THERE IS ENORMOUS POWER IN LISTENINGTHERE IS ENORMOUS POWER IN LISTENING
by Mary Robinson
Growing up in the west of Ireland, I would watch my father, a doctor, go on rounds through the countryside to visit sick families, families too poor to pay doctors’ fees. My father spent long days traveling from home to home, sincerely and patiently listening to the stories of these families and administering care. Though I would often impatiently wonder when he’d be done, I gradually came to appreciate the time he gave and the sense he had of the dignity of each person.
When he would return, my father would recount the stories his patients told him. The stories were filled with suffering and sadness, yet many of them were also defined by courage and resilience in the face of great hardship. That courage inspires and guides my work to this day. Those stories first compelled me to pursue a lifetime of working for human rights, and since then my belief in the power of stories to foster compassion and guide us as a society has only grown stronger.
The narratives in Nowhere to Be Home speak strongly to the power and importance of storytelling, and its role in cultivating the respect and nuanced understandings that are crucial to creating progressive change. The twenty-two people who share their intimate accounts of life under Burma’s military regime have shown exceptional courage in telling their stories.
Burma held my attention and elicited my deep concern during my time as the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights. It remains paramount in my mind as a member of The Elders, a group of world leaders brought together by Nelson Mandela to support peace building, address major causes of human suffering, and promote the shared interests of humanity.
Burma has been ruled by a military regime since 1962, and the current regime’s oppressive economic and political policies leave the people of Burma in a constant struggle for essentials like basic healthcare and a living wage. Instability is entrenched by endemic poverty and oppressive rule, with bitter tensions dividing the government and Burma’s many ethnic groups. It is a country with a deeply fractured society. Civil war between the government army and armed opposition groups has continued for decades in some border areas. Millions of Burmese have fled or been displaced from their homes.
Displacement is at the center of the stories in this book. There are instances of physical displacement—like the story of the young boy whose family spent years secretly moving from one makeshift jungle village to another to escape military attacks—but there are also symbolic displacements, such as the experience of political prisoners who felt unwelcome in their communities after being released. Military rule in Burma has created a society marked by fear and distrust, putting home out of reach for both those who are physically displaced outside of Burma and those who remain in Burma.
On November 7, 2010, elections were held in Burma for the first time since 1990. The main opposition party, the National League for Democracy (NLD), refused to participate because of unfair election laws and a new constitution that enshrines military rule. Political participation in the elections was severely restricted, and observers were not surprised when the party linked to the national military claimed a landslide victory amid reports of vote manipulation, intimidation, and ballot rigging. The election presented a difficult situation for political activists and politicians in Burma, who were faced with the choice between participating in the election or boycotting as the NLD did. I am sympathetic to all of the difficult decisions faced by people living under the current military regime.
The leader of the NLD, Nobel Peace Prize winner Daw Aung San Suu Kyi, is a leading advocate for democracy and human rights in Burma. When The Elders joined together to form our organization in 2007, we appointed Daw Aung San Suu Kyi as an honorary Elder. And while her military-imposed house arrest has prevented her from joining our meetings, we always keep an empty chair to honor her and Burma’s political prisoners.
Thankfully, on November 13, 2010, Daw Aung San Suu Kyi was released from house arrest. While her release is a very important step, we must not allow ourselves to forget the plight of the more than two thousand other political prisoners who remain incarcerated. The Elders call for all political prisoners in Burma to be released, and for a peaceful transition to a more open society.
My fellow Elders and I also urge the international community to assist in opening a dialogue between the government, the opposition, ethnic minorities, and religious groups of Burma in order to begin a process of reconciliation. It is essential that a plurality of voices is heard if Burma is ever to see peace and social justice.
It is in that spirit of inclusion and giving that I also urge you to listen to and honor the courageous voices in this volume. The intricacies of the life stories here shed light on the complex challenges the Burmese people face, and therefore inform the ways we might all act to support human rights in Burma.
Mary Robinson is a member of The Elders (www.theelders.org). She was the first female president of Ireland and is the former United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights.