The world viewed from a Myanmar perspective
Review by Aung Kyaw, Myanmar Times
RETIRED ambassador U Thet Tun's A Myanmar Looks at Others appeared in the bookstores in Yangon at the end of last year. The book, in two languages, is an updated compilation of 32 articles about his travelling experiences, views and opinions, as a Myanmar, on 31 countries across the globe which he has visited. They range from Myanmar's neighbour, Thailand to the United States.
He looks at the way other people live, work, and play, taking notes of differences as well as similarities with Myanmar. He hopes it will help Myanmar people discover more about themselves by looking at others. Of course this involves some generalisations about the so-called national character, the very concept of which is still under dispute among sociologists.
His articles reveal not only the way a Myanmar ses the differences and similarities between his country and foreign countries but also their history, geography, political and economic situation and many other factors. So it is convenient for readers who are curious to know more about the world how it compares with Myanmar although, of course, as his travels have taken place over the course of his life, some of the information is quite old, it is still relevant.
For example,in his first article, entitled Waltzing Maltida he says that "another reason for the stability of Australian life is perhaps their cult of the middle-brow which strikes a sympathetic chord in a Myanmar".
And in the article The All-American, the author discusses the differences and similarities between young American women and young Myanmar women. He says: "a Myanmar will find that, like his own, American society is matriarchal and that the American woman wears the pants at home both literally and physically. Naturally matriarchs rear devoted sons to the horror of younger potential matriarchs. He will also find that unlike the chaperoned Myanmar maidens, American girls, extrovert and always well-groomed, make wonderful dates, blind or seen, but, like Myanmar women, turn into formidable life-partners. Men's Lib could well be a common cause of the American and the Myanmar."
The author's efforts to look at a country from every aspect and find out the differences and similarities among other countries such as Spain and Portugal, Hong Kong and Singapore, Scotland and England, France and England make for a gripping read.
It will help those who need to go abroad and work with foreigners to understand the national characters, customs, spiritual life, likes and dislikes of the various peoples. It is also interesting for foreigners and Myanmar alike as a window into and out of Myanmar..
Especially it gives an opportunity for Myanmar readers to learn about their neighbours and the world from a Myanmar point of view. The reader will find that there are many good things Myanmar can learn from, and many bad things to avoid.
As the author of The Writings of General Aung San and the winner of the 1998 National Literary Prize in the genre of belles-lettres for his bilingual Paris memoirs entitled In the Footsteps of Kinwun and many other works, it goes without saying that U Thet Tun's mastery of writing in both languages is unparalleled.
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