Table of Contents

• Introduction
• 1. Historical Legacies: Spirits, Martyrs and Imperialists
• 2. 1962-1988: The Ne Win Years
• 3. Breaking the Silence: 1988-90
• 4. Military Rule Continues
• 5. Families: Fostering Conformity
• 6. Communities: Going with the Flow
• 7. The Military: A Life Sentence
• 8. Prison: 'Life University'
• 9. Education: Floating Books and Bathroom Tracts
• 10. The Artistic Community: In the Dark, Every Cat is Black
• 11. Religion and Magic: Disappearing Jewels and Poltergeists
• 12. The Internationalization of Burma's Politics
• 13. Conclusion: A Different Burma
• Bibliography
• Index

About the Author

Christina Fink served as the editor of the BurmaNet News in Thailand from mid-1995 to early 1998. During the writing of Living Silence she was visiting scholar at UC Berkeley and was supported by an Open Society Institute Individual Project Fellowship. She has been a consulting anthropologist for the Dreaming of Kawthoolei documentary film project, and Thailand representative for the Open Society Institute's Burma Project.

Reviews

'Particularly valuable for its study of the psychological effects of military rule on the people of Burma. By exploring the impact of military rule on the lives of ordinary people against a broad historical and social backdrop, Christina Fink makes an important contribution towards an understanding of the root causes of the problems and choices that the people of Burma are facing today.' Aung San Suu Kyi 'A meticulous study of the surreal horror imposed upon the people of Burma by its illegitimate rulers. Read this book and never forget them.' John Pilger 'The Burmese students have found their Boswell. Christina Fink has carefully recorded their statements and thoughts. Now, no one can dismiss the tragedy of Burma as the fiction of outsiders. These are the people who have and continue to live with it.' Josef Silverstein, Rutgers University