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A review by lauren_endnotes
Letters from Burma by Aung San Suu Kyi
It is a challenge to read this book, published in 1996, and not consider the events that have occured since its publication. In fact, they change the whole tenor of the book.
Aung San Suu Kyi's collection of articles "Letters from Burma" was my choice for this month's Nobel Laureate read. She won the 1991 Nobel Peace Prize. Since Suu Kyi's release from house arrest, and the return of her political party to power in 2016, there has been increasing violence, and human rights abuses of the Rohingya Muslims in Western Burma.
And Aung San Suu Kyi is silent. The woman whose work has been called "unflagging" in her efforts for peace and conciliation (by Nobel committee) has stood by as people are murdered.
Habiburahman and Sophie Ansel state in FIRST, THEY ERASED OUR NAMES: A Rohingya Speaks "She had the power to save lives. She was free and the world was listening... But Aung San Suu Kui chose power."
This from the same person who states in her 1996 letters "Not only should one speak only the truth, one's speech should lead to HARMONY AMONG BEINGS, it should be like and pleasant as it should be beneficial." (Emphasis is mine...) And goes on in several essays to speak of her devotion to the Buddha and the Noble Eightfold Path, lovingkindess, and humanitarian efforts.
It is senseless violence and genocide causing ripple effects in the entire region, and 'The Lady' could have stopped the genocide decades ago. How is that lovingkindness?
Suu Kyi's Letters shed light on Burmese customs, festivals, her political party, her own life in house arrest, and her devotion to Buddhist teachers and philosophy. They are also accompanied by lovely pencil drawings on each page. The book itself lacks a cohesive structure and tells very little of Suu Kyi herself, but as I mentioned in the beginning, it is hard to read it without the shadow of recent events.
Aung San Suu Kyi's collection of articles "Letters from Burma" was my choice for this month's Nobel Laureate read. She won the 1991 Nobel Peace Prize. Since Suu Kyi's release from house arrest, and the return of her political party to power in 2016, there has been increasing violence, and human rights abuses of the Rohingya Muslims in Western Burma.
And Aung San Suu Kyi is silent. The woman whose work has been called "unflagging" in her efforts for peace and conciliation (by Nobel committee) has stood by as people are murdered.
Habiburahman and Sophie Ansel state in FIRST, THEY ERASED OUR NAMES: A Rohingya Speaks "She had the power to save lives. She was free and the world was listening... But Aung San Suu Kui chose power."
This from the same person who states in her 1996 letters "Not only should one speak only the truth, one's speech should lead to HARMONY AMONG BEINGS, it should be like and pleasant as it should be beneficial." (Emphasis is mine...) And goes on in several essays to speak of her devotion to the Buddha and the Noble Eightfold Path, lovingkindess, and humanitarian efforts.
It is senseless violence and genocide causing ripple effects in the entire region, and 'The Lady' could have stopped the genocide decades ago. How is that lovingkindness?
Suu Kyi's Letters shed light on Burmese customs, festivals, her political party, her own life in house arrest, and her devotion to Buddhist teachers and philosophy. They are also accompanied by lovely pencil drawings on each page. The book itself lacks a cohesive structure and tells very little of Suu Kyi herself, but as I mentioned in the beginning, it is hard to read it without the shadow of recent events.