What’s in a name? Myanmar and National Identity

By on Feb 26, 2015 in Other Blog Posts, Rants & Raves | 8 comments

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

The Invisible Race – The Rohingyas, Part II, Why Are They Hated?

By on Jul 13, 2014 in Other Blog Posts, Rants & Raves | 19 comments

[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?

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An Invisible Race – The Rohingyas, Part I

By on Jul 3, 2014 in Other Blog Posts, Rants & Raves | 4 comments

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. …

Burma Memoir: Chapter One

By on Jan 26, 2014 in Other Blog Posts, Ragtag/the Rest | 2 comments

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 …