoppressiontoday. AccordingtoofficialBurmesestatistics,approximately60percentofBurma’s population of forty-seven million people are Burmans. The other 40 percent belongtooneofthemorethantwentyethnicminoritieswholiveinruralareas andalongtheborderbetweenBurmaandThailand. TheethnicdimensionofthestruggleinBurmaisoftendifficultforAmer- icans to grasp fully. Although the ethnic groups are concerned with familiar issues—thestrugglefordemocracy,humanrights,returntocivilianrule,anda haltofBurma’sdisastrouseconomicpolicies—theyarealsoinvolvedinastrug- gletopreservetheirowncultures,andtomaintainsomedegreeofautonomy. Thesestrugglesgobackmuchfurtherthan1988. preface ix In 1947, during Burma’s transition from British colony to independent nation, General Aung San negotiated with the ethnic minorities to form the Panlong Agreement, which granted the minority groups a certain degree of autonomy and power-sharing. Unfortunately, General Aung San was assassi- nated,andtheagreementwasneverfullyhonored,leavingtheethnicpeoples inadifficultsituation—theywereofficiallycitizensofBurmabutenjoyedfew rights and privileges of that citizenship. Ethnic tensions intensified when the initialparliamentarygovernmentofBurmawasoverthrownbythebsppin1962. Sincethen,thegovernment,whichismilitary-ledandpredominantlyethnically Burman,hascarriedonseverecultural,political,andeconomicoppressionof theethnicminorities.Subsequentethnicrebellionsandbrutalmilitaryretali- ationsplungedthecountryintowhatamountstoanethniccivilwarthathas continuedmoreorlessunabatedforthelastfortyyears. TheinternationalcommunityhascondemnedtheBurmesegovernmentfor itstreatmentofitscitizens,especiallytheethnicminorities.TheUnitedStates banned new investments in Burma in 1997, and more than twenty American states and municipalities have issued selective purchasing laws. Also in 1997, theEuropeanCommission,undertheGeneralizedSystemofPreferences,sus- pendedBurma’simportquotas.However,theeffortsofWesterngovernments, especiallythatoftheUnitedStates,havebeenunderminedbytheactivemilitary assistanceprovidedtotheBurmeseregimebyChina,aswellasbythedecision of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (asean) to admit Burma as a member. themon AlongwithrefugeesbelongingtotheKaren,theShan,theKarenni,theKachin, theWah,theRohingyas,andotherethnicgroupsofBurma,Monrefugeesare amongthemorethan300,000peoplewhohavefledBurmasince1988,spilling overthebordersintoThailand. IhadneverheardoftheMonpeoplebeforeIlivedamongthem.What’smore, likemanyAmericans,IwouldhavehadtroublepinpointingBurmaonablank map.TheMon(pronounced“mawn”)areoftenconfusedwiththeHmong,who arebetterknownintheUnitedStates.
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