The Invisible Enemy

This is the third episode in our ongoing series “Love Letters to Myanmar.” Our recent run of longform interviews has tried to realistically portray the terror and suffering that so many Burmese people have been facing during this four-month long siege, since the military initiated their coup on February 1. As critical as it is to tell these stories, we feel it is important that this platform not reflect a one-dimensional view, just airing stories of pain and carnage. So this current series is meant to remind us of just how much the Golden Land has offered those who were fortunate enough to have visited or lived there, and to help us remember the country during its better days, to appreciate and celebrate Burmese culture and community.Today’s first guest is Johanna, a young German college student who went to Myanmar as part of her college internship, and so fell in love with the country that she ended up going back, staying on during the pandemic and even after the coup, while virtually attending university back in Germany. Next up is Sue Mark, who arrived in Myanmar in 2008 in the wake of Cyclone Nargis, and decided to stay on to support the country’s nascent democratic reforms. And lastly, we check in with Keshav Mohta, an Indian currently living in Peru who traveled to Myanmar in 2010, and speaks fondly of the strong sense of spirituality he felt while interacting with different communities there.In addition to the guests, there are other special sound features on this episode, including: samples from the protest anthem “Doh Ayay,” (meaning “Our Cause”); the reading of a poem penned by Khet Thi, a Monywa-based poet was recently arrested and tortured to death in prison; several tracks of defection messages produced by Operation Hannoi Hannah, which makes audio files that Burmese protesters download and broadcast to soldiers through hidden speakers; and finally, scattered throughout this current episode, ambient sounds from some of the protests in Myanmar, courageously recorded at ground level by Thar Nge.If you are moved by the stories you hear today, or the on-going plight of the Burmese people, please consider making a donation on our Better Burma website!

4 Juni 20211h 50min

When Jonathan fell to the ground, the only thing he could think to do was to somehow shield his head from the blows and kicks coming from all directions, his reflexes automatically kicking in as he tried to protect himself from a murderous regime, whose soldiers are not above beating people to death in the streets in broad daylight. Jonathan’s “crime” was peacefully protesting against the military coup. He was eventually taken to notorious Insein Prison—a name infamous for the decades of torture and death that have occurred within its walls. He was placed in a large, windowless cell with a capacity for about 100 people. And yet, he was one of the more fortunate ones, by far. After he had been arrested, soldiers began to employ more extreme forms of violence against protestors, and in prison he saw some fellow prisoners emerge from interrogation sessions bloodied and beaten to a pulp. Fortunately, this type of punishment was never meted out to him personally, and his eventual 3-year sentence ended up being commuted to less than a month.Reflecting on his experience, one of Jonathan’s insights center on the power of unity. He notes that the Tatmadaw has always ruled by creating division and distrust among the different ethnic and religious groups, but like in prison where he developed deep friendships with people of different backgrounds, he realized that if the Burmese population became more unified, it would help defeat the “divide and conquer” tactics of the military.Jonathan also reflected on his own Buddhist background. Today he is trying to get back to the roots of the practice, recalling the value of his time as a monk, and returning to the basic teachings of mindfulness which he finds refreshes him while stabilizing his mind.

30 Maj 20212h 10min

Nothing had ever prepared Bhikkhu Mokkhita for this--his monastery set afire, his name appearing on a blacklist and becoming the focus on a manhunt. Somehow, he made it through the numerous police checkpoints on the road to Yangon, and found a way to pass undetected through the enhanced airport security blocking entry into a waiting MAI flight. Back home now in Germany, Bhikkhu Mokkhita is left sorting out the trauma of his harrowing escape, and dealing with the fear of so many friends left there and now at risk.Bhikkhu Mokkhita has deep roots with the Golden Land. After taking many vipassana courses in the S.N. Goenka tradition, he decided to travel to Burma to look for monastic teachers; eventually he left his marriage and medical career to ordain at Pa Auk monastery. Some years later, to repay the generosity of Burmese teachers and supporters, he collected donations from friends back home to build water wells, toilets, and school buildings at monasteries. This led to the establishment of his Muditā Foundation, which found its apex in Nyaungshwe under the growing reforms of the democratically elected government: a holistic living and education center which taught Buddhist meditation, yoga, computer and other skills, and provided free enrollment to anyone who wished to attend.But his dream was literally set on fire. Bhikkhu Mokkhita suspects the blaze was started by someone connected to the military, as this gave them free reign to then accuse and arrest anyone they wanted for the arson. To make matters worse, Bhikkhu Mokkhita suspects the Sayadaw of the monastery as being complicit in the attack, perhaps covetous of all that those donations had come to acquire. The fact that a monk may well have been involved in the partial destruction and eventual takeover of the monastic school was devastating for Bhikkhu Mokkhita to process.He feels that the monastic response to the military coup needs to be held under greater scrutiny. From his own perspective as an ordained Buddhist monk, he believes there should be “a sense of responsibility of sharing these democratic values of freedom.” However in his opinion, this ethical stand is not being taken as strongly as he would like to see on behalf of the Saṅgha.

