The Burmese Diaspora

Dr Maung Maung Nyo

Nowadays Burmese stay everywhere
They are found all over the world
In UK, North America, Europe and Australia
Many more in Thailand, Singapore and Malaysia
From there they go back and forth to Burma.

(Burmese Monks Studying at Nalanda, India)

It’s like a cow tethered by rope to a pole
It winds round and round the central core
It seems walking or running away with a lasso
Still it cannot go beyond the reaches of its hold
Their birth in Burma is rooted in their marrows.

(Burmese Activists Protesting in India)

Some have left Burma a long time ago
They have cut their links completely so
Their children are Burmese no more
Yet they have to claim Burmese also
They are expatriates in countries cold.

(Burmese Exiles at Large)

The Burmese form a colony in each country
They seek and speak one another for company
The natives are loath to mix with them closely
There is an invisible racial barrier separating really
Only a few succeeded in breaking down the hostility.

(Burmese Refugee Graduates in Indiana, USA)

Apart from work and good pay
There is not much to say why they stay
“Oh! Children have good future”, they say
They are satisfied and soothed that way
A lady doctor complained from Wales
She was even denied hair cut on pay.

(Burmese Charity Dance in UK)

Husbands play golf and gossip to while away
Wives rot in the house or hop malls all day
Children undergo social experiments as plays
They excel, succeed or sustain in their own way
Parents come to know when they fail in the fray.

(Burmese Monks Accepting Swan in Australia)

Burmese are boisterous and patriotic by nature
Any event will make them talk to one another
Especially when a natural disaster strikes Burma
Some donate money, some material, still some others
A few will organise relief campaigns at leisure.

(Burmese Activists in Tokyo, Japan)

Burma-born Burmese are most vocal
Especially those who have left on personal
That they love Burma more than the original
They shout and donate more to be theatrical
I say, “Sadu, Sadu, Sadu” for their deeds so vocal.

(May Day Celebrations by Burmese in Malaysia)

Some claim they are more Burmese and patriotic
As they earn more money to send donations quick
To the poor people in the poor country that is pathetic
Than the subservient and sincere simple Burmese
Who work inside the country like silly silent sheep!

(Padaung Beauty as Tourist Attraction in Thailand)

Blaming one another is easy
Claiming more point is cheeky
What is needed is coordination and unity
Burmese are noted for friendliness and informality
But, forging unity for sustained activity is an infamy.

(Miss Burma in Miss USA Contest in California)

Individually, Burmese are good to each other
They are ready to make friends without usher
They can speak, they can share food and they stay together
But, they cannot form a company or union for long ever
Histories of split or breakups in parties and societies abound there
We should take lessons from that and work closer and better.

(Burmese Protesters in Singapore)

General Aung San had succeeded in uniting the Diaspora
He led the “thirty comrades” to Japan and back in Burma
He recruited Burmese in Siam and Japan to join his movement
Ko Saung (Bo Than Tin) in Japan joined as one recruitment
Bo Yan Naung in Thailand volunteered as a lieutenant
Others enlisted as other ranks, ordinary soldiers and attendants
Still others took part as guides, cooks, interpreters and informants
Richer Burmese donated their wealth and supplied requirements.

( O' Way Magazine Editor Aung San and Nyo Mya sitting

in Left and Right centre in front row)

On his way to London for independence negotiation
Many Burmese in India and England supported his mission
Dora Than Aye in New Delhi helped him with broadcasting
James Barrington,ICS, polished his English speaking
Bo Tun Hla, an Anglo-Burman, officiated as his ADC
General Aung San was successful politically and socially.

(General Aung San,

Leader of Thirty Comrades)

When U Nu went abroad to fight against General Ne Win
He was followed by many prominent Burmese from within
But, he was supported only by few Burmese Diaspora crews
I remember his taking a taxi in Tokyo was a world’s news
In New York, he had to rely on his old friend U Thant for clues
Thant was then Secretary-General of the United Nations too
How could U Nu succeed in his fight against Ne Win’s Rule?

(Bo Kyaw Zaw, One of Thirty Comrades,

Retired from Brigadier-General Post)

There are some Burmese who live abroad
Solely to work for the Burma’s cause
Like Bo-Kyaw-Zaw, Aung-Zaw, intellectuals’ lot
Sacrificing their lives, luxuries and comfort
They are emulating Aung-San in his plot
To gain any support from abroad for their cause
I salute and wish them for their success they sought.

(Burmese Praying for Burma in Japan)

I’m glad all expatriate Burmese love our country
Patriotism is not a monopoly or hereditary
No one race or ethnic group can own it solely
It’s the common denominator for every body
Who is born and brought up in the country;
Every citizen must uphold it eternally
You must be a patriot by word and deed visibly
It should be taken as pride by your family and progeny
Let there be more patriots in the Burmese Diaspora family!

(Laura Bush, Wife of President Bush, with Karen Refugees

in Thailand)

Dr Maung Maung Nyo
26.11.2008 (original)