Hyperbolic Hyperventilation during the Arab Spring: A Contrast
Delphine Schrank arrived in Yangon in 2008 after Cyclone Nargis, eager to unveil Myanmar's untold stories. Disregarding claims of no democracy movement, she delved into grassroots activism, exposing the vibrant underground networks challenging the oppressive military junta. Her book, "The Rebel of Rangoon," intricately weaves the lives of protagonists Nway and Nigel, shedding light on the sacrifice, courage, and dedication driving Myanmar's unsung heroes. Despite initial perceptions of a fading movement, Delphine witnessed a resurgence, emphasizing the movement's indispensable role in Myanmar's unfolding narrative. Amidst risks and sacrifice, she captures the essence of a nation's fight for democracy, refusing to succumb to oppression, all things she discussed on a recent podcast conversation.
“What I already began to learn from my Burmese friends and sources was that that was a beginning, but it wasn’t enough, or it was part of a much deeper, sophisticated, and subtle endeavor to create a whole network of citizens who understood that one day beyond protests, beyond toppling a statue, you have to put another government in place!”
Host: Looking at the book that you ended up publishing, there have been various books over the years that cover some aspects of Burma for a foreign audience to better understand that society in history. I'm sure you're familiar with the main titles and authors, most people that care about Burma have read all the main list- A list and much of the B and C list as well. So, where did you see like a gap or a missing piece in the way that Burma was being portrayed in books you're reading at the time and which you were slotting in as The Rebel of Rangoon, perhaps trying to fill an existing gap and understanding?
Delphine Schrank: Yeah, a great question. There were some fantastic books written on Burma-Myanmar, some that were really bestsellers like Finding Orwell in Burma, but with all due respect to its depth, it seems kind of travelogue to me. The others that were about Burma were all about Aung San Suu Kyi, you know, there are a whole bookshelf on them, which again, figure worthy of many biographies, but was not telling the full piece and then there were other fantastic books on what was like to live under repression; One by Anna Allott, Inked Over, Ripped Out, and I've got them all. Everything by Bertil Lintner was amazing! And the only books that I had really read that we're looking at what I was seeing was a couple of books by Bertil Lintner, one which were set around 1989 when there was very evidently a huge popular power-of-the-powerless movement. But then, of course, it kind of disappeared. And so, I didn't find anything other than in the Irrawaddy and Meiktila some dissident publications that were doing an extraordinary job of tracking and chronicling their own people. There was nothing as a book that was showing what I think was so important to tell the world about this viable political alternative, that was not just about one protest that burned quickly out in the night under a crackdown! And as a journalist, a little bit later after I began with Burma, suddenly the Arab Spring happened in 2011. And again, the coverage was kind of hyperbolic; almost hyperventilation about what people are protesting in this square and that square, and the statues being toppled. But what I already began to learn from my Burmese friends and sources was that that was a beginning, but it wasn't enough, or it was part of a much deeper, sophisticated, and subtle endeavor to create a whole network of citizens who understood that one day beyond protests, beyond toppling a statue, you have to put another government in place. You have to have a viable vision of tomorrow, if you want to keep your movement non-violent. They were pragmatically thinking about how are we going to get rid of this dictatorship? How long will it take? And what are our values? I simply haven't seen that book, so I felt I had to be the one to write it.