Paint It Black
Insight Myanmar16 Joulu 2022

Paint It Black

Episode #138: “Almost everything was propaganda,” Paing comments, reflecting on his childhood growing up in Yangon. His release came in the form of artistic expression through music, largely influenced by Western bands and singers. He describes his songs as being gloomy and melancholic, which also characterizes his feelings about the recent, turbulent events in his country.

Recently, however, Paing has been unable to write new music, nor even play his old tracks, because he is still recovering from the trauma of what he witnessed soon after the coup broke in Hlaing Thayar, his hometown. March 15, 2021, Paing watched from his rooftop balcony, as the military brutally assault protesters. Powerless, he saw people falling from injuries and others being killed outright, a memory which he feels has scarred him for life.

Paing has been disappointed by both the lackluster international support as well as the leadership of the NUG. With diplomacy failing, he hopes that resistance fighters having better access to weapons can also help. However, as someone who still believes in the principles of non-violence, he is conflicted on this issue, especially as he realizes that a post-Tatmadaw world must include those former soldiers. “You can’t kill everyone that opposes any new idea,” he notes. “You have to see things on a human level, instead of just using guns.”


Paing knows the way forward will not be easy. “Again, I'm a pessimist,” he says, laughing. “So I think everything that can go wrong, will go wrong. But the worst thing that could happen is the military winning.”

Jaksot(505)

Children of the Revolution

Children of the Revolution

Episode #443: Ei, a former member of the People’s Defense Force (PDF), shifted from armed resistance to humanitarian work, and now focuses on child soldiers and youth affected by conflict. She joined ...

5 Joulu 20251h 29min

A Scanner Darkly

A Scanner Darkly

Episode #442: Yin Maung, a Myanmar-born digital-rights researcher with Aung Media, examines how non-consensual intimate images have become a political weapon in post-coup Myanmar. He places this crisi...

4 Joulu 202552min

Against Injustice

Against Injustice

Episode #441: “I just thought, ‘Someone has to stay and bear witness,’” says Paul Greening, a veteran humanitarian with the International Organization for Migration (IOM). For decades he moved between...

3 Joulu 20252h 9min

No Space for Dictators

No Space for Dictators

Episode #440: Rick Hanson and Brang Nan engage in a moving conversation on Myanmar's ongoing struggle for democracy, focusing on psychological resilience, Buddhist practice, and activism. Rick begins ...

1 Joulu 20251h 5min

Far From Home

Far From Home

Episode #439: “The key human rights issue within Thailand and more broadly within the region is migration related,” says Ben Harkins, a veteran labor rights and migration expert who has spent over sev...

28 Marras 20252h

Leaving the Tradition

Leaving the Tradition

Episode #438: Jonathan Crowley shares his journey as a practitioner and teacher in the Goenka Vipassana tradition, highlighting the conflicts that eventually led him to step away after 35 years of ded...

27 Marras 20252h 54min

Ghosts in the Machine

Ghosts in the Machine

Episode #437: Researchers Myat Su Thwe, a human-rights scholar, and Kyaw Lwin, a socio-legal specialist, examine how Myanmar’s National Unity Government (NUG) operates digitally after the 2021 coup in...

25 Marras 20252h 14min

A Doctor Without Borders

A Doctor Without Borders

Episode #436: “We feel like we are not a useless person. You know, even [if] we have to flee our country and come to other country, we are still a valued person.” Dr. K, a Rohingya general practition...

22 Marras 20251h 35min

Suosittua kategoriassa Politiikka ja uutiset

aikalisa
ootsa-kuullut-tasta-2
politiikan-puskaradio
rss-ootsa-kuullut-tasta
tervo-halme
rss-vaalirankkurit-podcast
viisupodi
rss-podme-livebox
otetaan-yhdet
rss-asiastudio
the-ulkopolitist
et-sa-noin-voi-sanoo-esittaa
rss-kaikki-uusiksi
rss-tasta-on-kyse-ivan-puopolo-verkkouutiset
rss-kalevi-sorsa-saation-podcast
rss-polikulaari-pitka-kiekko-ja-muut-ts-podcastit
rss-hyvaa-huomenta-bryssel
rss-merja-mahkan-rahat
rss-kuka-mina-olen
rss-tekkipodi