Don't Contact Us!!!
The following exchange is excerpted from Volume II of Alan Clement’s remarkable new book, Burma’s Voices of Freedom. Alan is speaking to a Burmese blogger who served four years in prison after violating the country’s censorship laws.
Nay Phone Latt: I write a story and send it to a magazine. After that, the editor must choose my story for publication. After the editor, he asks permission from the censorship board to have it published. If he does not receive approval from the censorship board, he can’t have it published. That’s the process. It’s black and white. So, to begin with, it’s difficult to get chosen by the editor. That’s one huge difficulty. After that, you had to pass through another wall—censorship. Most of my short stories and articles were rejected by the censorship board.
Alan Clements: What did they find offensive in your writings?
Nay Phone Latt: They're extremely sensitive. For example, on our website we had a “Contact Us” button. If you wanted to contact me, click the icon. So, I wrote about the website and used the words “contact us.” But they didn’t allow those words. Why? Because they thought it was a message to contact the US (United Sates).
Alan Clements: Clever bunch, they are.
Nay Phone Latt: Obviously, they didn’t know the meaning of “contact us.” They thought I wanted to give messages to the USA. They thought that “us” meant “U.S.” As I said, they’re very sensitive.