24 Maj 20212h 28min

Ni Ni has been planning for a revolution for as long as she can remember… just not this one. She had expected her fight to be about gender equality. But she says, “Now, I am fighting back about basic human rights and justice! I feel angry just thinking about this. It is unfair, I actually cannot believe that I have to fight this in 2021.” Although Ni Ni (not her real name) had grown up hearing her parents’ stories about the “bad old days,” for her that was all ancient history, not something that could ever rear its ugly head again to affect the lives of she and her friends.It really hit home for her on February 28th. Three engineering friends joined her in the morning for a day of protests when the military opened fire. One friend grabbed her hand and pulled her away, although Ni Ni couldn’t run fast enough due to a heart condition. Eventually, along with other protesters, they found shelter in a stranger’s home. while soldiers taunted them from outside for several more hours of torment. Eighteen students were shot dead that day, and over 100 abducted and taken to prison.The terror of facing such violence shook Ni Ni to her core. She began staying at home, learning as much as she could about revolution, gradually becoming fixated on the concept of the Civil Disobedience Movement (CDM), which could shut down the economy and prevent the military from effectively running a state. Ni Ni began pouring all her energy into this, collecting donations and channeling them to those civil servants refusing to work.Ni Ni recognizes that they are now in the fight for their lives, and being led by the younger generation. As the military is arresting hundreds of teenagers—even children—and torturing and sexually assaulting those they have thrown in prison, she knows the days are dark and likely to get darker still.

20 Maj 20211h 34min

Kyaw Kyaw has been a revolutionary about as long as he can remember. His political awakening came through an unlikely influence: punk culture. “Punk is being yourself. It’s a rebellion against injustice,” he tells us. He was especially enamored with the punks’ freedom of expression, which does not seek out society’s approval.In response to the violence of the 2007 Saffron Revolution, he formed his punk band, Rebel Riot, where he is the lead singer, to express his rage at the Burmese military. Kyaw Kyaw’s fearlessness eventually found another target in the nationalist Buddhist monks of the anti-Muslim Ma Ba Tha sect, who he called out on his famous track titled, “Fuck Religious Rules.” He makes clear that he has great respect for the Buddha and those teachers and practitioners who try to follow his teachings, but cannot abide those using Buddhist rhetoric to justify brutality. His outspokenness on this and other issues, including the Rohingya crisis, have resulted in several death threats.Kyaw Kyaw takes his own meditation practice seriously. As one would expect from a rebel, he has devised his own form of mindfulness, rejecting the idea of attending retreats because he has rarely seen positive effects in friends who have joined such courses. Kyaw Kyaw’s commitment to service led to his establishing a regional chapter of Food Not Bombs, and collects donations to fund his outreach.When the military unleashed the coup in Myanmar on February 1st, Kyaw Kyaw joined others in venturing out to protest. He later joined forces with other Burmese punk artists to make “Cacerolazo: The Night Will Not Be Silenced,” and following that, produced “One Day.” Amazingly, both these videos were recorded post-coup on the streets, with Kyaw Kyaw, his band, and the recording crew venturing outside in the early morning hours to quickly get the necessary footage before the military could spot them.

