Myanmar

Finally I’ve finished Amy Tan’s “Saving Fish From Drowning” two days ago. It was really a blast reading this novel, lots of imagination, amazing plots, and the perfect use of language. All were added with oriental flavors in lines. I admire Amy Tan’s talent in writing and her broad knowledge in other fields, such as medicine, history, and geography, etc.

Myanmar is a new name for Burma, but many westerners and Asians are still more inclined to use Burma in many occasions. I don’t know much about the country and actually have never been to that part of the world. What I was shocked from pursing the novel was many people had been victims of landmines in that region.

Man created myriads of inventions; yet many of them in return have turned into self-destructive weapons. Should we call this self-deserved consequence or fate? I guess man’s worst enemy is himself or herself in many aspects.

The novel also made me ruminate over how people react when being put in jeopardy and facing life-threatening predicaments. Why do we have to be forced to become altruistic and bury the hatchet? Why can’t we work with others in unison all the time? If we long for world peace, then the road is yet half-paved…

Reading the so-called “Karen” people in Amy Tan’s book somehow reminded me of my hometown on the east coast of Formosa. I happened to read some news about that familiar yet a bit vague of my birthplace. An elementary school principal tried all he could to ensure every student would have lunch. The cost of each meal was NT 30; yet many families couldn’t even pay for it. My heart sank when I read that.

The journalist reported that families in that area don’t have stable jobs; and parents seem to expect the government for more assistance. Well, we should teach people how to fish, not constantly feed them fish. However, I wonder how much our government has done for those remote villages when giving big chunks of money to other countries.

Is being poor really a sin? Whose fault is that? Who should we blame? If we are to tell the world Taiwan is a great nation, full of energy, high-tech advances, and other necessary criteria for developed countries, we should be ashamed letting so many poor children be deprived of their right in better education and other benefits enjoyed by pupils in big cities like Taipei…