DOUG RICHARDS SEVEN CONTINENTS: SEVEN DECADES Contents Foreword by the author . .9 . 1. From Bhuna to Burma. 11. 2. A dog called Doug . 30 3. 2015 and all that . 43 4. Running reflections and Rio. 54. 5. Brazilian bugs and butterflies. .71 . 6. The problem with wine . 84 7. Cutting it fine in Sydney . 99 8. Don’t be afraid to scare yourself. 115. 9. Red sand and sunsets . 127 10. Family, friends and farming sheep . 143 11. Three score years and ten. 161. 12. Bake, lake and shake. 173. 13. Maxwell hitches a ride . .188 . 14. A whale of a time. .206 . Chapter 1 From Bhuna to Burma ‘And the journey hasn’t ended yet.’ These were the words with which I finished my previous book, Running Hot & Cold, and as it turned out I wasn’t wrong. As before, it was no free-flowing journey through life but the usual mixture of euphoria followed by disappointment, and repeat. Yes, I am the same ageing pensioner who, as a teenage boy who hated running, jumped on a bus when out of sight of his teachers during a school road run, to conserve his youthful energy. The same young man who believed sport was something you watched with a pint in your hand, rather than something you took part in. Even my token attempts at playing cricket were merely a prelude to the shenanigans in the bar after the match. But eventually it caught up with me. Struggling to console a crying child because running up a single flight of steps had left me out of breath, I vowed to run a mile the next morning. It hurt; it hurt a lot, but I still felt pleased with myself. If you had grabbed me by my sweaty shoulders that morning and told me what the consequences of that single decision would be, there is no way I would have believed you. But it happened. 11 CAN WE RUN WITH YOU, GRANDFATHER? I have run during a Siberian winter. I have run along the Great Wall of China. I even ran away from angry elephants in South Africa and covered huge distances in the stifling heat of the Sahara Desert. And, in the immediate aftermath of the 2004 Indian Ocean tsunami, I ran to the summit of that mountainside road in the devastated country of Sri Lanka, where a small child, standing by the roadside with a few of his friends, called out to me, ‘Can we run with you, grandfather?’ Of course I said ‘yes’ and it is the minutes that followed as we ran and sang our way down the other side of the mountain that will forever live in my memory, and which sum up why I love running so much. So, the journey hadn’t ended yet. Now, where were we? I had just completed a half marathon in Greenland, including a few kilometres on the mile-thick polar ice cap. Now, not many pensioners can claim that. I had also discovered, as a Leader in Running Fitness for England Athletics, the satisfaction of passing on my knowledge and experience to new runners, who were eager to incorporate exercise into their lives, which in this pressured day and age can bring so many challenges. That is something I will return to later. In the meantime, parkrun was becoming an increasingly important part of my life. I’m not looking for sympathy, but it is a fact of life that if you live on your own and retire from work, you are likely to spend an awful lot of time alone unless you make a concerted effort to make sure that doesn’t happen. There was no danger of that happening to me when I was surrounded by such an enthusiastic running community. ***** As we moved into the summer of 2014, another unforgettable life moment was fast approaching; the wedding of my only daughter, Angela. It had come perhaps a few years later than it might have done and Angela had been through a few tough times in her life, but there was no doubt in my mind that now she had found true happiness with Ben. You may recall that 12 FROM BHUNA TO BURMA it was Ben who graciously allowed Angela to fulfil her safari dream and come to Africa with me shortly after they had moved in together. Indeed, the date they had chosen for their wedding was 21 June, the second anniversary of ‘Elephant Day’, when Angela, on her sick-bed at the time, endured the sounds of roaring, trumpeting and gunfire that marked the escape of our party of runners from a chasing herd of angry elephants. Angela and Ben had since been blessed with a beautiful daughter, Josie, and were as happy as any family could be. Ever the gentleman, Ben even phoned me on the eve of Valentine’s Day to seek my permission to ask Angela to marry him. I couldn’t have been happier to give it and had a massive smile on my face when Angela phoned me the following day to ask if I had been keeping secrets from her! The wedding day could not have gone better. A wonderful venue in the shadow of the Sussex Downs and even the sun chose to shine brightly on us all. A proud moment for any father. ***** One new hobby I had taken up when I initially retired from work in 2011 had been hen-keeping. Not on a commercial scale, of course, but I had a reasonable-sized, enclosed back garden and, not being at all green fingered, I was pretty tolerant of any damage that hens might do to any delicate plants. Korma, Tikka and Bhuna provided many happy memories, not to mention a relentless supply of eggs. Their names in no way reflected their eventual fate and I’m happy to