I'm an American. That's what I say if anyone should ask me my nationality. I'm a mutt made up of various immigrant peoples. My mother's father was the child of a German immigrant mother and an Irish immigrant father. My
I'm an American. That's what I say if anyone should ask me my nationality. I'm a mutt made up of various immigrant peoples. My mother's father was the child of a German immigrant mother and an Irish immigrant father. My
[Please Read Part I...} Buddhists have a reputation for being gentle. I conjure up an image of a meditating monk being harrassed by a fly. It lands on his nose but he maintains his peaceful composure. That's how we think of Buddhists. They wouldn't swat a fly. I've been looking at videos of the massacre. Houses are burning and people are running about trying to get away. There are photos of bodies lying on a beach and horrible living conditions for the homeless Muslim Rohingyas. This isn't how I think of Buddhists. What's wrong? Why do these Buddhists hate these Muslims? Why do the Rakhines hate the Rohingyas? There must be a good reason. What is behind it?
Note: In Burma/Myanmar some names have changed. In this post I will use the term Myanmar instead of Burma, Rakhine as a state name instead of Arakan, and Rohingya instead of Bengali for the Muslim minority living in Rakhine state. …
This is the first chapter of a memoir covering my mother’s death and two years I spent in Burma. The year is 1969. Chapter 1, Coming Home Bangkok. It is the smell of it that differentiates it from other Asian …