U Gambira and The Revolution Goes On

After the euphoria of the release of political prisoners and the chance to spend time with the 88 Generation Students throughout the week in the build up to their press conference last Saturday (images to follow soon!), other stories that I had previously planned to cover now took on a different perspective and with that slight change in direction came the welcome opportunity to meet with U Gambira, the leader of the monk led Saffron Revolution in September 2007.

U Gambira at Maggin Monastery, just days after his release from Myaungmya prison where he was serving a 63 year sentence

Having been brutally tortured during his time incarcerated he appeared well and fully focused and determined in continuing where he left off back in 2007 with the religious boycott of the military and working to bring about the freedom of the remaining political prisoners behind bars. You can watch an interview with him here on RFA Burmese TV and below is the article that appeared in the Independent newspaper featuring my portrait above. Last saturday, along with other recently released political prisoner monks, U Gambira officially received his robes again, during a ceremony at Magwe monastery in north Dagon (see photo above). With the 88 Generation Students and hundreds of other former political prisoners and dissidents in attendance it was no surprise to see plenty of Military Intelligence photographing and filming the event. I think it was also no surprise to MI that once again they were filming me too!

A New Year. A New Start. A New Hope?

A start to the New Year that so many could only have dreamed of. To be there to witness it all unfold was more than I could ever have wished for. Maybe it was written in the stars that I would be lucky enough to be there. Whatever the case, it was a momentous few days that sparked the sort of euphoria and emotion that no words or images can do justice. Arriving in Rangoon a week earlier with long term plans ready to role in documenting a very brave little girl whose parents, both prominent student leaders of the 88 Generation, were serving long sentences in prisons at either end of the country. Everything was thrown up in the air at 6pm on Thursday 12th January when state media announced that “For the sake of state peace and stability, national consolidation and to enable everyone to participate in the political process and on humanitarian grounds, the government will grant amnesty to 651 prisoners so that they can take part in nation building”. It caught everyone by surprise and immediately the story took a complete reversal of fortune. A call soon after the announcement meant an early start before heading to the prisons, but that was to change once again as by midnight word was already buzzing around that this was the big release that everyone was hoping for and the little girl would finally be reunited with both of her parents.

As daylight broke on Friday 13th, I met up with friends in Generation Wave and we made the short journey up to Insein prison full of hope but still tempered with the reality that this has happened too many times before for us to be too expectant. Twelve members of their organisation were still in jail – a sign of how the authorities are fearful of generations of all ages. After the disgraceful so-called general amnesty on January 2nd that merely saw sentences marginally reduced across the board, there was always the chance that the regime’s cruel tricks and tormenting political prisoners, their friends and families would come home to roost once more. Arriving early outside the prison and crowds were already starting to gather, as were military intelligence and their informers. The long wait commenced and rumours circulated of those being released as slowly more and more former political prisoners, dissidents, activists, members of the NLD and other opposition parties arrived to join the masses outside the famous gates of Burma’s most notorious prison. Suddenly the silence was broken and excitement tore through the crowd as it was confirmed that Min Ko Naing, the leader of the 88 Generation Students and Burma’s dissident supreme had been released from Thayet prison. Finally the dream was coming true as one by one, names were shouted out of political prisoners being set free across the country. U Gambira, Ko Ko Gyi, Khun Tun Oo and many more. Could this really be happening? But it was, and as the prisoners started to walk through the gates and back into the arms of their families and friends it was a sight to behold. I franticly called Jackie, now back in the UK and unable to return here just yet, for a tearful phone call as our hard work over these last years was now meaning more than ever before. Forget taking pictures for a second or two. This kind of breaking news press work is not my game anyway and my manual focusing on my Leica was long gone as I was trying hard to keep my emotions under check. This was historic and to be here now amongst so many of Burma’s bravest outside this darkest hell hole that has tried to break their wills was almost too much to believe. Whilst a thousand others would have taken the shots that would have been splashed across papers worldwide for a mere moment or two, I preferred to just take it all in, standing side by side with friends and colleagues as four years of my life was unfolding in front of my eyes.