say that they lived a life few chickens get to live. Fruit and vegetables would rain over the garden fence from my neighbours and every Sunday a carrier bag of potato and vegetable peelings would magically appear on my garden gate for consumption during the week. It was difficult, if not impossible, to look out of the kitchen window and not smile at their antics as they scratched around in the garden, pursued rogue magpies after their tit-bits or ganged together to chase any inquisitive cats back over the fence. My own cat, Nougat, very quickly learned 13 CAN WE RUN WITH YOU, GRANDFATHER? to keep her distance and would sprint for the safety of the cat flap when the coast was clear. One downside, of course, was that hen-keeping was pretty time-consuming with early mornings to let them out of their coop and locking them away at night to keep them safe from foxes. Hens also produce a surprisingly large amount of ‘waste material’ which, when added to the compost bin, eventually produced a very fine fertiliser. Bhuna, in particular, tended to save up her droppings for one major effort. One of the highlights of any visit from my grand-daughter, Holly, would be the daily ‘poo patrol’ with bucket and trowel, and the search for the occasional ‘Bhuna bombs’. I was also heavily reliant on the goodwill of my neighbours when I wanted to spend any length of time away from home and this was always forthcoming, particularly from John next door, who sadly is no longer with us. Any absence of more than a single day meant more work than simply topping up food and water containers in order to keep the coop in a hygienic condition. But all good things come to an end and it’s never an easy time when they do. I lost Korma just before Christmas of 2013. She had never really recovered fully from a nasty respiratory infection and then I found her collapsed on the lawn one evening and she died in my arms within minutes. Tikka succumbed to an internal haemorrhage just six months later, but Bhuna seemed to be managing so well as a solo hen; she was always the strongest and most robust of the three. It was after returning from Angela’s fantastic wedding weekend in Sussex that John reported Bhuna hadn’t seemed her usual perky self and had spent most of the final day hiding under a bush. Despite a trip to the vet and a course of antibiotics for a mild chest infection, she was never the same again. She ate less and less, even ignoring her favourite treats of tomato, banana or mealworms, and no longer did she have the energy to chase off the magpies. She looked forlorn, struggling to cope with the summer heat, and I knew deep 14 FROM BHUNA TO BURMA down her journey was run. We returned to the vets for the final time. It was likely that she was in kidney failure; they could do tests to confirm it but there was no treatment at her age. I stroked her black feathers for the final time and bade her a teary farewell, but I knew it was for the best. I couldn’t watch her suffer any longer. I look back on my hen-keeping days with fond memories and console myself with the fact that they all lived a happy life. I would love to have had more but they were a tie and restricted my time away from home. So there were to be no more, but the silver lining of ending this particular chapter was that it gave me a little more freedom, and my running shoes were getting restless again.
Conflict Sensitivity in Education Provision in Karen State Polina Lenkova
Conflict Sensitivity in Education Provision in Karen State Polina Lenkova December 2015 Inside front cover Conflict Sensitivity in Education Provision in Karen State Polina Lenkova December 2015 About the researcher Polina Lenkova is a research fellow at Thabyay Education Foundation. She holds a Master of Arts in International Relations from the School of Advanced International Studies, John Hopkins University, Washington, D.C. About Thabyay Education Foundation Founded in 1996, Thabyay Education Foundation educates, develops, connects and empowers individuals and organizations in Myanmar to become positive, impactful change-makers. We seek to achieve this through knowledge creation, innovative learning and guided skills expansion, as well as by forging connections to networks, information and opportunities. Acknowledgements The author would like to express her gratitude to everyone who participated in and assisted her during this research. Particularly, the author would like to thank the following people and organizations for providing assistance and suggestions during field research: Tim Schroeder, Saw San Myint Kyi, Saw Eh Say, Hsa Thoolei School, Taungalay Monastery, as well as Thabyay Education Foundation staff Hsa Blu Paw, Cleo Praisathitsawat and U Soe Lay. Furthermore, the author also thanks Tim Schroeder, Kim Joliffe and Saw Kapi for report review and feedback. Design and layout: Katherine Gibney | www.accurateyak.carbonmade.com Note on the text All web links in the report’s footnotes were correct and functioning as of 1 December 2015. 4 Conflict Sensitivity in Education Provision in Karen State Contents Acronyms and Glossary 6 Executive Summary 7 1. Introduction: Defining Conflict Sensitivity in Education 10 2. Objectives and Methodology 11 3.
