I recently attended a Washington D.C. roundtable on the topic “Burma/Myanmar–Views from the ground and the international community.” Chatham House rules keep me from citing the participants; however I am free to report on the prevailing views which directly relate to Nargis Library Recovery project.
Modes of successful engagement for recovery dominated the discussion. Ambassadors, senior US, UN and foreign ministry officials spoke of their country’s experience in administering aid, both before and subsequent to Cyclone Nargis. A consensus emerged that this is an opportunity as much as a tragedy, for joint efforts with domestic NGOs have demonstrated existence of a strengthening civil sector. There was general agreement among those administering projects in Burma that the humanitarian situation is dire, a problem accentuated by the global economic recession, and that aid projects would benefit from greater collaboration and significantly increased resources.
A Burmese participant recently released from an extended prison term contributed this compelling observation:
If I may conclude with an analogy, in surgery the second or third operation for the same ailment is always more difficult, if only because of the scar tissue from previous operations. Well, earlier surgeons working on Burma/Myanmar have botched the job badly. Not only is there more scar tissue, but the original ailment persists–with added complications.
How much justification would there be anymore in looking to past leadership to pull Burma/Myanmar out of the mire? Some individuals in that category are going to fade from the scene soon. It is a new game now–a new, complex and urgent game. Both the two present major players know only one game and they play it ad infinitum. With a multiplicity of lessor players [in other words, a true pluralism], they become off-balanced. 2010 and beyond does open up more political space which can be utilized for reconciliation in both the democratic and ethnic divides. As such, 2010 could become an opportunity for prevention of further conflict in a land that has known little else for close to seventy years.
This is the context that explains my sense of urgent opportunity motivating our library project. Burmese are accustomed to using their libraries for all the old-fashioned reasons, now we can offer access to global information, knowledge crucial to understanding issues that under gird any modern society.
Your comment is welcome.
Loading...