[October 16, 2023] ဍုံထ်ုအင်, ထီ့ခါန်ႋဖၠုံ
Updated [ဗုဒ္ဓဝါႋ၊ January 3, 2024] ဍုံထ်ုအင်, ထီ့ခါန်ႋဖၠုံ

Where am I? What have I been doing?

As I jot down these thoughts, I sense an impending crisis. Could it be my quarter-life crisis? Interestingly, a friend once remarked that I’ve grappled with existential crises ever since we first met. Admittedly, they weren’t entirely wrong. I am in my late 20s, and I’ve been pondering my age lately. In a few days, I’ll be moving to a monastic boarding school to continue the government high school studies, which follow the newly implemented national education curriculum. To read more about Myanmar National Education Strategic Plan 2016-21 and Myanmar National Education Strategic Plan 2021-2030 The prospect is overwhelming, especially considering the “limited” time I have at my disposal. Yet, there’s a profound sense of excitement in knowing that I’ll be learning alongside my young students, including novices and nuns I had the privilege of teaching over the summer. These students come from various ethnic groups in less developed communities across the countryside of Myanmar. This presents the best opportunity to share my knowledge and experiences with them, even though I sometimes doubt why I continue imparting my insights while I’m still accumulating my own.

Academic Pursuits and Career

For the time being, I’m also enrolled in online classes to obtain my Bachelor’s degree within the next two years. I’ve opted for Business Administration this time around, as my computer science credits were not fully transferred as major credits. At the end of this term, I’ll secure my Associate degree. Looking around, I see peers who are married, raising families, pursuing Ph.D. degrees, conducting high-level research, climbing the corporate ladder, becoming startup founders, establishing themselves as CEOs, and successfully taking over family businesses. On the other hand, there’s me - caught in a moment of self-reflection, questioning where I stand now and where I’ll be in the next three to four years. I recently came across a video by Justin Kan, which briefly explained Why Your 30s are Better Than Your 20s.

Family, Relatives, and Friends

Unpacking the baggage brings me to my family situation. Both of my parents are away for reasons I’ll leave to your imagination. My sister is pursuing her studies in the States. Interestingly, my journey led me back to Myanmar to be close to my family, only to encounter this separation. Presently, I find myself residing with my grandmother and relatives. This living arrangement is a fulfillment of my mother’s wish to be close to her mother, even though she cannot be physically present. It’s been more than a year of living with my grandmother, bridging family bonds. In Burmese, I would express it as: ‘ကြွေးဟောင်းဆပ်ခြင်း။,’ signifying the act of dedicating our time to the elderly. Apart from my cousins, among the friends who remain in my circle are a few of my middle school friends from my hometown, and a few from out of state.

Reflection on Career Choices

Reflecting on my career choices and life decisions, I can’t help but ponder how things could have turned out if I’d stuck to computer science and graduated. Perhaps I’d be working for one of those tech companies in the States or launching startups elsewhere. There had been countless opportunities, but my calling always led me back home, just as it did even before I left for further studies. Indeed, I returned to what I once thought home, Yangon. However, the unfolding of events during the COVID-19 pandemic, the 2020 Myanmar general election, and its aftermath revealed that my true home is my hometown, Hpa-An, the capital of the State of Karen.

Upon honest reflection, had I continued pursuing my career in Yangon, I might have found myself climbing the corporate ladder. But my disposition in a corporate environment might have been short-lived, perhaps lasting no more than 2 or 3 months. Even if I had returned to work at startups, the prospect of a well-paying position and the scope of outcome would not have guaranteed contentment. Nevertheless, my heart and passion remain dedicated to startups, recognizing the pressing need for innovation and disruption in the domains of culture, society, and technology, not only within Myanmar but also in the State of Karen and its diverse communities.

Passion for Learning and Cultural Connection

So what have I been learning these years? Reconnecting with my roots, I’ve managed to engage in basic conversations in East Pwo Karen, and I’ve completed the basic East Pwo Karen summer class at the Taunggalay monastery. To get comfortable with EPK typing, I also designed a Mac keyboard for MacOS using Ukelele from SIL Language Technology. While the mobile app keyboard project using Keyman Developer has encountered certain obstacles, I take great pride in achieving this significant milestone. This accomplishment represents more than just a personal success; it signifies my contribution to revitalizing one of our country’s native languages that is fading away. I have also been inspired by the work of Eliezer Ben-Yehuda on the revival of the Hebrew language.