A Case Study for Development of Tradition and Culture of Myanmar People Based on Some Myanmar Traditional Festivals
A Case Study for Development of Tradition and Culture of Myanmar People Based on some Myanmar Traditional Festivals Aye Pa Pa Myo* ayeaye134719@gmail.com Assistant Lecturer, Department of English, Yangon University of Education, Myanmar Abstract It is generally said that Myanmar is a beautiful country situated on the land of Southeast Asia and it is also a land of traditional festivals which has the collection of tradition and culture. This paper has an attempt to observe the development of tradition and culture of Myanmar People based on some Myanmar Traditional Festivals. The research was done with analytical approach. It took three months. self-observation, questionnaires, taking photos, and interviewing were used as the research tools. Data were analyzed with the qualitative and quantitative methods. In accordance with the findings, it can be clearly seen that the majority of Myanmar enjoy maintaining and admiring their tradition and culture, assisting others as much as they can, hospitalizing the others, particularly, foreigners. Their inspiration can influence the tourists, as well as Myanmar Traditional Festivals can reveal the lovely and beautiful Myanmar Tradition and Culture. Therefore, the Republic of the Union of Myanmar can be called the Land of Culture to the great extent. In brief, the findings from the research will support to further research related to observing dynamic development of Aspects of Myanmar. Key Terms- tradition and culture Introduction Our Country, the Republic of the Union of Myanmar situated on the Indochina Peninsula in South East Asia is well-known as “the Golden Land” because of its glittering pagodas, vast tract of timber forests, huge mineral resources, wonderful historical sites and monuments and the hospitality of Myanmar People.
Royal Ontario Museum World Cultures Tour November 14 – 27, 2015 Join ROMtravel on a tour to this time-locked Day 6 Mandalay-Bagan Day 13 Inle Lake-Yangon country now emerging from isolation. Day and overnight cruise down the Irrawaddy Fly to Yangon. City historical highlights. From Yangon’s colonial architecture and River to Bagan. Visit village of Yandabo. Farewell Dinner with wine. magnificent Shwedagon Pagoda to Day 7 Bagan Day 14 Yangon-Bangkok picturesque Inle Lake with its stilt houses and A talk by a member of the Myanmar Fly to Bangkok for individual departures from leg-rowing fishermen, Myanmar will astound. Archaeological Department sets the stage for Bangkok. This is a land of spirituality, a devout Bagan. Ananda Temple, Ok Kyaung, and Buddhist country of warm, welcoming people. sunset touring by horse-cart. Hotels Our tour takes us to four distinct parts of Day 8 Bagan Yangon Savoy Myanmar: Yangon, the former capital; Explore small villages in the countryside. 2 nights + 1 night Mandalay, the cultural centre in the country’s Day 9 Bagan Mandalay Rubar Mandalar heartland; Bagan with its temple-studded Enjoy sunrise from the top of a pagoda. 3 nights plain; and Inle Lake, home to the Shan and Explore some of Bagan’s key temples. Irrawaddy River RV Paukan (boat) Intha peoples. Day 10 Bagan-Inle Lake 1 night We will explore temples and Fly to Inle Lake. Introduction to the Shan and Bagan The Hotel@Tharabar monasteries, visit artisan workshops and Intha cultures. Wine tasting at the local Gate 3 nights markets, as we absorb the history and culture winery.
Old and New Competition in Myanmar's Electoral Politics
ISSUE: 2019 No. 104 ISSN 2335-6677 RESEARCHERS AT ISEAS – YUSOF ISHAK INSTITUTE ANALYSE CURRENT EVENTS Singapore |17 December 2019 Old and New Competition in Myanmar’s Electoral Politics Nyi Nyi Kyaw* EXECUTIVE SUMMARY • Electoral politics in Myanmar has become more active and competitive since 2018. With polls set for next year, the country has seen mergers among ethnic political parties and the establishment of new national parties. • The ruling National League for Democracy (NLD) party faces more competition than in the run up to the 2015 polls. Then only the ruling Union Solidarity and Development Party (USDP) represented a serious possible electoral rival. • The NLD enjoys the dual advantage of the star power of its chair State Counsellor Daw Aung San Suu Kyi and its status as the incumbent ruling party. • The USDP, ethnic political parties, and new national parties are all potential contenders in the general elections due in late 2020. Among them, only ethnic political parties may pose a challenge to the ruling NLD. * Nyi Nyi Kyaw is Visiting Fellow in the Myanmar Studies Programme of ISEAS – Yusof Ishak Institute. He was previously a postdoctoral fellow at the National University of Singapore and Visiting Fellow at the University of Melbourne. 1 ISSUE: 2019 No. 104 ISSN 2335-6677 INTRODUCTION The National League for Democracy (NLD) party government under Presidents U Htin Kyaw and U Win Myint1 and State Counsellor Daw Aung San Suu Kyi has been in power since March 2016, after it won Myanmar’s November 2015 polls in a landslide. Four years later, the country eagerly awaits its next general elections, due in late 2020.
