To the FutureGeorge Orwell's 1984
I have been reading George Orwell's 1984. I am half way now. I want to share some quotes I like.
One of these days, thought Winston with sudden deep conviction, Syme will be vaporized. He is too intelligent. He sees too clearly and speaks too plainly. The Party does not like such people. One day he will disappear. It is written in his face.
Everything faded into mist. The past was erased, the erasure was forgotten, the lie became truth.
Orwell, in my opinions, probably wrote this fiction based on his experiences about the British colonial rule in Burma. Orwell used to live in Katha and Moulmein (Mawlamyine) while he was serving in the Indian Imperial Police. He hated imperialism and quit the job. He later pursued his writing career.
The book vividly describes the danger of being watched and brain-washed by a government. The main character, Winston Smith, works at the Records Department of a fictional country called Oceania. The department is responsible for producing records that are in line with the Party's agenda and deleting those that are not.
Here is the link to Wikipedia's article about the novel.
The following is the link to full text for "1984", "Animal Farm" and "Down and Out in Paris and London."
All of Orwell's work can be read free here.
More about George Orwell at Wikipedia.
I think 1984 is a good read, especially for the people under an authoritative government. I hope somebody translates this into Burmese.
Poor Burmese girls
Independent Appeal: Burma's girls are victims of China's one-child policy
No one ever expected it to be the young girls of Burma who would become the unintended victims of the one-child birth control policy in China. But two decades on, children as young as 10 are being trafficked across the border from Burma into China as child brides. They are sold into a future of high uncertainty.
Read more at the Independent.
Anger and Hatred
I was browsing through some Burmese blogs for information related to Burma. Some blogs are very informative and entertaining. Some are very poetic and imaginative. Some are full of gossips and personal attacks.
Some comments on the blogs did remind me of soc.culture.burma while I was a student in the US.
Back in the days of early and late 90s, Usenet newsgroup were the places where people shared information and ideas. It was before we know the web as we do today.
Anti-junta Burmese folks (they are majority in the virtual world of the Internet) would fight with the pro-junta people (minority) in discussion groups.
Some people just got tired of arguing and defaced www.myanmar.com on August 3, 2000.
People's hatred of the current military government can be seen online since the early 90s. The military has always crushed any calls for reforms in the history (in 1988, 1996, and 2007 as far as my life span is concerned). The people are generally not happy with the military regime. They expressed their anger when they can.
Today's blogs are also just a reminder of how people are fed up with the current situations in our beautiful country.
