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Voice of Hope: Conversations with Alan Clements

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I have been intrigued with the situation in Burma since watching the movie Beyond Rangoon some time ago. It was therefore with great interest that I ordered this book as soon as it was available. In "The Voice of Hope" Alan Clements brings us into the present with this tragic situation through the person of Aung San Suu Kyi and her incredible life. But what sets this work apart from histories, biographies, and oddly enough even self-help material - is the powerful integration of beliefs and action found in Aung San Suu Kyi's life and philosophy. In reading chapter seven alone, ("Saints are Sinners who go on trying") I was personally and deeply moved by the clear connectedness described between her experience with a repressive government and the need for thinking people everywhere to courageously fulfil our potential as thinking, "questing" individuals. The repressive government in Burma is shown to be an extreme and yet still relevant metaphor for intellectual repression in all its forms. And Aung San Suu Kyi's message offers specific insight together with believable emotional support for those who struggle to reconcile what we discover and know through our own searching with what we are expected to believe by others. If it helps anyone who is deciding whether this book is worth the money - I can only say that as one who buys and reads more than 100 books a year - this book has earned a unique place in my library and in my heart. I would trade every other book I have read this year for Alan Clements' latest contribution. Thank you.

This book shocked me awake to the realities of countries where freedom is not enjoyed as in the United Sates. The government's repression and horrific inhumantiy are just unbelievable. But, more amazing is the dedication to nonviolence which Aung San Suu Kyi and her party follow in their democracy movement. Her manner in speaking of Burma's serious situation is so calm, hopeful, and loving that it makes one reinterpret and recast their interactions with their own worlds. One may also reflect on one's place in humanity and see that Burma's tragedy, Burma's fate, is our own and we must act now. Aung San's hope and strength are qualities we would do well to adopt as our own. I do not think it is possible for one to read this book and NOT feel urged to take some form of real action (via letter writing, publicizing the issue, etc).

In this book, as in "Freedom from Fear" and "Letters from Burma", Nobel Peace Prize laureate Aung San Suu Kyi exposes to the world the grim realities of her land and her people, seen through her very eyes. As always, she is able to jump with great ability from more personal and sentimental accounts of the situation, to hard data, from recollections of her childhood, to perspectives on Burma's future. Always filled with thrill and dense with emotions, her writings are for the expert and the ignorant alike, easy to understand, yet of high value historically and academically. For anyone wishing to know more about Burma and the struggle of her people for human rights, this is must reading.

Now in an expanded second edition including an interview with U Gambira (a leader of the All-Burma Monks Alliance that organized the protests of September and October 2007), The Voice of Hope: Aung San Suu Kyi Conversations with Alan Clements is an extensive interview with Aung San Suu Kyi, the Nobel Peace Laureate, mother of two, and practicing Buddhist who led the pro-democracy movement in Burma in 1988. The movement was harshly crushed by the military junta that renamed Burma as Myanmar. Alan Clements, the first American ordained as a Buddhist monk in Burma, met with Aung San Suu Kyi after her release from her first house arrest in July 1995. She delivered her perception of engaged compassion and spoke of how she maintained her hope and optimism despite continued governmental oppression. "You must not forget that the people of Burma want democracy. Whatever the authorities may say, it is a fact that the people want democracy and they do not want an authoritarian regime that deprives them of their basic human rights. The world should do everything possible to bring about the kind of political system that the majority of the people of Burma want and for which so many people have sacrificed themselves." A singularly powerful and also deeply spiritual testimonial on behalf of a troubled nation.

VOICE OF HOPE is composed of interviews, primarily with Daw Aung San Suu Kyi, but also with her colleagues U Kyi Myaung and U Tin U from the National League for Democracy. The interviews were all done in the early years after their release from house arrest and prison. It is wonderful to hear their voices. DASSK is of course inspirational. I'd never heard of her compatriots before - and I think everyone would be struck by their innate gentleness, compassion and insight. If only the SLORC (the military-ruled government of Myanmar) would read and take seriously these accounts. They have nothing to fear from these patriots. In fact, as they each tell us, they harbor no ill will towards their persecutors - they are working for democracy for the good of all, including the SLORC. Remarkable and inspiring way of peace and reconciliation. I hope democracy comes soon to Burma.

Aung San Suu Kyi: The Voice Of Hope - Conversations with Alan Clements
Review by David Calleja

U Tin U, the National League for Democracy (NLD) Deputy
Leader, once said that "Burma is a prison within a prison." His
words highlight the tragic political, social and economic
circumstances that Burma is faced with today, because of the
military junta. Their calling card is a permanent stain on the
failure of humanity.

