A PROXY TOUR OF THE OTHER MYANMAR, PROTEST BY PROTEST Myanmar Spring Revolution 2021 Amalie A. Aseltine I think more than a few of us foreigners who once lived in Burma have gotten out the atlas since the Spring Revolution began. Speaking for myself, I had known the more visited regions and “major” cities pretty well. But since February 1st, I’ve gotten more familiar with the “lesser” places where villagers and farmers spend their lives day after day. I’ve seen the gathering places under wide-spreading tropical trees; I’ve seen the farmland where they toil; I’ve seen their sons and daughters and grandparents in their longyi and their kha mauk hats carrying the signs and banners of the Spring Revolution, singing its anthems and flashing its salute. This is Burma beyond the monks and students in Mandalay, beyond the youth in Yangon, beyond the tourist destinations of Bagan and Bago and Mawlyamyine--important as their roles in the struggle have been. I seek here the Burma of dusty roads and jungle treks, of mountain ridges and river valleys, of rice paddies and of oxcarts. Administratively, Myanmar has 7 regions (Ayeyarwady, Bago, Magway*, Mandalay*, Tanintharyi*, Sagaing*, Yangon) and 7 states (Chin*, Kayin, Kayah*, Kachin*, Mon, Rakhine, Shan—all of which name ethnic groups). Those are subdivided into 330 townships. Certain place names have risen to dominate my consciousness in the past six months. Unfortunately, some of them have become hotspots due to government attacks—and have made it on to weekly atrocity alert bulletins issued internationally. Pairs of somewhat random place names jump for my mind’s attention: Taze and Kale Salingyi and Yinmabin Depayin and Mindat Dawei and Mogok Hpakant and Gangaw Loikaw and Launglone Panchishaung village, Thayetchaung Township, Dawei District. Thanintharyi Region Taze and Kale (both in Sagaing Region) Both of these are towns that have been persistent and determined to hold protests. Taze (pop. 165,110) is in Shwebo District, Sagaing Region. Its economic mainstays are rice, fisheries, and timber. Kale (also Kalay; pop. 348,573) is located on the banks of the Myittha (a tributary of the Chindwin River) upstream from Mandalay and Shwebo. It has a large Christian population, trade ties with India, and a small airport. Aside from an agricultural base that includes irrigated rice paddies, the town engages in the manufacture of motored vehicles. Monks from the town were active during the Saffron Revolution of 2007, supported by local Chin sympathizers.
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