Out of Chaos, Into Freedom
In the excellent interview we released with Inda Aung Soe, who is now on the front lines of the protest, I want to highlight a significant exchange that occurred:
Zach Hessler: “Pardon me for saying, but in normal situations, Myanmar doesn't seem so organized. And yet, during these times, it's very organized, but in a very beautiful and natural way, like you said, in a very decentralized way. There's nobody leading everyone else, it's just coming naturally from the people.”
Inda Aung Soe: “Yeah, that's really amazing. Basically, as you say, Myanmar people are quite disorganized and chaotic. And in this time of difficulty, they really got together and united because they know, if we are united we will win the fight. That's the key point and the motivation to me.”
Myanmar is a very diverse community, and the fact that they have united to the extent that they have is amazing enough itself for any population. Even more awe-inspiring is that this is taking place with their backs against the wall, against a professionally trained military who are changing up their tactics daily, some of which are so horror-inducing that a Hollywood script writer wouldn’t dare to submit such scenes for fear of his film not qualifying for an “R” rating.
But I want to spend a moment on this rather remarkable transformation that Zach and Inda explored, because it is something that has been on my mind this month as well. Among the foreign community, as well as those Burmese who had lived abroad, the lack of expertise, and sometimes even basic competence, was a never-ending source of examination and yes, frustration. I am somewhat embarrassed to admit that even as a meditator, some situations were even beyond my tolerance level at times.
The reasons for this were plain enough, as the educational system had been damaged irreparably by successive regimes and the legal system had become so unreliable and indiscriminate, that there were really not many great examples (or incentives) to be good or even qualified at one’s job.
On my part, that led to approaching any mundane experience with a hesitation that some basic problem or another would most certainly come about, even in the most trivial of tasks. These can be so confounding that sometimes expats would just sit around and share their most incredible stories in this category. So here’s just a few of mine:
Once I was taking a domestic flight, and the shuttle driver from the terminal took all the passengers to the wrong plane. So after we all boarded, we had to collect our bags, call the shuttle driver back over, and be taken to the right plane.
Another time two workers were hired to paint a house white. They painted everything, and I mean everything. A pair of keys was hanging on a hook, and they painted this white as well. That photo was posted on one of the Yangon Facebook groups, and so identifiable was that experience that it went viral.
Some repair guys came to fix my air conditioning unit. Before I knew what was happening, one guy jumped up on my desk with very dirty feet while papers and food were still there, and grabbed my bathroom towel to clean the soot.
Another time I had some furniture made locally, and I wanted it to be finished. Some recommended craftsmen came to apply lacquer. After two days of work, they beamed at a job well done, and then proceeded to put all my items back on the shelf. That evening, I went to grab a book, and it was stuck to the lacquer, along with everything else.
I can go on, but you get the picture. Although I speak Burmese, I came to completely accept that taxi drivers wouldn’t be able to read maps, that bank clerks would get confused when trying to make a deposit, that realtors couldn’t produce an accurate contract even when I was paying the required 12 months in advance, and that supermarket workers would rarely have any idea where anything was. In fact, when something does go as expected, you tend to celebrate it. A friend once went to a Samsung shop to have his phone repaired, and the staff not only found the problem and fixed it, but also told him about the repair process and the specific nature of the issue. This was many years ago, and my friend still tells this story with joy!
I don’t mean to harp on this for too long, and I only go into so much detail now so as to contrast with how amazing this current moment is. It is enough that a simple civilian population is banding together against trained soldiers with the tools of the state on hand. It is enough that Myanmar is fractured along a variety of religious and ethnic lines. These serious obstacles are already there, and must be overcome in order to respond to a sinister threat that is willing to stop at nothing. And as it is already, there are few examples I can recall in human history that have demonstrated the kind of resourcefulness, critical responsiveness, unity, care, and courage as is on display here, and from people who yesterday were those realtors, bank clerks, air conditioning repairmen, and painters.
So to add yet another element onto this already unbelievable story, these “disorganized and chaotic” people, as Inda himself describes, have banded together to create the most cohesive structure we’ve seen of any population in the 21st century. And they’ve done it without safety, without telecoms, without basic utilities, without salary, without any funds or assistance from overseas as the banks and airports are closed, and all the time being hunted and harassed. They’ve played cat and mouse with a deadly feline who changes tactics daily.
All I can say is, I’m really looking forward to my next taxi ride in Yangon!