[Reviewed by David A. L. Brown]
Make Nowhere to be Home a Home on your Bookshelf
As a westerner, it is easy to condemn any government’s use of violence, fear, and exploitation against its people, yet difficult to make a lasting—or even visible—change to the status quo. One group, however, is making their mark on the world by creating a stage for victims to speak for themselves. Toward this endeavor, Voice of Witness, a relatively new advocacy group dedicated to alerting the international community to social and political injustice, recently released Nowhere to be Home, a chilling collection of accounts from Burmese refugees and exiles.
For those who have lived under the shadow of the Burmese government, there is no peace. Authors Maggie Lemere and Zoë West highlight the daily tragedy of Burmese oppression through a series of interviews with once-ordinary citizens, of whom all have either fled or been forced from their native land. It is readily apparent to readers that the authors consider no voice too small to be heard. Nowhere to be Home is the collective experience of mothers and sons, prisoners and soldiers, monks and sex workers who were forced to remain silent about their own victimization in Burma, brought to light for the first time.
From the outset, it is apparent that many of the voices retelling their experiences are undereducated, if at all. Stories are broken, fragmented accounts reflecting the fragile psyche of each individual victim. This works for the authors, constantly reminding the reader that these are not professionals reciting well-worn acts. Despite the apparent simplicity of each narrative, the stories flow easily, and are well-directed. Once a particular survivor draws you in, you feel compelled to explore every word of their story before putting the book down. Thankfully, chapters are short, concise, and striking, each leaving a new impression on the reader, and granting new insights into the lives of millions still living in poverty and fear.
David A. L. Brown is a staff writer and reviewer for Synchronized Chaos Magazine. Brown may be reached at brown.davidal@gmail.com.
The overarching direction of the book is guided by where each interview took place, first whisking the reader off to Thailand, then to Malaysia, Bangladesh, Burma, and finally closing on the accounts of refugees now living in the United States. This Burmese diaspora most plainly demonstrates the scope of social oppression, and underlines the theme that there is no individual freedom while one’s country is not free. While it can be easy to lose track of where each victim is, the stories are uniformly horrifying—the rape victim forced by court order to marry her rapist; the fourteen-year-old girl sold into sexual slavery by her aunt; the veteran soldier now fighting the army he once commanded. As each witness struggles to make peace with their experience, West and Lemere challenge the reader to make sense of a world that allows these tragedies to occur.
Ultimately, Nowhere to be Home exceeds the high standards established by the Voice of Witness series. The conflict is presented in a grounded, realistic manner, respectful of the victims while clearly outlining the abuses of the people by a government motivated only by its own security. This beautifully-bound gem is a testament to the legacy of a people who are constantly imperiled by their struggle to survive. If you are new to the Voice of Witness series, now is the time to acquaint yourself with their work. Make Nowhere to be Home at home on your nightstand, or in your library, or in your college classroom. It is a text as jarring as it is educational, and may just make enough of an impact to spark real political change in one of the world’s darkest corners.