To see what is in front of one's nose needs a constant struggle. -- George Orwell


Essay

Categories

8888, America, Asean, book review, Burma, Burmese dictionary, China, Constitution Referendum, culture, Cyber attacks, Dr. Kyaw Thet, Dunwoody, Famous Burmese, Harry Shorto, Karen, Kayan, Khmer, laos, McNeil Tech, migrants, milk powder, minorities, Mon, Nargis, Natural Resources, Nay Phone Latt, Nelson Mandela, Obama, Padaung, photos, politics, prison, Rangoon University, sex industry, Shan, Thailand, unicode

Reflections

A Burmese student running after his death To the Future


Dictionaries

August went past so fast for me working with four dictionaries. Sigh..... Finally, here they are:

Burmese dictionary

http://sealang.net/burmese/

Burmese dictionary is mainly based on the Myanmar-English dictionary published in 1993 by the Myanmar Language Commission and republished in 1996 by Dunwoody Press (ISBN 1-881265-47-1)

Mon dictionary

http://sealang.net/mon/

Mon dictionary is based on the Dictionary of Modern Spoken Mon by H.L. Shorto (1962, Oxford University Press)

Shan dictionary

http://sealang.net/shan/

Shan dictionary is based on the Shan-English dictionary by Sao Tern Moeng (ISBN 0-931745-92-6)

Karen dictionary

http://sealang.net/karen/

Karen dictionary is based on the Drum Karen-English Student dictionary published by the Drum Publication Group in 2008.

If you do use them and find any errors or mistakes, please let me know.


Learning English in the prison

From Washington Post:

A Rangoon teacher jailed for five years in the aftermath of the uprising talked about his experiences in the prison.

In prison, he said, "you know who your real friends are; you learn the meaning of 'friend.' We shared everything we had: our food and all our knowledge."

He and two prison mates tore apart an old English primer, the only book that one of them had managed to have smuggled inside. They took turns reading and hiding the pieces, burying them in the soil outside their cells. From the pages he learned to speak English.

The article is definitely worth a read.

Posted at 08:00 Aug 04, 2008 | Tagged as: , , | WriteBacks (0) | permalink

A boom at the border By William Sparrow

I went to a "mom and pop" store for cigarettes. A very young woman was handling the transaction; thin, long hair, long legs, pretty face with no makeup. I wondered if she was 18.

As she turned and descended into the dark shop, an elderly women, presumably a relative, emerged from the shadows. She lunged from her seat, sensing opportunity. "You want she?" the woman asked, meaning "her" - the young woman.

I was shocked and caught off-guard and couldn't respond. In the silence, the elder woman continued "You want daughter? You take," she said, pointing. "Have hotel. Fifteen dollar."

"No," I said firmly. With that, the old woman scowled and slunk back to her seat.

The shop girl never met my eyes as she handed over the cigarettes. Still, I perceived a small smile.

A sex slave working as a shop girl; a young woman being sold by her own mother. It was a sad situation that I won't soon forget. Sadly, scenes like this will likely continue until the Myanmar government can improve the lives of its 55 million people. I was overcome by this realization as I settled the bill in that tiny shop on the Myanmar-Thai border.

As I turned to leave, I heard the shop girl whisper "thank you".

Read more at Asia Times


Ludu Daw Amar's Funeral

Ko Hla has pictures of Ludu Daw Amar's funeral.
Posted at 08:00 Apr 10, 2008 | Tagged as: | WriteBacks (0) | permalink

Photos by Rev. Wo Le

If you are like me and crazy about country life in Burma, here are some pictures. Rev. Wo Le took them on his trips to churches all over Burma as his capacity as the secretary of Lisu Baptist Convention.

Church

School

Water

Innocent lives

Life style

Trucks

Carts

Posted at 08:00 Dec 15, 2007 | Tagged as: | WriteBacks (0) | permalink

Photos

A building on the bank of Chao Phraya river (Photo by Beauty Shwe)

A Burmese lady (Photo source is unknown and may have copyrights held by the photographer)

Posted at 08:00 Dec 10, 2007 | Tagged as: | WriteBacks (0) | permalink

Photos by Wawlay

I wanted to post some pictures by Rev. Wo Le. He took these pictures while he was travelling all over Burma visting Lisu churches. I hope to remind you of village life style in Burma.

A big tree

A village (rather a town?) in Burma

A day in the village

A house in the village

A kid in the village

Baptism (village style)

Village family

Chef

Chef tasting food

Sunset

Fetching water

Bathing

Kitchen

Teapot

Dinner

Posted at 08:00 Jun 22, 2007 | Tagged as: | WriteBacks (0) | permalink

Old pictures from the US

I found my old pictures of my mission trip to Shiprock, New Mexico. I took the trip while I was in the States. We stayed at a Navajo Indian church and here are some pictures.

Shiprock, New Mexico

Lwin Moe after painting an old Navajo Indian lady's house in Shiprock, NM

Pastor Eric Lee talking to our group

A Hogan in Shiprock, NM

Lwin Moe and Molly repairing the roof of an old Navajo lady's house

Mission Team after painting an old Navajo lady's house

My two (adopted) sisters

Heather, Molly and Lwin at Albuquerque airport

Lwin Moe with a Navajo family

With Navajo ladies from Mesa View Church

Jared and Lwin

Lwin in Shiprock, NM

Blue Sky and a tree near the Day Care Center we worked

A beautiful field

Mesa Verdae National Park in Colorado

Mesa Verdae National Park in Colorado

Mesa Verdae National Park in Colorado

Mesa Verdae National Park in Colorado

Four Corners (Arizona, Utah, New Mexico, Colorado)

Four Corners (Arizona, Utah, New Mexico, Colorado)

From Four Corners (Arizona, Utah, New Mexico, Colorado)

Lwin Moe after Missoin Trip

Lwin Moe after Missoin Trip with Diana (host-mom)

Posted at 08:00 Jul 06, 2005 | Tagged as: | WriteBacks (0) | permalink