How to be a bookworm in a bookless land
Letter from Burma By Aung San Suu Kyi 
The education of the youth of Burma is a long standing preoccupation for those who think seriously about the future of the country. As a persecuted and much circumscribed political party there is little that the National League for Democracy (NLD) can do to resolve the problem. But we do what we can to broaden the horizons of our young people. We arranged a series of
educational lectures and started a reading circle.The idea of a reading circle is a simple one. We gather together once a fortnight and discuss books and writers. It is not however easy to choose which book or books to discuss. This is not because there is an overabundance of choice. It is, on the contrary, because there are not enough books available. There are few lending libraries in the country.
Books can be borrowed from some shops at a daily rate which is fixed in accordance with the degree of popular demand for the volume concerned. This means that those who are not well off are obliged to rush through their reading. Buying books, even assuming that the ones you want can be found, is an even more expensive business and these days with the price of basic
commodities rocketing, few would consider spending money on books for a reading circle. To complicate matters further, as it became known that the NLD had started a reading circle, the books that were chosen for discussion began to disappear from lending shops and stalls. It seemed that the authorities took a keen interest in our literary activities.The very first reading circles held in my house with the participants sitting around on the floor were informal and stimulation. Our regulars included U Moe Thu (a writer, film director), Maung Wuntha (a writer), U Kyaw Min (an architect) and U Thein Tin (a writer), senior members of our "intellectual wing." They were conversant with both Burmese and Western literature, moved in literary and artistic circles and were always able to contribute interesting and amusing insights into our discussions. Now all four of them are in Insein Prison (U Thein Tin is seriously ill), held without trial since 1996. We miss them sorely but we continue with our work. The reading circle has become bigger and therefore more formal. Participants sit in neatly arranged chairs, a list is made of those who wish to speak and the speakers are called up in turn to take their place at the forum.
The act of stepping on to a forum has a different effect on different people. Some are attacked by stage fright and stammer and forget what it was they intended to say. Some launch forth on long speeches which do not always have much to do with the subject under discussion. They have to be reminded not to digress and meander. Eventually we had to set a time limit to curb the volubility of the more enthusiastic speakers. There were those who wandered away from a critique of a political tome to a rambling account of their philosophy of life and there were those who would analyze a novel with the minute concentration of a nascent entomologist dissecting his first fly. There were also those who performed incredible mental gymnastics to get around to their pet subject, whatever the actual topic under discussion might be. As time went by, however, and our young people became more experienced readers and speakers, their contributions become more concise and interesting.
Among the books discussed were many with political themes and many which had been translated from foreign languages. Works which drew contrasts between democratic and authoritarian values were popular because our young people felt that it would help them to argue the case for democracy more cogently. Books that described the way in which individuals overcame great difficulties and hardship also fascinated our young people because the course of their own lives were seldom smooth and easy. I remember the discussion of "Papillon" was particularly lively. Life as an obstacle course is a concept readily understood by most people in Burma.
We try to arrange for writers and those interested in literature to come to speak at our reading circle whenever possible. Recently a visitor from England who had taught Burmese at the School of Oriental and African Studies was in Rangoon and I invited her to come to my house. The day on which she had been invited was also the day on which our reading circle was
held so we looked forward to hearing her say a few words about her views on Burmese literature. However, she was told at the top of our road that the "people from above" had decreed she should not be allowed to come to my house and she was turned away.Our reading circle has taken and survived a number of knocks and the fanciful idea occurs to me that perhaps it could be better described as a reading ellipse. But, at the risk of straining the metaphor, I would like to think that it does contribute something towards rounding off our young people's education.
