Burmese Days

George Orwell’s ‘Burmese Days’ is similar to Jose Rizal’s ‘Noli Me Tangere’; a story set within a backdrop of a colonial outpost in Asia; the interaction between European colonialist and the natives the main subject; the colonials trying to preserve their bastions of imperialism and power while the natives trying to break in; be accepted in pseudo European society in the Far East. Rizal’s novel is written from the point of view of the locals and mestizos (mixed blood); intermingling with Spanish colonials in the early 1870’s in Manila. Orwell’s story is written from the view point of an English liberal colonialist, living in a remote outpost in Burma during the 1930’s, with sympathetic portrayals of the native population though with Rizal’s disdain for locals who wish to aspire to Western acceptance. Rizal scorns the aspiring native society who wish to ape the Spanish circle in Manila; the poorer populace just trying to achieve parity in their native land; struggling against injustice in a pre-cursor to bloody revolution. Orwell story, with flavors from Jane Austen, is also about a poor English girl looking for a proper husband, with rapacious Englishmen (timber merchants, government officials and officers) and their native mistresses; clearly racist in their attitudes with Orwell scorning their imperial arrogance.

Both novels end in tragedy; Rizal’s heroine going mad after being raped by a priest, the hero fleeing the islands – a European educated reformer thwarted by a powerful corrupt priest; Orwell’s protagonist is an Englishman who commits suicide (after being scorned by his love) a victim of Burmese intrigue; his Burmese tormentor eventually accepted in local English society; and the hero’s ‘girlfriend’ marrying a much older man; both novels have evil triumphant. Rizal’s novel was a catalyst to the Philippine revolution against Spain in the 1890s; Orwell’s novel did not achieve any impact in local society though Burmese nationalists eventually achieved independence against the British after the 2nd word war though evolving into a totalitarian dictatorship protected by Communist China; a theme alluded by the mysterious author (spy?) Emma Larkin in his book ‘Finding George Orwell in Burma’.  Both colonial powers exercised different attitudes; Spanish colonialists assimilating with the local populace, resulting in the mixing of cultures (mestizos); driven by a severe Catholic tradition that resulted in the unification of Muslim Iberia into Spain; evolving into the first European power in the 1500s. English colonialist, on the other hand, kept their social classes distinct, the first global mercantile power, exploiting colonies and people for goods and markets in the 1800s; the precursor to globalization.

George Orwell eventually wrote his 2 masterpieces ‘Animal Farm’ and ‘1984’ thereafter; his experience in Burma and Spain, during the civil war, nourishing his vision of a totalitarian state; not necessarily Communist or Fascist but a possible evolution of a democratic state; an observation pointed out by William Gibson decades later, seeing surveillance cameras in the streets of London, not far from Orwell’s publisher.  This vision was remarked upon by Christopher Hitchens in his book ‘Why Orwell Matters’, echoed by his friend Salman Rushdie in an epitaph after Hitchens death, where Hitchens supported the invasion of Afghanistan and Iraq; one of the first who saw the link between Islamic fundamentalist, terrorists and the formation of an Islamist state exemplified by Iran. But these visions came much later; instead I wallowed in the romance of English colonial history, watching ‘The Letter’ with Bette Davis, from a story by Somerset Maugham, about infidelity in the Far East, English rubber planters in Malaya and Singapore, the lush gardens of tropical houses and plantations, China town and Malay workers, and the murder victim having a Chinese-Malay wife, known as a ‘nonya’.  

Vision for Philippine Novels

I have been reading the group emails from my old fraternity mates in college. There is an active exchange between alumni and current members. It’s funny to see the photos of these frat boys, me included, as they age through the years. They were preparing a collage of old photos which showed them in their college years. It’s for the souvenir program for the coming fraternity dinner and dance ball. We all looked so young then; thin, good natured, smiling without a care in the world. But the new photos now show men who are overweight, old but still with the smile of youth when the old frat boys meet together.

Most of the mails are about the Philippine condition. Most of the boys including me had nationalistic dreams back then. It was the image and heritage of the great campus that had nurtured past political figures; famous in local history. But I guess the times did not provide the opportunity to work on historical values and nationalistic urges. Instead most of the folks went out of the country to greener pastures. So most mails reminiscence about the past, post photos of drinking sessions and recent reunions with fraternity brothers. But the old feelings of nationalism are still there and one mail commented that the situation has not changed since Jose Rizal wrote about the Philippine condition in his 2 novels during the 19th century.



