Tag: Myanmar

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Politics & government Society

[2856] The police should release arrested Rohingya protesters

The Rohingyas in Kuala Lumpur had a small public protest at Ampang Park today. The Rohingyas were protesting against the latest rounds of atrocity committed against their community in Myamnar.

The Malaysian police broke up the demonstration and arrested quite a number of the participants.[1] The police should release them.

It is disheartening to see the treatment the Rohingya protesters received from the Malaysian police. The police should have been lenient with them, and allowed the demonstrators to disperse peacefully without arrests.

They are treated badly in their own country. Raped and murdered. Home burned. We do not need to be as harsh as we have been on them.

In December, Prime Minister Najib Razak held a political rally supporting the Rohingya minority, together with his Umno and Pas friends. The arrests show the insincerity of this government, using the Rohingyas cynically for election brownie points. The government can prove that is untrue by releasing the protesters without pressing charges.

Mohd Hafiz Noor Shams. Some rights reservedMohd Hafiz Noor Shams. Some rights reservedMohd Hafiz Noor Shams. Some rights reserved

[1] KUALA LUMPUR:Hundreds of ethnic Rohingya   to the Malaysian capital of Kuala Lumpur on Wednesday (Aug 30) demanding an end to the bloodshed in Rakhine.

[…]

More than a hundred protesters were arrested by police for assembling illegally and obstructing traffic at midday in downtown KL. Another 20 protesters were arrested for alleged immigration offences. [Rohingyas protest in KL over unrest in Myanmar. Channel NewsAsia. August 30 2017]

Categories
Photography Travels

[2731] A library in Inwa

There is an old wooden Buddhist monastery in Inwa. And inside it is a library-school.

A library in a monastery. By Hafiz Noor Shams. Some rights reserved. Creative Commons 2.0

Categories
Photography Travels

[2728] Crossing the river from Inwa

The sun was setting and I was late. I was the only foreigner on the boat crossing the river from Inwa to the other side. As I was making myself comfortable on the boat, a local came on with his bicycle.

I thought, the man and his bicycle would make a nice photo. This turned out to be one of my favorite photographs from my trip to Burma.

By Hafiz Noor Shams. Some rights reserved. Creative Commons 2.0

Inwa or Ava used to be the capital of various competing Burma kingdoms but in 1839, an earthquake struck the region. Inwa was abandoned for Amarapura soon after and now, it is a sleepy village. Judging by the surrounding, the main economic activities are agriculture and tourism. There is not much else there.

Categories
Photography Travels

[2722] Innocence

Two kids somewhere south of Mandalay. They were following me around and they were more than happy to pose for a photo when I pointed my camera at them.

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Notice that they are smiling but the monk child in maroon has his right foot bandaged. And look at the feet of the kid at the front, and his clothing too. Yet, they are smiling.

Categories
Photography Society Travels

[2721] A way of life as a product of tourism

I am at that stage when I am way too lazy to blog serious stuff. I blame it on Twitter.

So, more pictures. Let us hope with this one, I am less careless with the grammar. I have re-read some of the recent entries, and oh my god, embarrassing. Still…

I present to you, the Shwedagon pagoda.

20131216Rangoon (168)

Shwedagon is big and it is impressive but I think multiple writings exaggerate how it dominates Rangoon’s skyline. It might have in the old days, but you will not see it from downtown Rangoon. Nor at night, the lights reflected from Shwedagon’s golden stupa would fill the night sky (okay, maybe it did a little bit). This is just not the Empire State Building or the Petronas Twin Towers where you can spot it miles away. Those writers just have too much poetic license.

The approach to Shwedagon is great nevertheless. I walked from the downtown to Shwedagon, which was probably 4km-5km apart. At first I saw nothing. Just houses and barracks and trees. After awhile, a huge golden structure appeared at the end of that long road I was on.

I spent about 3 to 4 hours there. Not that it takes that much time to go explore the pagoda. This is not Angkor Wat or even Borobodur. It lacks details. You see them and you walk to the next thing. There is not Churning of the Milky Ocean kind of thing.

It was just that the human behavior was so interesting. It provided me with countless opportunities for photography. I wished I had a tripod with me since it got more interesting after sundown.

At some point while watching tourists snapping pictures of monks and praying Buddhists, a thought came to me: has Buddhism become a touristic attraction itself?

I mean, visitors just go round and round, coming in none stop, taking pictures of devotees and monks. While it is nice to have the religion being so friendly and open to tourists and outsiders, I do feel, somehow, the religion has been… commercialized, becoming a subject of camera shots.

A way of life becomes nothing but a product of tourism.

I remember in Mandalay, as monks walked across the Amarapura bridge, a tourist with his big camera probably worth thousands of dollars, with lens so big, you would need a stand to support it, pointing it to a monk, almost to the face, if I can have that poetic license to myself. The monk was miffed. Such disrespect, I would think he said. The monk made a gesture, telling him no.

A revolt from commercialization, maybe?