CLICK HERE to view the entire gallery of images of the Political Prisoner Amnesty

Below is an audio slideshow of my work for Human Rights Watch of the 88 Generation Students being released

With the release from Insein completed I jumped in the car with Ko Sunny and Ko Kyaw San and we headed to the airport as the 88 Generation Students were on their way home. A brief chat on the phone with Sandar Min as she walked away from 65 years in Myaungmya prison and we arrived at Rangoon International where hundreds had amassed at the domestic terminal ready to greet their heroes. Banners were unfolded and once again a waiting game would have to be played out as the notorious effect of ‘Burmese time’ would mean no flight would actually arrive when it was due. The funniest example of this would be the arrival of Ko Htay Kywe who was due in early on Sunday morning yet would not arrive until after 5pm! But it wasn’t long before the first plane touched down and leader of the 88 Generation Students, Ko Ko Gyi, was mobbed as he came into view through immigration. Total chaos ensued as cameras flashed and the place just erupted as everyone pushed and shoved their way to try to get a glimpse of their hero and to welcome him home. I lost a flip flop in the crush and much to everyone’s amusement just carried on walking around with one. An hour later and the other was gone too as the pandemonium just grew and grew each time someone arrived. It was simply an outpouring of emotion and joy that would be hard to match anywhere else in the world. These people are Burma’s true heroes and a hero’s welcome was exactly what they got and deserved.

If the sight of Ko Ko Gyi was enough to send the huge crowd in to a state of ecstasy, it would be what was to follow that would not only bring out true joy in everyone but also provide a reminder of the darker side to suffering that a family goes through when the regime tries to take away their life. Nilar Thein, a key figure in the 88 Generation Students, had been released from Tharawaddy prison earlier in the day and arrived at the airport to await the arrival of her husband Ko Jimmy. When Jimmy and the other 88 Generation Students were all arrested in 2007, Nilar Thein went into hiding for almost a year. The regime tormented her with rumours that Jimmy had died under interrogation in an attempt to force her out into the open. She not only resisted and kept up the struggle for democracy from her secret hiding place in an attic, but she was also forced to give up her young daughter, Phyu Nay Chi, barely 4 months old. She was finally caught and jailed, but now here in Rangoon airport with her young daughter at her side, she stood waiting for the reunion that would quite literally bring the house down. As her family and friends mobbed her, for a brief moment it was all too much and she broke down in tears. One cannot begin to imagine the suffering and pain that she and many other women like her have gone through, as both mother and wife, torn from their young children and jailed for years. It seemed that everyone here was sharing her pain and joy – I know I certainly was and there were many others in tears as well as Ma Nilar.

As attention turned back to the latest plane touching down, Ko Mya Aye walked into what was now a deafening arena of well-wishers. Earlier in the day I had spoken with his daughter and very close friend, Waihnin and to be here to witness her father arriving and be able to capture it for her brought yet another personal moment of joy. When Jimmy arrived a short time later it was as though the roof had caved in. The crowds surged and Jimmy, Nilar and little Phyu Nay Chi were almost hoisted aloft and carried off to downtown Rangoon. It was simply the most overwhelming, emotional experience I have ever witnessed. I can’t really begin to properly describe what it was like throughout this whole day both at Insein prison and at the airport as one by one they were freed and arrived back home, but hopefully the photo story on my website can show what it was like to share in one of Burma’s most historic days for years. It is a day that I will never forget and a privilege to have been there to witness it.

OSI Moving Walls 19 – Burma’s Fearlessness in NYC

A great week back in the big apple and saw the Moving Walls 19 opening reception being held in great style at the Open Society Foundations headquarters in New York City. The work ha sheen well received and looks great on the walls at OSF and its great to be partnered with them now to promote this issue even further. Below is a short clip of the opening night and some images of the installation. Thanks to all at OSF in the Documentary Photography Project and the Burma Project – here’s to the future.

Abhaya Burma’s Fearlessness – Bangkok Exhibition

Last week saw the opening of the exhibition and also the official book launch, held at the beautiful Serindia Gallery in Bangkok in association with River Books and the Canadian Embassy. Unfortunately we could not be there as we are in New York for the opening of the OSI moving Walls 19 exhibition, but by all accounts it was a great evening and a successful one too, in that no fewer than 8 Ambassadors attended the event along with various other diplomats and movers and shakers. The idea of course is to drum home the issue that 1700 still remain in jail and must be freed if Burma is to truly move forward. With these kind of people attending the event and taking copies of the book then hopefully that message can continue to resonate in the halls of power and the risks that some have taken to be in this work do not go unheeded.