15 Maj 20211h 55min

You are listening to the second episode in our ongoing series, titled “Love Letters to Myanmar.”This series features guests who share their warmest memories and anecdotes, discuss what life lessons they have learned from their time in Myanmar, and talk about the role that the country and culture has played in their lives. We hope these shows can aid us in keeping our hearts firmly rooted in the Golden Land, while also providing a sense of renewed energy and purpose as we face the on-going, very challenging developments in the Golden Land.This second episode in the series is a mirror image of the inaugural program, which showcased the stories of three non-Burmese who were deeply impacted by their time in the country. In this one, we hear from three Burmese who left their homes at a young age in order to settle in foreign countries with their families.Our guests include Yi Mon, whose family went to Japan; Paing, whose family went to Norway; and Lily, whose family went to the United States. They describe the challenges of adjusting to new countries and cultures while holding onto the values of their homeland, and how the Buddha’s teachings have guided their lives even after settling into new lands where few around them follow Buddhist principles or have a daily meditation practice. They close by sharing their thoughts and feelings in following along with the protest movement from afar.

9 Maj 20211h 40min

For his contribution to the resistance, Ven Detta is seeking inspiration from Vladmir Lenin, spending the last several months studying the history of how soldiers are coaxed to defect during insurrections. He notes that during the 1917 Russian Revolution, “The military just stopped following orders.”Being intimately familiar with Burmese military culture, Ven is far from naïve concerning the challenges of this work. He understands the Tatmadaw’s insular culture, and how brutality and cruelty are celebrated as virtues. He also acknowledges that military families live in military compounds, effectively making them hostages should any soldiers desert.The work is dangerous, as anyone caught with anti-military literature or is found to even be in the possession of a printer faces extreme consequences. The military can shoot first, and doesn’t even need to ask questions later. And yet for Ven, this threat of excessive response on the military’s part only points out just how vulnerable they believe they are.Ven feels that a key part of this campaign is to get defections happening in large numbers. The more soldiers defect or desert, the less the military can respond to individuals. This is of course easier said than done. Ven also believes that having some organization soldiers could defect to would be a critical component to a successful strategy, and towards this end he is eagerly awaiting the formation of the planned Federal Army.Finally, Ven minces no words in explaining the role the monkhood should play. “Many people…will no doubt listen to what a monk will have to say. And there are several dozen monks who have immense sway over public opinion. And I think they need to stand up [and] speak from a religious perspective.”Will the popular movement’s humanistic ethics that value each individual life and guarantees inherent freedoms overcome the Tatmadaw’s emphasis on discipline, along with distrust of critical, independent thinking? Ven believes in the righteousness of his side, but also knows this is a story still being written.To support Ven’s defection mission, please consider making a donation for his cause.

5 Maj 20211h 6min

Thiri is no stranger to the trauma brought on by the military coup. She spent five years with Human Rights Watch listening to people with cruel and brutal stories of their families killed or harmed by the military. Yet now she’s in the middle of it herself. She knows that there is no real safety anywhere anymore, as even residents staying indoors are getting beaten, arrested, and even killed for no reason. She grimly accepts this reality as best she can. She can’t even pause to enjoy a sunset anymore, because should she pull out a phone to get a picture of it, security forces could arrest her on the spot and confiscate her phone, thus exposing her many contacts.Despite the nightmarish situation, Thiri has chosen to remain in Myanmar, even though she holds active visas for both Thailand and the US. She once seriously considered getting to safety, but in the end, she decided she couldn’t face the guilt of escaping when so many others couldn’t, and felt a strong sense of unity that she must carry on until the end. And Thiri plays no small role in the resistance. She is being called upon daily now to provide safe houses, transfer money, acquire materials, and a million other tasks that few others know how to do as well.Thiri is doing all she can to communicate a true understanding of what is happening in her country to the world, and notes the continued presence of outside media give the Burmese people hope. But she confesses that she has not been completely pleased with some of the foreign journalism work so far.Ultimately, Thiri is confident that they will win, if not for the simple fact that, in her words, “We deserve better.” She adds, “They cannot kill us all. So if any one of us survives, whether inside the country or outside, this is our victory.”After listening, please consider making a donation to support Thiri’s work at this time.

30 Apr 20212h 12min