The Revolution will not be Incarcerated
Insight Myanmar28 Feb 2023

The Revolution will not be Incarcerated

Episode #151: Tomas Martin is a prison researcher who presently works with DIGNITY, the Danish Institute Against Torture. His interest in prison research was first piqued when he heard about ten-day vipassana meditation courses in the tradition of S.N. Goenka being conducted in Tihar Jail outside of New Delhi. He is now focusing on how imprisonment in Myanmar, and its ramifications, and not only the prisoners, but the staff as well.

Besides the violence which often plagues incarceration, Martin pays close attention to the everyday experience of prison life. One of the more unique areas of his research has been a study of the usually foul prison air and its psychological and physical affects. He has pushed for new prison designs that encourage better ventilation, to improve the overall quality of life for prisoners.

On the subject of human rights within Burmese prisons, Martin points out the tragic truth that torture has long been used by the military regime to punish political dissidents. After they go through unfair trials, Martin explains how they then have limited contact with family, and their access to food and medicine is restricted. In addition, they are often either placed in extremely overcrowded conditions or kept in solitary confinement, two extremes that are equally detrimental to mental and physical health.

Martin has observed a paradoxical relationship between the revolution and the regime’s attempts at oppression. “Prison is where revolutionary actors and protests are being quelled. People are being locked up and even killed, to destroy the revolution. But the prison is also a place where there is opportunity to collect revolutionary actors and to produce revolutionary action and spirit!”

Avsnitt(505)

Understanding the Civil Disobedience Movement (CDM)

Understanding the Civil Disobedience Movement (CDM)

While those outside of Myanmar following news of the protests have often heard updates about the importance of the Civil Disobedience Movement (CDM), some may still not be clear about its inception an...

30 Mars 20211h 33min

Taking a Moral Stand

Taking a Moral Stand

Ashin Sarana is speaking out, and he’s prepared for the consequences. “I'm basically ready for everything,” the Czech monk tells us. “I'm ready that they will come and they will destroy property, I'm ...

25 Mars 20212h 39min

Drawing a Line Between Hope and Fear

Drawing a Line Between Hope and Fear

Kyawt Thiri Nyunt’s journey from Myanmar to the United States at age 19 was not just a physical one, but a cultural and psychological one as well. She had traveled to enroll in a small liberal arts co...

15 Mars 20212h 13min

Navigating Rough Waters

Navigating Rough Waters

At a time when corporations, countries, and individuals are speaking out, taking a moral stand, and considering action to support the Burmese people as state-sponsored terror grips their nation, what ...

10 Mars 20211h 6min

Feeding Freedom, Not Fear

Feeding Freedom, Not Fear

A world-renowned expert on Burmese cuisine and author of the best-selling book Mandalay: Recipes and Tales from a Burmese Kitchen, Mi Mi Aye never imagined that one day she might become an activist. B...

7 Mars 20211h 36min

Active Days, Restless Nights

Active Days, Restless Nights

Exhausted from the daily protests and sleeping at a different monastery roof with fellow protesters every night for safety, his face darkened from being out under the hot sun all day, his voice hoarse...

2 Mars 20212h 15min

The Power of Mettā in Action

The Power of Mettā in Action

In looking back at the turbulent recent history of her country, Sayalay Chandadhika, a Burmese Buddhist nun based in Germany, sees a never-ending spiral of destructive patterns that continue to produc...

22 Feb 20211h 34min

Facing Darkness with Light

Facing Darkness with Light

“We are already in the danger. So we don’t care anymore. The dawn won’t be that much darker than the midnight. And we are already in the midnight, so the darkness can’t be much worse. We are at the pe...

16 Feb 202152min

Populärt inom Politik & nyheter

motiv
aftonbladet-krim
p3-krim
fordomspodden
rss-krimstad
flashback-forever
blenda-2
rss-viva-fotboll
aftonbladet-daily
svenska-fall
rss-krimreportrarna
rss-vad-fan-hande
rss-sanning-konsekvens
rss-frandfors-horna
olyckan-inifran
rss-flodet
rss-expressen-dok
dagens-eko
svd-dokumentara-berattelser-2
krimmagasinet