Teaching summer courses at the monastery, my proficiency in East Pwo Karen has improved immensely advantageous in comprehending the challenges these students face. Through our shared language, I’ve gained access to more authentic and heartfelt thoughts and feelings of the local people, enhancing my understanding of the culture and distinctive characteristics of the East Pwo Karen community, which subtly differ from those of other Karen tribes like the Sgaw Karen. This cultural immersion has also unveiled to me a new chapter in understanding local politics, and its vital role in building the foundation of this country and its people of different nations regardless of the ever-changing political landscape of the region.

As a side note, why do I categorize East Pwo Karen as a dwindling or endangered language? To put it into perspective, among my 10 maternal cousins who share East Pwo Karen heritage, only 3 are able to converse in the language. Similarly, among my 7 paternal cousins, just 2 retain the ability. (Update: I just found out that the two cousins whom I thought could speak EPK can no longer speak anymore.) To provide a broader context, out of a total of 18 individuals with mixed and non-mixed East Pwo Karen heritage, only 4, myself included, can communicate in this language. Out of my four nieces and nephews from both sides, none can speak the language. This obviously indicates that the language is not being passed down to the next generation, suggesting a significant risk of language loss within my family tree. I am not sure about other Karenic languages but the survival rate of this language is alarmingly low.

Shifting Interests

Speaking of my tech career, it’s becoming increasingly apparent that I’ve always been more inclined toward a broader perspective than deep technical details. Even though I occasionally read about technical subjects and dabble in them, I’ve recently immersed myself in the fields of finance and economics. Currently, I’m studying topics I wish I had known during my startup days, such as equity, valuation, and venture capital. The cycle remains incomplete, but I’m getting closer. Shifting from tech to finance. A friend of mine playfully remarked that I’m transitioning from a tech bro to a finance bro. My recent learning content involves delving into macroeconomics, encompassing central banking, interest rates, and fiscal and monetary policies, along with related topics like investment banking and asset management. Regrettably, Myanmar leans heavily on the labor market, neglecting the potential of the capital market. Myanmar stands as one of the least densely populated countries in comparison to its vast size and relative to neighboring nations. So, it’s crucial to recognize that foreign companies flock to China not solely for cheap labor but also for its skilled workforce.

Passion for History and Politics

My recent focus has been on maintaining the WordPress website, www.mahar.asia, where I’ve read nearly all the articles authored by a monk I consider my mentor. These articles predominantly delve into the history and politics of Myanmar, shedding light on what went wrong and right. They explore the reasons for popular uprisings, ethnic conflicts, government decisions, and transitions of power. How the country’s leaders could have steered it in a different direction, fostering greater harmony and collaboration among the various ethnic groups. The dynamics of power transitioning from different groups, including the Thakins (သခင်), military generals (ဗိုလ်), and civilians (U ဦး). The recurring challenges of military takeovers and their impact on the country, both in terms of fending off foreign interventions and internal issues. The persisting influence of the “30 comrades” and their descendants in shaping the country’s political landscape. The potential for compromise between Myanmar and ASEAN for the sake of regional peace, stability, prosperity, and development. The country and its people’s readiness for the future and the balance of power among legislative, executive, and judicial branches. The often-unspoken influence of corrupt government officials who retain power regardless of political changes. The complex path to achieving and maintaining peace among ethnic armed groups and the idea of basing Myanmar’s federalism on regions and states rather than ethnicity. These insights have unveiled a better understanding of local politics and how these politics form the building blocks of the nation, transcending the region’s ever-evolving political landscape. Looking ahead, I aspire to translate these articles into English, Sgaw Karen, and Pwo Karen from their original Burmese text. This endeavor seeks to provide the world, especially the Karen ethnic groups, with a deeper understanding of Myanmar’s political history. The goal is to promote peaceful resolutions and civilized dialogue, avoiding armed conflict and violence, which have been proxies for larger forces. These articles were initially published in the Myanmar Herald and have been digitally preserved on the Mahar Pyinnyar website.

Academic Exploration

Beyond the history and politics of Myanmar, I’ve also been into the works of philosophers like Thomas Hobbes’ ‘Leviathan,’ Nicolo Machiavelli’s ‘The Prince,’ Chanakya’s ‘Arthashastra,’ Tawmi Rahan’s ‘Avihimsa Politics,’ and Balaji Srinivasen’s ‘The Network State.’ These texts have somewhat enriched my perspective and deepened my understanding of social, and political philosophy and strategy.

To read more: A thesis which emphasizes how Kautilya‘s Arthashastra guides a wise king to further the national interests of the state that center on issues of security, wealth, and prestige.

I shall pause here since I may have flooded your mind with various thoughts. အ်ှဆံင်းလာဆာ် (A common greeting in EPK)