The proliferation of specialist Southeast Asia websites continues unabated. An interesting new offering, from young Burmese-American student, Aung Htin Kyaw, has recently come to my attention.
He is just getting started but if the most recent post titled “Socialism and Modernization” is any indication then his unusual mix of personal experiences and family history will make the site worth a regular visit. In this most recent post he laments the destruction of colonial-era buildings in Rangoon and provides some great pictures and commentary to illustrate his points.
He writes, in part:
Maybe one day, when a democratic government that cares about the country’s historical heritage emerges will these buildings be preserved for future individuals to enjoy and reminisce. Sometimes, hi-rises are not the best indicators of a country’s overall prosperity. They indicate decay of history, a loss of legacy. There is nothing I can do now, except rely on my memories to imagine how my family once lived.
3 responses so far ↓
1 Thai Radio // Jan 6, 2007 at 5:37 am
Yeap, this blog is quite interesting: although he is young, the author seems wise.
2 polo // Jan 10, 2007 at 2:00 am
Aung Htin Kyaw might be inspired
by this funny piece of revisionism, Chakri-style:
http://www.atimes.com/atimes/Southeast_Asia/IA05Ae01.html
I like the part about if you make a general a king everything will go hunky dory.
” In much the same way, were a Myanmar general to ascend to a restored throne, he would logically seek to limit the army’s power by creating his own bureaucratic counter balance. Not, grant you, the most efficient path to civilian rule, but one which would nonetheless achieve that same goal using arcane methods. ”
Worked well in Germany. Works well in North Korea too. Maybe he’s thinking of Napoleon though. Err…
3 jimmy // Sep 28, 2007 at 12:16 am
At last the (so called) civilised world seems to be picking up on an issue that some of us have been denouncing for years, namely the plight of the Burmese people, in particular the opposition National League for Democracy, and further the illegal detention of Aung San Suu Kyi. Alas, a country without oil or other plunderable resources seems to warrant little attention (this is not a modern phenomenon) and our global society seems condemned to repeat the mistakes of history. The only people who appear to speak out against such atrocities are the artists and activists. Our friends Pig have uploaded a song in support of burma and its people to their myspace page http://www.myspace.com/1933 its dedicated to all those in favour of humanity and respect for people you may never know. jimmy
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