Myanmar Oral History Project - life stories

Peter Church
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Myanmar Oral History Project - life stories

Oral histories of Myanmar - life stories; some starting as far back as the late 1920’s.From my years of involvement in Myanmar I have become aware of the increasing scarcity of the generation of Myanma citizens who were born during the colonial period and have lived through the tumultuous years since that time. For me, these men and women are "national treasures" whose experience, perseverance and wisdom gained during their long lives will be lost unless we capture their stories in some way. To this end I have decided to interview a number of these elderly citizens. My hope is that these interviews will be of interest to historians, sociologists and other researchers in the future as well as for the family and friends of those interviewed.

  1. Linda Lewin - Episode 2 - the adventurous life of her great uncle San Po Thin and the sad end of her grandfather, San Po Lwin's life

    12/22/2024

    Linda Lewin - Episode 2 - the adventurous life of her great uncle San Po Thin and the sad end of her grandfather, San Po Lwin's life

    Linda Lewin, using the recollections of her 94 year old father, Boh Lay Desmond and other family members and friends, has written the story of her family covering a number of generations. In this episode we hear how her grandfather's life ended in Bassein (now Pathein) during the Japanese invasion in 1943 and also hear of the adventurous life of her great uncle, San Po Thin. The book, My Faraway Country Myanmar was written by Linda Lewin and published by Gold Hare in 2023 and may b...

    38 min
  2. U David Maung Nyi was born in Kyaukse on 15 April, 1936. He was educated in Kyaukse, Mandalay, Yangon and Otago (New Zealand). He worked in senior roles in the Government's mining companies but resigned after the 1988 riots and coup.

    12/07/2024

    U David Maung Nyi was born in Kyaukse on 15 April, 1936. He was educated in Kyaukse, Mandalay, Yangon and Otago (New Zealand). He worked in senior roles in the Government's mining companies but resigned after the 1988 riots and coup.

    This interview was first published in 2021 and received many downloads. U Maung Nyi (commonly known as David) was born in Kyaukse on 15 April, 1936. He was educated in Kyaukse, Mandalay, Yangon and Otago (New Zealand). As a mining engineer he spent many years working at Bawdwin, Myanmar's famous lead, silver and zinc mine which during colonial times was the largest such mine in the world. Herbert Hoover, the 31st US President, made his fortune investing in Bawdwin. Dav...

    49 min
  3. U Nay Oke was born into a prominent Burmese family in 1943 and is the founder of a well known English language school.

    12/04/2024

    U Nay Oke was born into a prominent Burmese family in 1943 and is the founder of a well known English language school.

    This interview took place in 2018 and I am republishing it now as there was a lot of interest when it was first published.U Nay Oke is the founder of a well known English language school and was born in 1943. There is a short short postscript where U Nay Oke told me the story of how as a very young man, as a result of a bizare circumstance, he ended up selecting Western movies for General Ne Win.Send us a textPlease feel free to contact me with suggested interviewees at church.peter@gma...

    1h 9m
  4. Linda Lewin - My Faraway Country Myanmar - Episode 1 - the marriage of her Karen grandfather and French grandmother and the flight from Myanmar of her grandmother and her children (including Linda's father Boh Lay) in 1942

    11/04/2024

    Linda Lewin - My Faraway Country Myanmar - Episode 1 - the marriage of her Karen grandfather and French grandmother and the flight from Myanmar of her grandmother and her children (including Linda's father Boh Lay) in 1942

    Linda Lewin, using the recollections of her 94 year old father, Boh Lay Desmond and other family members and friends, has written the story of her family covering a number of generations. In this episode we hear a little about her great grandparents U Tun Hla and Daw Bu Ma and learn how her grandparents, Sa Po Lwin and Lucienne Auberhoffer met and married in London and moved to Bassein (now Pathein) in the Myanmar delta where her grandfather practiced law. We also learn of the eve...

    45 min
  5. U Than Htay, born 1932, views on colonial and Japanese occupation of Burma, geologist, retired as Deputy Director General of Department of Geological Survey and Mineral Exploration in Ministry of Mines - life story

    08/27/2024

    U Than Htay, born 1932, views on colonial and Japanese occupation of Burma, geologist, retired as Deputy Director General of Department of Geological Survey and Mineral Exploration in Ministry of Mines - life story

    This interview was originally made on 8 December 2017. U Than Htay made some interesting comments about the colonial and Japanese occupation of Burma.Send us a textPlease feel free to contact me with suggested interviewees at church.peter@gmail.com.Thank you for listening .Peter Church

    59 min
  6. Dr Than Oo, born 1928, prominent educator, former DG of Basic Education, the key player in raising the literacy rate in Burma in the 1960's and for the re-establishing of the teaching of English to primary school children after a gap of many years.

    08/24/2024

    Dr Than Oo, born 1928, prominent educator, former DG of Basic Education, the key player in raising the literacy rate in Burma in the 1960's and for the re-establishing of the teaching of English to primary school children after a gap of many years.

    Dr Than Oo, born 1928, prominent educator, former DG of Basic Education, the key player in raising the literacy rate in Burma in the 1960's and for the re-establishing of the teaching of English to primary school children after a gap of many years, former Chairman of the Academy of Arts and Science.This interview was first published back on 5 March 2018. As many of you only became listeners in recent times and may not have heard this interview, I hope you will find this interview of an ...

    1h 4m
  7. U Myint Thein, born 1937, former Myanmar Deputy Minister of Mines 1992 to 2006 -life story

    08/21/2024

    U Myint Thein, born 1937, former Myanmar Deputy Minister of Mines 1992 to 2006 -life story

    This was the second interview I made for Myanmar Oral History back on 4 December, 2017. Many of you have signed up in recent years and I hope you will find some of these earlier interviews of interest.Send us a textPlease feel free to contact me with suggested interviewees at church.peter@gmail.com.Thank you for listening .Peter Church

    1h 59m

  8. 01/18/2024

    U K Ba Thaung (1931-2022) - interesting stories of his relationship with General Ne Win, including observing at first hand some of his many unusual superstitions and remedies

    U K Ba Thaung (1931-2022) - interesting stories of his relationship with General Ne Win, including observations regarding the death of General Aung San and the involvement U Saw and more personal first hand observations of General Ne Win's many unusual superstitions and remedies such as bathing in buffalo blood and his methods to increase his virility. I was fortunate to interview Kenneth twice before he passed away on 22 May, 2022 at the age of 91. We must ensure the life stories...

    1h 13m
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Ratings & Reviews

4.9
out of 5
10 Ratings

About

Oral histories of Myanmar - life stories; some starting as far back as the late 1920’s.From my years of involvement in Myanmar I have become aware of the increasing scarcity of the generation of Myanma citizens who were born during the colonial period and have lived through the tumultuous years since that time. For me, these men and women are "national treasures" whose experience, perseverance and wisdom gained during their long lives will be lost unless we capture their stories in some way. To this end I have decided to interview a number of these elderly citizens. My hope is that these interviews will be of interest to historians, sociologists and other researchers in the future as well as for the family and friends of those interviewed.

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