Bumpy Roads and Burmese Pretzels: Lessons for a Revolution
The following was written by Htet Myat and translated to English by KZH. The story is made possible from the team behind Breaking Brainwashed.
“In this revolution, some lives have many of other lives invested in them.”
“Before I joined CDM, I was positioned at the Gagam base in Kachin State for an operation. The operation was a mess and we hadn’t made posting changes for a year. It was so long and we were tired. That’s when a message arrived telling me to attend an administrative officer course at Pyin Oo Lwin.
You can say I was lucky. I came back and prepared my belongings, took the required paperwork and went to Pyin Oo Lwin in a military convoy with other attendees. I was the senior officer, so I sat in the front with the driver. Whenever we stopped, I reported to HQ and ordered the driver to arrive at our destination as soon as possible. The roads were pretty bad so the car was jumping all the time like we were on a playground rollercoaster! The seat has no cushion so my bottom hurt every time the car jumped. It was so bad that I had a hard time getting off the car. But the driver was quite chill. Every time I told him to look out for bumps, he just smiled and said nothing. He was like, less words and more action, to make us suffer! Everyone else in the car were acting like monkeys due to the car having no covers and the roads were dusty. The other soldiers were covered in dust.
We need to take a night’s rest at Mandalay because the trip was a long one. Before arriving, we stopped at a restaurant in Thabeikkyin for dinner. I don’t remember the name of the restaurant exactly. It was around 8 PM. We were so hungry and ate so much that we thought our stomachs might explode. When I left the restaurant, I heard a girl’s voice saying, ‘Uncle, please buy snacks from me now.’ When I looked for where the voice came from, I saw a little girl, only around 6 or 7 years old, holding a tray with 3 packs of Burmese Pretzel. When I replied, ‘I just had dinner,’ she said, ‘I know. You said you would buy from me after you have dinner. You were eating for a long time. My legs are getting sore waiting for you.’
I realized the kid had mistaken me for someone else. So, I looked at her closely. She was wearing a ragged dress in the winter. Even the color of the dress was fading. I wondered if wasn’t she cold because even someone like me wearing an overcoat was shivering! As much as I was surprised, I felt sympathetic. Her rubber sandals were already worn away. She held a plastic bag with notes in one hand and the other hand had rubber bands. But her face was as clear as a blue sky on a summer day. She was a cute girl. So, I couldn’t deny her request. I didn’t want to tell her that she mistook me for someone else.
I kneeled before her and took out the change that the restaurant had just given me. It was only 3200 kyats, less than $3. I put the money into her hand and told her, ‘How about you take this money and go back straight home. I have already eaten my dinner so I won’t take your pretzels. I need you to go back straight home. Don’t go anywhere else. And eat the remaining pretzels. How about that? Will you promise me to go back home?’
Her face lightened with happiness. She put the money into her plastic bag. I just wanted her to go back home and stay warm. She said, ‘Yes. I promised I will go back home for sure.’
‘Go back quickly. It is cold out here.’ She said, ‘Yes,’ and ran back home. ‘Don’t go anywhere else,’ I shouted at her back. She turned back and waved, ‘Trust me, uncle. I will. Bye-bye.’
I didn’t know why I watched her until she was out of sight. It was good that she mistook me for another person. Otherwise, who knows how long she would be waiting near the restaurant waiting to sell her pretzels. My money was only 3200. But I am sure that even I gave as much as 32,000 kyat, it is also worth it, for a child to go back home when the weather is too cold even for an adult. Also, I cursed at whoever gave such a false promise to the girl.
I only came back to my senses when our driver blasted the car horn for departure. I alighted the car feeling warm in my heart. Even the car jumping from the bumps didn’t seem painful anymore! The winter chill wasn’t bothering me either. Just that Thanaka on her face, that image just could not leave my mind, still. The driver looked at me smiling and asked what I am smiling at. I just smiled and said nothing back, just like him.
Thinking back on this, I noticed some things that coincide with the current revolution. Firstly, don’t give false hope on things you aren’t able to carry out. The promises you give carelessly contain hopes for other people. The next thing is even the small amounts accumulated can bring about the hopes and dreams of those needing them. Some resistance teams now need many small donations of just 3200 for their work to be successful. Helping out as much as you can brings back the family together faster. And some people can turn a blind eye to the revolution, but they still participate as much as they can. Value them! Also I want you to feel the bliss you get from helping those who really need it. Even if it is a small thing for you, it can mean a world to those. In this revolution, some lives have many of other lives invested in them.”