Features disabled! Please read the following:<< I Have the Plugin - Show Flash Content >> | << No Plugin - Hide this Warning >>
A Burmese Odyssey“We seemed to live in a time of paralysis, when nothing significant happened, or was allowed to happen, when all paths seemed shut off. I had the sense that the university – as these old buildings suggested – had been there to open minds and show new opportunities, but that now all this had been crushed. We were forced to swim in a small tank like goldfish. We were even told how to live and breathe. Our very wills seemed paralysed. We could hardly express our discontent even to ourselves.” - Pascal Khoo Thwe, in From the Land of Green Ghosts
Were I forced to select one book that best represents this site, From the Land of Green Ghosts would be my choice. It demonstrates so much of what I hope to communicate here, and it works on a number of levels. Written by Pascal Khoo Thwe, a member of Burma's minority Padaung tribe, the book is organized into three sections. In the first section, the author portrays the world of his youth, a primitive yet beautiful world in the rustic hills of Burma's Shan State. Readers are given a wonderful introduction to the country's cultural richness and remarkable diversity. In the second section, Khoo Thwe explores the politics of Myanmar. He describes conditions that led to the student uprising of 1988, a revolt met with extraordinary violence by the country's ruling military junta. Khoo Thwe goes on to describe his political emergence and subsequent flight into the Karenni Liberated Zone on the country's eastern border. The book's final section depicts the harshness and absurdities of the (still ongoing) war between the Burmese army and several rebel minority groups. Khoo Thwe himself spends months in the war zone before being rescued and whisked away to England, where he overcomes a number of obstacles to earn a degree in English literature. From the Land of Green Ghosts is his first book. Why, then, does this book represent ONEWORLDIMAGES.COM so well? First, Pascal Khoo Thwe is from a "primitive" minority tribe from which few would expect a published author to emerge. That the book, written in English (not translated from the author's native tongue), is so well written is amazing. His rich descriptions, witty humor, and skillful use of English give the book a wonderfully literary feel; while I have read a number of interesting books written by natives of Southeast Asia, the quality of Khoo Thwe's writing is rarely matched. Considering that Green Ghosts is his first book - that a decade ago the author spoke broken English (evident in letters written while he was in Burma) - this work demonstrates that a person's race has little to do with capabilities or intellect. Progressing through the book, it is difficult to believe that the author was born into a remote village in the hills of Burma's Shan State, a world in which Earth - for all intents and purposes - was flat. In addition to being well written, the book communicates the beauty and complexity of culture. While he celebrates his native culture, Khoo Thwe is not afraid to acknowledge its inadequacies. He highlights educational insufficiencies, jokes about certain extraordinary myths, and laments his tribe's reliance upon traditional medicine. Religion and spirituality play vital roles from start to finish. Khoo Thwe is born into a world that mixes Catholicism and traditional animism in ways that seem outlandish and silly at times, cannily wise at others. For both supporters and critics of Christian missionary work, this combination of religious practices and beliefs will be of interest. That the book describes life in Burma is another reason it fits well here. To date, I have not read a book that better captures the reality of the political situation in Myanmar. Khoo Thwe pulls no punches in denouncing the ruling junta for its incompetence and mendacity yet stops short of blaming every problem of his people on the government. If one needs further proof of the heinous crimes committed by the Burmese army, this book will undoubtedly provide it. Beyond Burma's complex political milieu, the book skillfully describes the country's natural beauty, distinct cultures, and religious diversity. For me, its pictures were particularly vivid as a result of my trip to Myanmar in early 2005. Having not read Green Ghosts prior to my visit, it struck me as ironic that I followed a path almost directly overlapping the locations described in the book. Much of my time was spent in the Shan State and in Mawlamyaing (at the mouth of the Thalwin River, spelled Salween in Green Ghosts). I visited Taunggyi, Pwin Oo Lwin (Maymyo in the book), Mandalay, and several tribal villages in the Shan State. The tribes I visited were primarily Palaung - Khoo Thwe is Padaung. As a result, many of the author's descriptions complement the images that linger in my mind. Khoo Thwe's work also demonstrates the power of the written word. One can reasonably conclude that the author is alive today because he developed a passion for reading at an early age. (That he has a particular interest in words themselves is evident in Green Ghosts; though careful readers may find evidence that Khoo Thwe did not grow up speaking English, one certainly wouldn't guess as much based upon his grasp of English vocabulary. This native English speaker, for one, was forced to consult a dictionary on several occasions.) But beyond the author's survival, Green Ghosts demonstrates the power of books to communicate to the world. Very few people know this story. Everyone should. I have struggled to communicate with others why Burma has become a personal passion. I am hopeful this site will help, but Khoo Thwe's book will undoubtedly do even more. Green Ghosts is Burma at its best - and Burma at its worst. I believe it makes a case for why we - those of us in the outside world - need to sit up and pay attention to this country. Read this book! If you have any knowledge of Myanmar and its people, it will become an instant favorite. If you know nothing of Myanmar, well, Green Ghosts might just get you hooked. From the epilogue come these words, the concluding sentences of the book: “Nearly every night I dream of Shan State, of Phekhon, of Mandalay, of the jungle. The landscapes of my dreams resemble real ones, yet they shift like images on silver screens. Now that I have traveled so far beyond the ‘unimaginable places’ that haunted me in childhood – beyond the Lawpita falls and the great Salween – the dream-images have all become mixed up, the elements transposed. Snow may fall on the Shan State jungles, or palm trees may grow in the Alps. But something never changes. The pictures are always blurred by mists.” << Find this Book on Amazon.com >>
|
![[Book Cover Page: From the Land of Green Ghosts]](images/books/from-the-land-of-green-ghosts.jpg "From the Land of Green Ghosts")