96_98CNJ_Apr.c1.qxd 3/5/07 5:15 PM Page 96 96_98CNJ_Apr.c1.qxd 3/5/07 5:15 PM Page 96 . a i d . e a i p i d k e i Cultural Sensitivity: p i W k i Cultural Sensitivity: f o W y f s o e t y r s u e t o r Beyond First Impressions c u e o Beyond First Impressions c g a e g m I a m I We removed We removedour shoes, BY LINDINDAA SS.. J OHANSON padded ggingerlyingerly acracrossoss the cool brbreeze-eeze- BY LINDA S. JOHANSON wway,anday, and stepped into wonderland.The The worship stood in stark contrast mar’s main language is Burmese. Ninety- Shewdagon Phuya (pagoda, or place of to mmyy Christian church service in North twtwoo percent of the population is Buddhist. Buddhist worship) in Rangon, Myanmar CarCarolina.olina. I was in the country of Myan- The climate is trtropical,opical, with hot humid with its immense golden turrets and mar (formerly known as Burma) with summers followed by a warm rainy season. ggildedilded altaraltarss rremindedeminded me of a ffairytaleairytale my physician-husband on a two-week Agriculture is the main industry in castle, except that hundreds of statues of medical mission trtripip in the sprspringing of MyMyanmar.Theanmar.The local pastor in the Mon Buddha dominated the landscapelandscape.. Scores 2006.There, I discovered invaluable in- state region informed us that the people of worshipers reverently poured tiny cups sights that hahaveve increased my sensitivity liliveve in a rubber tree forest.They arise at of wwaterater from sparkling basins over the as a nurse caring for patients of different 2:00 A.M.
CHINA’S MYANMAR DILEMMA Asia Report N°177 – 14 September 2009 TABLE OF CONTENTS EXECUTIVE SUMMARY ...................................................................................................... i I. INTRODUCTION ............................................................................................................. 1 II. BEIJING NAVIGATES MYANMAR’S POLITICS ..................................................... 2 A. BILATERAL RELATIONS ...............................................................................................................2 B. UNITED NATIONS.........................................................................................................................4 1. The Security Council veto ...........................................................................................................4 2. Beijing’s reaction to the Saffron Revolution ...............................................................................6 3. Ensuring aid after Cyclone Nargis...............................................................................................8 4. Detention and trial of Aung San Suu Kyi ....................................................................................9 C. CHINA AND THE OPPOSITION........................................................................................................9 D. CHINA AND THE ETHNIC GROUPS...............................................................................................10 III. DRIVERS OF CHINESE POLICY..............................................................................
Instructional Process of A-Nge's Music Accompaniment in Mandalay
Veridian E-Journal, Silpakorn University International (Humanities, Social Sciences and arts) ISSN 1906 – 3431 Volume 8 Number 5 July – December 2015 Instructional process of A-nge’s Music accompaniment in Mandalay กระบวนการเรียนการสอนดนตรีประกอบการแสดงอะเญ่ง ในมัณฑะเลย์ ธนาเศรษฐ์ อภิจิรนนท์ชัย (Thanasate Apiliranochai) ทินกร อัตไพบูลย์ (Tinnakorn Attapilboon) Abstract This research is a qualitative research. Using the survey data and qualitative research by collecting information from documents and field data, the survey, observation, interview and structured interview without layout structure. The data were analyzed according to the purpose and research and development of 10 the practitioners accreditation. The population associated with music that used to show A-nge in Mandalay. Samples were a user groups including specialist music and A-nge music teacher seniority. The wise people such as educators and administrators of A-nge were 10 people. Practice group including the music group of A-nge and actor musician 10 people. General group, including the school of music, the cultural center. The audience and employer of 10 people from a group of performers and musicians in Mandalay. The results of the research were the following: 1) History of A-nge’s music is partly performed in Mandalay. Similar to charity or clown mix dance drama, singer or comedian is involved in the performance. There is a short excerpt and popular show in the religious ceremony. Format of the show changed both the dress and the story. The popular play may as an event of interest, such as politics, the life story of well-being. The instrument display is performs of orchestra A-nge’s music is Chai-wai.
