Burma in South Florida
Yesterday afternoon I paid a visit to Fort Lauderdale sculptor Jim McNalis. Jim periodically e-mails me, almost always with updates on the situation in Burma, which he has visited eight times in the last nine years.
His apartment, overlooking a canal in Coral Ridge, was bright and filled with busts. On the coffee table sat copies of The Irrawaddy, the magazine published in Thailand by Burmese intellectuals who successfully fled the country's military dictatorship.
Jim gave me a tour of the living room, which was like a quick lesson in recent Burmese history. The trio of busts on an end table were the Mustache Brothers, a comedy troupe that engages in political satire and spends a fair amount of time in prison.
The half-pig, half-human in the army hat was Than Shwe, the leader of the military regime, whom Jim has dubbed "Than Shwine." This may explain why, in September, Jim was denied a visa to enter the country.
The bust with the determined eyes and folded arms was of Aung San, "sort of the George Washington of Burma," JIm said, explaining that he founded the army and got independence from Britain.
A bust of his daughter, Aung San Suu Kyi, stood in the corner, with her famous resolute gaze.
It was the most moving interior I'd ever seen in South Florida.
This morning I found an e-mail from Jim: "Burma is a real heart breaker...such a gorgeous country...such wonderful, curious, courageous people and one of the most inhuman military dictatorships in the world.
There, as in many parts of this world, the bad guys are winning."
Comments
DEAR TOM,
SO GLAD THAT YOU GOT TO MEET OUR FRIEND, JIM.
MY HUSBAND, LARRY, INTRODUCED ME TO JIM MORE THAN TEN YEARS AGO AND WE HAVE YET TO RUN OUT OF THINGS TO DISCUSS ABOUT TRAVEL.
WE RECENTLY MET JIM IN ITALY. JIM KNOWS ITALY LIKE THE BACK OF HIS HAND.
HE TOOK OUR HAND AND SHOWED US VENICE, FLORENCE AND ROME. NOT ONLY DOES JIM KNOW THE IMPORTANT THINGS TO SEE BUT HE CAN ALSO TELL YOU THE HISTORY AND IMPORTANT THINGS TO KNOW ABOUT WHAT YOU ARE SEEING.
WE HAVE ALSO BEEN IN JIM'S HOME. YOU USED THE WORD "MOVING" TO DESCRIBE YOUR EXPERIENCE AND YOUR VISIT.
WHY DID THAT WORD,"MOVING" COME TO MIND?
I HAVE NOTICED THAT I CANNOT BE IN JIM'S PRESENCE WITHOUT WANTING TO GET "MOVING"
FOR THOSE OF US WHO CANNOT GET TO ALL THE PLACES THAT WE DESIRE, WE CAN VISIT THOSE PLACES VICARIOUSLY THROUGH YOU AND JIM.
ONE CAN SAY, SO MANY BOOKS, SO LITTLE TIME AND ONE CAN ALSO SAY, SO MUCH WORLD TO SEE, SO LITTLE TIME.
SO...LET'S GET "MOVING".
THANKS
SINCERELY,
ANN
Posted by: ANN | May 2, 2008 8:22 AM
DEAR TOM,
SO GLAD THAT YOU GOT TO MEET OUR FRIEND, JIM.
MY HUSBAND, LARRY, INTRODUCED ME TO JIM MORE THAN TEN YEARS AGO AND WE HAVE YET TO RUN OUT OF THINGS TO DISCUSS ABOUT TRAVEL.
WE RECENTLY MET JIM IN ITALY. JIM KNOWS ITALY LIKE THE BACK OF HIS HAND.
HE TOOK OUR HAND AND SHOWED US VENICE, FLORENCE AND ROME. NOT ONLY DOES JIM KNOW THE IMPORTANT THINGS TO SEE BUT HE CAN ALSO TELL YOU THE HISTORY AND IMPORTANT THINGS TO KNOW ABOUT WHAT YOU ARE SEEING.
WE HAVE ALSO BEEN IN JIM'S HOME. YOU USED THE WORD "MOVING" TO DESCRIBE YOUR EXPERIENCE AND YOUR VISIT.
WHY DID THAT WORD,"MOVING" COME TO MIND?
I HAVE NOTICED THAT I CANNOT BE IN JIM'S PRESENCE WITHOUT WANTING TO GET "MOVING"
FOR THOSE OF US WHO CANNOT GET TO ALL THE PLACES THAT WE DESIRE, WE CAN VISIT THOSE PLACES VICARIOUSLY THROUGH YOU AND JIM.
ONE CAN SAY, SO MANY BOOKS, SO LITTLE TIME AND ONE CAN ALSO SAY, SO MUCH WORLD TO SEE, SO LITTLE TIME.
SO...LET'S GET "MOVING".
THANKS
SINCERELY,
ANN
Posted by: ANN | May 2, 2008 8:23 AM
Burma - I noticed you called the country Burma rather than Myannmar - whichever name you choose, I agree with Jim that the Burmese people we met were gentle and open. It is one of my favorite countries of all that we've visited. Right now, Mary, Turmenistan gets first ranking - (but I think that's only because it's the most recent.)
Bagan (or Pagan) ub Myannmar was more meaningful thanks to the local guides who are devout Buddhists and very capable of describing the meaning of hundreds of Buddhist temples.
Posted by: Christina | May 4, 2008 5:57 PM
Burma or Myanmar?
Those of us who use "Burma" and "Rangoon" instead of "Myanmar" and "Yangon" are actually making a political statement.
In 1988-89 the people of Burma hit the streets to demonstrate for democracy. These were non violent, peaceful protests. The military response was to open fire on the demonstrators, killing around 4000 people.
In 1990 the first free elections were held in Burma. Aung San Suu Kyi and her party the National League for Democracy (NLD) won by a landslide. Rather than turning over the reins of government, the military retained power and rounded up NLD members and democracy supporters. Nearly 1500 people were imprisoned. Many were tortured and executed.
The military regime renamed the country Myanmar. We prefer Burma because that is the name used by the legally elected government of the country.
Nearly 20 years later Suu Kyi remains under house arrest, the only imprisoned Nobel Laureate in the world.
The prisons of Burma still hold some 1500 political prisoners.
Posted by: Jim McNalis | May 6, 2008 7:28 AM