The thoughts, movements and actions of more than 50
million civilians are under constant surveillance by a regime
obsessed with maintaining control. Yet Daw Aung San Suu
Kyi's thoughts, words and actions provide a beacon of hope
that a people's democracy living in peace will someday take
shape in Burma.

Author Alan Clements travelled to Rangoon in December 1995
to meet secretly with Daw Suu Kyi and recorded a series of
dialogues with the leader of the NLD. Clements' involvement
with Burma goes back 30 years. He is the first American to be
ordained a Buddhist monk, and like all foreign journalists entering Burma, he has also encountered the wrath of the military junta by being deported.

Between his extensive knowledge of the domestic situation, and Daw Suu Kyi's wisdom and elegance in answering every question put before her, readers will understand just how Buddhism is closely connected with politics in Burma, and why the concepts of faith and metta (loving kindness) are among the building blocks of any genuine democracy.
Each chapter is named after a sentence that typifies the beliefs, sacrifice and struggle that best summarise key points in Daw Suu Kyi's existence. It also demonstrates the enormous love that she shares for every person who has risked their life to hear speeches delivered from her compound. She also speaks repeatedly of compassion towards members of the SPDC and declares that they too can show love for the people of Burma. This may surprise readers, but perfectly encompasses everything she stands for.

One cannot help but show admiration for any individual willing to risk their life to hear a political icon outline the real situation in Burma, and be prepared to listen to how and why civilians are suffering. In the process of unravelling Daw Suu Kyi's deepest thoughts, Clements uncovers a defiant individual that will not be intimidated by weaponry in the hands of authority, while uncovering the keys to life; love for humanity, education and an open heart.

Daw Suu Kyi speaks modestly and candidly in describing her upbringing, the role of her parents in shaping her values, her frenetic daily routine while under house arrest, life abroad and eventual homecoming to Burma, and unrelenting commitment to non-violence. The appeal of the dialogue is that Daw Suu Kyi's answers to some of Clements' lengthy questions and points are presented plainly and with fervour as if addressing a crowd of tens of thousands of her supporters. There is no place for political spin within these pages, which enhances the readability.

One theme that resonates through the entire book is the tenacity of the people of Burma and their ability to adopt a sense of humour in spite of the horrific conditions that they face. It takes a special human being to constantly laugh throughout years of suffering. Clements has clearly done his background research to prompt thought-provoking answers from Daw Suu Kyi and in doing so, delivers possibly the greatest insight into the world's most famous female political icon. It is impossible to have conceived the danger facing Clements and Daw Suu Kyi, making the discussions and writing of this publication all the more plausible.
Throughout the course of the book, the reader becomes acutely aware of the volatile situation that Burma has faced in recent decades, a scenario sadly prevalent to this day. The facts itself relating to Burma's political, social and economic demise are not new, but Clements aims to provide shock therapy and reveal to the world the extent and frequency of abuse. He succeeds in piercing the heart and soul deeply enough and warn us that if we do not regard Burma as our highest priority, then it is not just the people that face the harshest consequences of tyranny. As a society, we will all carry the burden of watching humans slowly die without directly intervening.

This is not only an incredible individual we are learning about more intricately. Daw Aung San Suu Kyi is consistent that her work is only possible through the efforts of her fellow party members, which leads to Clements interviewing with individuals whose voices and actions that been vocal in their opposition to the military junta. He speaks candidly with U Gambira, leader of the All-Burma Monks Alliance and inspiration for the 2007 Saffron Revolution, and influential NLD individuals and scholars U Kyi Maung and U Tin U. Their insights, along with a chronology of the country's recent and international contacts, give readers the tools to ensure that Burma is discussed at every regional and international meeting, and at dinner tables and bars. There is so much at stake now, not just with Aung San Suu Kyi's trial but with the farcical elections due to be held in 2010.

Aung San Suu Kyi: The Voice Of Hope reminds us all that the forgotten people of Burma are not just the dead who have been forced to onto their knees for so much of their lives, but the living voiceless. Alan Clements has presented us a manual for life that crudely tells the most powerful leaders on the planet to stop waiting for a miracle to occur. This book is the catapult that will launch individuals into taking immediate action. The message here is loud and clear; use your rights and privileges to help the long-suffering civilians of Burma gain their freedom. Without Aung San Suu Kyi's presence, our world will be so empty.

David Calleja is a regular contributor to Foreign Policy Journal and member of Burma Campaign Australia.

I have always been fascinated by Burma in all its aspects and I wanted to be more informed on the current political and social situations. The subject is certainly very interesting but I personally found the book itself very boring and repetitive: The concepts and ideas are repeated dozens of times in different chapters, over and over again. This book would have been much more powerful and appealing with 100 pages instead of 300.