It’s true as no other novel seemed to have captured the imagination of the country since his death. It is like the country has been mired into decline after the revolution. Of course, it’s not true because the country has moved forward since then, achieving a lot of progress. But the pure feeling of love of country has not been aroused since that period of revolution. There were some episodes of minor resurgence but not enough to make a people proud or inspire a new generation of leaders. So people escape the country or join the New People’s army. I think it’s because there has not been a novel that can inspire the Filipino imagination.

The written word has been supplanted by Philippine cinema without achieving the proper maturity. Philippine cinema to me is the best in South East Asia in terms of maturity, imagination and brilliance. But the film medium remains the venue of escapist entertainments except for the rare films of the late Lino Brocka or Peque Gallaga. But film has a fleeting quality that does not have the permanence of the written word. I think there is a lack of good books that can portray the existing conditions. Compare this to the renaissance of Indian letters in English in the recent years. There are so many good Indian authors that are vibrant and creative but there is no Filipino equivalent.

It seems that the Philippine literary scene has remained stuck in 19th century conventions. There were experiments in magically realism, for example but it does not seem to have any substance. On the other hand, Philippine cinema seems to have gotten some recognition in recent years but not enough to fuel a renaissance. I think the country needs a voice in literature that could inspire the old feeling of nationalism in old fraternity brothers as well as the youth of the nation. But that is a long way from the winter of the Carolinas. Articulating that vision requires hard work and a clear goal to be achieved.

At Work

Yesterday I was at a loss on what to do next at work. It was the afternoon and I was dozing off and I could not concentrate. So I started writing my journal about my recent activities. It helped me focus my mind. Afterwards, I could work and I even made a drawing about the tasks that are needed to be done by a contributor in our project. I showed the graphic to my boss who seemed to like it. It’s really true that a picture is worth a thousand words and I think I was able to capture the summary of tasks to be done. My experience and studies in visual thinking is bearing fruit.

Back in Asia, during these periods of procrastination, I could login the blog site and start blogging. But security is much tighter here than in Asia so I wrote down my blog in MS Word and sent an email to myself with the document as attachment. In the evening after dinner and bath, I was able to post it to this blog site. I then added the pictures I took in Columbia. Yesterday, I was also reading about meditation and fighting stress. So I was reminded about the benefits of blogging or journal writing. It focuses the mind to a task and relieves tension. Any form of self-expression like journal writing focuses the mind and relieve stress and, now, provides a way to control and structure thoughts.

I was not able to talk to my wife last night and we waited for them to logon. My sister in law is traveling to Singapore and she should be there this evening. I guess my wife is busy preparing the place for her visit. After work I went to Lowes to order the blinds and hope to have them installed before the weekend. I also requested that someone go to my place and measure the porch at the back yard so walls can be constructed around the porch. I think it will be much cheaper than the blinds. I also went to Best Buy and bought iRobot – it’s a robot that automates vacuum cleaning. I tired it this morning and works well. I think my wife will like it.

 

I am reading Ambeth Ocampo’s lectures on Jose Rizal and it’s beyond doubt that he is the pre-eminent scholar on Rizal. He has also effectively rebutted the work of Renato Constantino – my old professor in college. I used to be in awe of Contantino’s work and, like Ocampo, I was in awe of his essay ‘Veneration without Understanding’. It was the first critical work that opened my mind. It’s one reason I took his class. His logic was impeccable and it took many years for someone like Ocampo to rebut the essay. I guess he went on a similar journey like me and it took a lot reading, reflection and analysis to deconstruct Constantino and provide a more effective argument against his thought. I am glad I did not finish Constantino’s course as I may have ended up being a conspiracy nut case.

 

I am close to finishing his book about his Rizal lectures. He has opened a new world for me especially to read the primary sources. So last night I search the Internet and found a free version of Antonio Morga’s ‘Successos delas Islas Filipinas.’ A work that Rizal annotated and reissued. The Rizal annotation is a rare book but one can get the English translation of Morga’s book free from the Internet. I am also looking for Austin Coates biography of Jose Rizal because it offers a European perspective of his life. I have read Leon Ma. Guerero’s ‘The First Filipino’ during college aside from other books on Rizal. So a new perspective is good as inspired by Ambeth Ocampo. While searching the Internet last night, I also found some interesting books to read like a book on Ferdinand Blumentritt – Jose Rizal good friend, who wrote the introduction to Rizal’s annotation of Morga’s work.