Land Mines
2022; University of Hawaii Press; Volume: 34; Issue: 2 Linguagem: Inglês
10.1353/man.0.0109
ISSN1527-943X
Autores ResumoLand Mines Saw Phoe Kwar (bio) Translated from Burmese and Kayin by Shin Thu San Dialogue (in Kayin language) spk What's your name? child E Bway Tee. spk E Bway Tee, hmm, wow, what a beautiful name! So in Burmese…what is it? child Chit Hnin Yay. [chit = love hnin = snow yay = water] spk Chit Hnin Yay…what a lovely name. [Addressing the child in Karen] What happened to your leg? child May bu bar [Kayin] Myay hmyoat mine. spk What happened? child A Moe [mother in Kayin], pu moh [addressing self], and my little brother were at the riverbank. While A Moe was bathing, little brother and I were playing near the woods' edge. While playing, we stepped on a land mine and we were both hit by the explosion. My little brother died on the spot and I had to have my leg amputated. Because of this day, my mom often gets nightmares. Hey, no no no land mines, ya (repeat 7x)Nightmares from dark nightsMama wakes up startled every nightJust like cursed land, these livesWho will come and clean up? The soiled fruits of a hate doctrineThe seedlings of this Earth shriek and shed tearsJust like cursed land, these livesWho will come and clean up? Hey, no no no land mines, yaHey, no no no land mines, ya (Stop it all!)Hey, no no no land mines, yaHey, no no no land mines, hey [End Page 228] Innocent little flowersAt night, damaged and scattered their petals fall offIn the future, up to when will tragedies like thisKeep going on?Little flowers of Dawna's earthIn the arrival of poisonous night, they flake off and wiltHmm, those land mines . . .Please end, end, end them all! Hey, no no no land mines, ya (repeat 5x)Nightmares from dark nightsMama wakes up startled every nightJust like cursed land, these livesWho will come and clean up? Hey, no no no land mines, ya (repeat 5x)Innocent little flowersAt night, damaged and scattered their petals fall offIn the future, up to when will tragedies like thisKeep going on?Little flowers of Dawna's earthIn the arrival of poisonous night, they flake off and wiltHmm,…those land mines . . .Please end, end, end them all! Hey, no no no land mines, ya (repeat 10x)End them all!Please, no more. Do no moreHey, no no no land mine… [End Page 229] Saw Phoe Kwar Saw Phoe Kwar is a reggae artist and former national soccer player for Myanmar. His passion for the genre grew when he worked with West Indians on a cargo ship in the early 1990s. The title of his acclaimed 2015 album, Go Rest on a Big Branch, draws on the Burmese idiom "don't meddle with what you don't understand" or "go away." Shin Thu San Shin Thu San graduated from the University of California, Berkeley, in 2016 with a degree in Southeast Asian Studies and a focus on languages (Hindi, Indonesian, and Mandarin) and Burmese history and literature. She lives in Berkeley. Copyright © 2022 University of Hawai'i Press
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