A Man Escaped

How one Burmese monk escaped the clutches of his country’s military dictatorship—and found refuge in an India that continues to pursue close relations with his country’s repressive regime

01 November 2010
Ashin Panna Siri, A Burmese Buddhist monk who played a key role in the 2007 ‘Saffron Revolution,’ at his new home in Vikaspuri, Delhi.
PHOTOGRAPHS BY SAMI SIVA
Ashin Panna Siri, A Burmese Buddhist monk who played a key role in the 2007 ‘Saffron Revolution,’ at his new home in Vikaspuri, Delhi.
PHOTOGRAPHS BY SAMI SIVA

"I USED TO LIKE WALKING in the jungle, even when I was young. I would go mostly with my friends. We would climb trees. We had this game, you may know it, you cut the bamboo and you fill it with water and seal it, and throw it on the fire—it would explode. I was about 10 or 11 years old.” Ashin Panna Siri was giggling, revelling in his memories. Then he went silent, and withdrew into himself.

“What kind of questions do you want to ask me?” he said, after a long pause. I told the 30-year-old Burmese Buddhist monk that I wanted to know about his life, about his future, and the future of his country.

“My life and my future, they are not important,” he replied. “The future of my country is.”

Rajeshree Sisodia is a freelance journalist and photographer based in London. She specialises in human rights issues.

Keywords: Aung San Suu Kyi National League for Democracy US sami siva Ashin Panna Siri Burma Military Affairs Seciurity Mandalay U Gambira Lin Dan Labour Camp All-Burmese Monk Alliance Vikaspuri EU Rajeshree Sisodia University of Wisconsin Mi Bogyoke Aung San State Peace and Development Council
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