Yangon Film School's Advanced Filmmaking Course Project
Yangon Film School’s Advanced Filmmaking Course Project INDEPENDENT EVALUATION Yangon Film School’s Advanced Filmmaking Course Project 1 PROJECT IMPLEMENTED BY Yangon Film School & Finnish Foundation for Media and Development (VIKES) Säästöpankinranta 2 A WITH SUPPORT FROM P.O. Box 252 Ministry for Foreign Affairs, Finland 00531 Helsinki Finland EVALUATOR www.vikes.fi Phuong Tran Cover picture: Tuula Mehtonen March 2019 Layout: Elina Salonen 2 Yangon Film School’s Advanced Filmmaking Course Project Acknowledgement The evaluator would like to express her gratitude for VIKES and YFS who offered her the opportunity to evaluate the Advanced Filmmaking Course project funded by the Finnish Ministry of Foreign Affairs. The evaluator is also grateful for the tremendous support from VIKES Executive Director, Auli Starck, YFS Director, Lindsey Merrison, and YFS Country Director, Aleksandra Minkiewicz. They were very responsive and generous in information sharing and helpful in connecting the evaluator with YFS stakeholders for data collection. Many thanks are also given to Lucy (Aye Ahr Marn) for sharing student data and especially for her dedicated support to arrange the interviews and focus group discussions with YFS students, CSO and government partners, and community members involved in YFS activities. The evaluator would also like to give thanks to Naw Sar Eh Paw, the Finance Manager for her finance related support and Wit Hmone Phoo Pwint Thu (Tara) for visa support and linking the evaluator with a YFS NGO partner. Special thanks are also given to Naw Wai Hnin Kaw, the independent translator/interpreter who was not only good with her translation and interpretation but also proactive in coordinating field trips for data collection.
Failure of Authoritarian Learning: Explaining Burma/Myanmar’s Electoral System Dukalskis, A., & Raymond, C. D. (2017). Failure of Authoritarian Learning: Explaining Burma/Myanmar’s Electoral System. Democratization, 25(3), 545-563. https://doi.org/10.1080/13510347.2017.1391794 Published in: Democratization Document Version: Peer reviewed version Queen's University Belfast - Research Portal: Link to publication record in Queen's University Belfast Research Portal Publisher rights Copyright 2017 Taylor and Francis. This work is made available online in accordance with the publisher’s policies. Please refer to any applicable terms of use of the publisher. General rights Copyright for the publications made accessible via the Queen's University Belfast Research Portal is retained by the author(s) and / or other copyright owners and it is a condition of accessing these publications that users recognise and abide by the legal requirements associated with these rights. Take down policy The Research Portal is Queen's institutional repository that provides access to Queen's research output. Every effort has been made to ensure that content in the Research Portal does not infringe any person's rights, or applicable UK laws. If you discover content in the Research Portal that you believe breaches copyright or violates any law, please contact openaccess@qub.ac.uk. Download date:03. Oct. 2021 Failure of Authoritarian Learning: Explaining Burma/Myanmar’s Electoral System Abstract What explains why some authoritarian governments fail to take all the steps they can to preserve their positions of power during democratic transitions? This article examines this question using the example of the leading pro-military party in Myanmar, which lost badly to the National League for Democracy (NLD) in the transitioning elections of 2015.
Child Soldiers in Myanmar: Role of Myanmar Government and Limitations of International Law
Penn State Journal of Law & International Affairs Volume 6 Issue 1 June 2018 Child Soldiers in Myanmar: Role of Myanmar Government and Limitations of International Law Prajakta Gupte Follow this and additional works at: https://elibrary.law.psu.edu/jlia Part of the International and Area Studies Commons, International Law Commons, International Trade Law Commons, and the Law and Politics Commons ISSN: 2168-7951 Recommended Citation Prajakta Gupte, Child Soldiers in Myanmar: Role of Myanmar Government and Limitations of International Law, 6 PENN. ST. J.L. & INT'L AFF. (2018). Available at: https://elibrary.law.psu.edu/jlia/vol6/iss1/15 The Penn State Journal of Law & International Affairs is a joint publication of Penn State’s School of Law and School of International Affairs. Penn State Journal of Law & International Affairs 2018 VOLUME 6 NO. 1 CHILD SOLDIERS IN MYANMAR: ROLE OF MYANMAR GOVERNMENT AND LIMITATIONS OF INTERNATIONAL LAW Prajakta Gupte* TABLE OF CONTENTS I. INTRODUCTION ........................................................................... 372 II. BACKGROUND AND HISTORY .................................................... 374 A. Major Political Actors ......................................................... 374 B. Definitions ............................................................................ 376 C. Development of Myanmar’s Society ................................. 377 III. ANALYSIS ...................................................................................... 382 A. Political Stability ..................................................................