Burma Quotes

• This is Burma, and it will be quite unlike any land you know about.

  Rudyard Kipling

  Land, Knows

  "From Sea to Sea: Letters of Travel".

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• Those of us who decided to work for democracy in Burma made our choice in the conviction that the danger of standing up for basic human rights in a repressive society was preferable to the safety of a quiescent life in servitude

  Aung San

  Rights, Safety, Choices

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• You most likely know it as Myanmar, but it will always be Burma to me.

  John O'Hurley

  Knows

  "Fictional character: J. Peterman". TV Series "Seinfeld", www.imdb.com. 1989-1998.

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• The struggle for democracy and human rights in Burma is a struggle for life and dignity. It is a struggle that encompasses our political, social and economic aspirations.

  Aung San Suu Kyi

  Struggle, Rights, Political

  Aung San Suu Kyi's Opening Keynote Address at NGO Forum on Women, Beijing China, gos.sbc.edu. August 31, 1995.

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• Be careful about Burma. Most people cannot remember whether it was Siam and has become Thailand, or whether it is now part of Malaysia and should be called Sri Lanka.

  Alexander Cockburn

  Sri Lanka, People, Thailand

  Alexander Cockburn (1988). “Corruptions of Empire: Life Studies & the Reagan Era”, p.189, Verso

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• 

  It is not power that corrupts but fear.

  Aung San Suu Kyi

  Wielding Power, Corrupt Power, Power Corrupts

  Aung San Suu Kyi (1991). “Freedom from fear: and other writings”, Penguin (Non-Classics)

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• In Burma, we have only about four percent of the people in our country who are (college) graduates. So can we not value the majority? No, we must. If we just value the graduates, then does that mean our people are not valuable? I don't believe that. What is important is we need right people in right positions.

  Aung San Suu Kyi

  Country, Believe, Mean

  Source: www.rfa.org

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• The best way to help Burma is to empower the people of Burma, to help us have enough self-confidence to obtain what we want for ourselves.

  Aung San Suu Kyi

  Self Confidence, People, Empowering

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• I don't want Burma to be a basket case forever.

  Aung San Suu Kyi

  Forever, Want, Baskets

  BCUK Interview, burmacampaign.org.uk. June 17, 2002.

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• Like, Mission Of Burma to me always sounded almost like they were part of the British Arty New Wave. I kind of like that. I like not being able to tell the difference.

  Graham Coxon

  Differences, Able, Kind

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• I claim we got a hell of a beating. We got run out of Burma and it is as humiliating as hell. I think we ought to find out what caused it, go back and retake it.

  Joseph Stilwell

  Running, War, Thinking

  Joseph Warren Stilwell (2003). “The Stilwell papers”

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• Clearly, the Global Economy isn't working for workers in China and Indonesia and Burma any more than it is for workers here in the United States.

  John Sweeney

  Nike, United States, Economy

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• In the 'Nike Economy,' there are no standards, no borders and no rules. Clearly, the global economy isn't working for workers in China and Indonesia and Burma any more than it is for workers here in the United States.

  John J. Sweeney

  Nike, United States, Borders

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• In the last thirty years we have gained enormous amount of freedom (everywhere, except perhaps in places like Burma or North Korea), but we lost quite a large amount of security. Because of all sorts of reasons, because of globalization which stripped the nation state of a large part of its sovereignty away, because of the dismantling of the so-called welfare state. As a result, people feel simultaneously much freer and much more insecure.

  Zygmunt Bauman

  Insecure, Korea, Years

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• Fear is not the natural state of civilized people.

  Aung San Suu Kyi

  Fear, People, Basic Human Rights

  Aung San Suu Kyi (1991). “Freedom from fear: and other writings”, Penguin (Non-Classics)

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• I do not believe that the accident of birth makes people sisters and brothers. It makes them siblings. Gives them mutuality of parentage. Sisterhood and brotherhood are conditions people have to work at. It's a serious matter. You compromise, you give, you take, you stand firm, and you're relentless...And it is an investment. Sisterhood means if you happen to be in Burma and I happen to be in San Diego and I'm married to someone who is very jealous and you're married to somebody who is very possessive, if you call me in the middle of the night, I have to come.

  Maya Angelou

  Brother, Sibling, Believe

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• It is not power that corrupts but fear. Fear of losing power corrupts those who wield it and fear of the scourge of power corrupts those who are subject to it.

  Aung San Suu Kyi

  Inspirational, Motivational, Fear

  Aung San Suu Kyi (1991). “Freedom from fear: and other writings”, Penguin (Non-Classics)

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• With the right kind of institutions, starting with the rule of law, Burma could progress very quickly.

  Aung San Suu Kyi

  Law, Progress, Kind

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• Burma is located between China, India, and South East Asia. So it is quite natural that a country wanting diplomatic relations with our country would pay attention to who our regional neighbors are. It is not at all fair to ask a country to build relations with Burma but not take into account the situation in China. There is no way to think that taking the Chinese situation into consideration shows a disregard for Burma.

  Aung San Suu Kyi

  Country, Thinking, Chinese

  Source: www.voanews.com

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• It is essential to institute a legal framework that would ensure justice and improve the quality of life in Burma immediately, because the greatest suffering among the people at the moment is caused by lack of justice and lack of the rule of law.

  Aung San Suu Kyi

  Law, Justice, People

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• Nearly everywhere Buddhism went, there had been a higher level of literacy, even in miserable Burma, not to mention Thailand and Sri Lanka.

  Amartya Sen

  Buddhism, Sri Lanka, Levels

  Source: www.pbs.org

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• I still oppose "Visit Myanmar Year," and I would ask tourists to stay away. Burma is not going to run away. They should come back to Burma at a time when it is a democratic society where people are secure - where there is justice, where there is rule of law. They'll have a much better time. And they can travel around Burma with a clear conscience.

  Aung San Suu Kyi

  Running, Years, Law

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• This week I've travelled more than 15,000 miles from America to China to Burma to Australia. I have no idea what time it is right now.

  Barack Obama

  Memorable, Ideas, America

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• I love Southeast Asia. As a child, I lived in that part of the world. My first time in Burma was in 1958 with my parents.

  Muhtar Kent

  Children, Parent, World

  "Soft (Drink) Power". Interview with Ian Bremmer, foreignpolicy.com. April 29, 2013.

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• In Moulmein, in lower Burma, I was hated by large numbers of people - the only time in my life that I have been important enough for this to happen to me.

  George Orwell

  Numbers, People, Important

  "Shooting an Elephant" (1936)

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