Here are a couple of reviews of the evening courtesy of The Irrawaddy team and RFA who filmed the two short pieces below and also a review in The Nation. Thanks to the Irrawaddy team, RFA, U Zin Linn and Soe Aung and of course to Shane and his staff at Serindia, Narisa and to Mr Ron Hoffman the Canadian Ambassador.

‘Birmans en Dissidence’ – Le Monde

A first for France as this saturday’s ‘Le Portfolio’ section in ‘Le Magazine du Monde’ features an 8 page article previewing the book and the issue of Burma’s political prisoners.

Click this link to read the full article - Birmans en Dissidence

Lady Liberty

They say things come in threes. Today must be one of those days as ‘Lady Liberty’ kicks off the day with a front cover of the Bangkok Post’s ‘The Magazine’ with an accompanying 4 page article inside. Whilst the article is taken from my meeting with Aung San Suu Kyi soon after her release from house arrest at the start of the year and is therefore somewhat dated and not exactly bringing anything new to the table, it’s at least a nice chance for the photos to get another print run if nothing else. It’s also the first start of a busy day with the exhibition and book launch happening later this evening at the Serindia Gallery in Bangkok. I hope you can all make it there to enjoy the event, photos, book, wine! Full report on the exhibition opening and book launch will be posted later today…

Read the full article here – Bangkok Post The Magazine ‘Lady Liberty’

‘Portraits of Fearlessness’ The Bangkok Post

With the exhibition and book launch tomorrow evening (Thursday 24th) at the Serindia Gallery, the Bangkok Post ‘Life’ section features a cover feature of ‘Abhaya’ plus an interview with gallery owner Shane Suvikapakornul.

Read the full article here – Portraits of Fearlessness

Faces Without Fear

A nervous wait has thankfully ended, as not only did the floods keep books from getting in to the hands of those who have ‘roles to play’, so to speak, but also from the hands of those passing judgement. On the eve of the book launch and exhibition opening in Bangkok tomorrow at Serindia Gallery, the first review can be read here online at the Irrawaddy. Thanks to David and everyone at Irrawaddy for a great review and it’s pleasing to see my hopes for the book be understood and recognised. There’s bound to be some who have more critical viewpoints, but I welcome those thoughts with open arms too!

Philip Jones Griffiths. An Inspiration.

An inspiration to many, Philip Jones Griffiths was one of the most highly regarded photojournalists in the world. “Not since Goya has anyone portrayed war like Philip Jones Griffiths” said Henri Cartier Bresson of the man who joined Magnum in 1966 before going on to be its’ President for an unprecedented 5 years. His work on the Vietnam war and subsequent book, Vietnam Inc., crystallized public opinion and gave form to Western misgivings about American involvement in Vietnam. One of the most detailed surveys of any conflict, Vietnam Inc. is also an in-depth document of Vietnamese culture under attack. Griffiths’ assignments, often self-engineered, took him to more than 120 countries. He continued to work for major publications such as Life and Geo on stories such as Buddhism in Cambodia, droughts in India, poverty in Texas, the re-greening of Vietnam, and the legacy of the Gulf War in Kuwait. His continued revisiting of Vietnam, examining the legacy of the war, lead to his two further books ‘Agent Orange’ and ‘Vietnam at Peace’. Griffiths’ work reflects on the unequal relationship between technology and humanity, summed up in his book Dark Odyssey. Human foolishness always attracted Griffiths’ eye, but, faithful to the ethics of the Magnum founders, he believed in human dignity and in the capacity for improvement.

I was privileged enough to have the chance to meet him after a talk he had given in London in 2007 where I was studying, and then even more so to have the opportunity to share a moment discussing Vietnam and parallels with its close neighbour, Burma. If there are moments in life that shape your thoughts and desires to follow a certain path then this brief meeting was most certainly that moment for me. It is the unquenchable thirst to uncover the truth and challenge what we are told or told to believe that is borne in Philip Jones Griffiths work like no other, as well as in the man himself, and provided me with the inspiration to start my involvement in Burma. That may well be where the parallels end, but to be inspired is often enough to at least try. He unfortunately passed away in March 2008 but his work will last many lifetimes more.

Burma : Land of Shadows by Chien-Chi Chang

Esteemed Magnum photographer Chien-Chi Chang and his essay on Burma: Land of Shadows. I first caught a glimpse of him when his incredible work ‘The Chain’ about mental patients at an asylum in Taiwan was on show – get hold of a copy of the book if you get a chance, it’s superb.

Click link to view Burma: Land of Shadows