ASEAN

Quote of the day

To be very blunt, Asean is really just a club of generally un-enlightened regimes, headed by autocrats, feudalists, state-paternalists and militarists all sharing the worst strain of pathetic Asian paternalism.

Zarni, a former Burmese activist who founded the Free Burma Campaign in the US

A voter's experience in the Burma's constitution referendum

A funny account of a voter's experience in the police state of Singapore. [a first-hand account in Burmese]

George 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."

http://www.msxnet.org/orwell

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.