{"product_id":"fifty-years-in-the-karen-revolution-in-burma-the-soldier-and-the-teacher-9781501746949","title":"Fifty Years in the Karen Revolution in Burma: The Soldier and the Teacher","description":"\u003cp\u003e\u003ci\u003eFifty Years in the Karen Revolution in Burma\u003c\/i\u003e is about commitment to an ideal, individual survival and the universality of the human experience. A memoir of two tenacious souls, it sheds light on why Burma\/Myanmar's decades-long pursuit for a peaceful and democratic future has been elusive. Simply put, the aspirations of Burma's ethnic nationalities for self-determination within a genuine federal union runs counter to the idea of a unitary state orchestrated and run by the dominant majority Burmans, or Bamar.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eThis seemingly intractable dilemma of opposing visions for Burma is personified in the story of Saw Ralph and Naw Sheera, two prominent ethnic Karen leaders who lived--and eventually left--\"the Longest War,\" leaving the reader with insights on the cultural, social, and political challenges facing other non-Burman ethnic nationalities.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e\u003ci\u003eFifty Years in the Karen Revolution in Burma\u003c\/i\u003e is also about the ordinariness and universality of the challenges increasingly faced by diaspora communities around the world today. Saw Ralph and Naw Sheera's day to day lives--how they fell in love, married, had children--while trying to survive in a precarious war zone--and how they had to adapt to their new lives as refugees and immigrants in Australia will resound with many.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eAbout the Author\u003c\/b\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cp\u003eSaw Ralph retired as Brigadier General of the Karen National Liberation Army (KNLA), the military branch of the Karen National Union.\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003eNaw Sheera is a school teacher and former leader in the Karen Women's Organization (KWO).\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cbr\u003e","brand":"Southeast Asia Program Publications","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":50416462004498,"sku":"9781501746949","price":35.99,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0831\/4771\/8930\/files\/img_1f21d7a1-bf3f-4f6c-971d-b9faf01c6310.jpg?v=1729421781","url":"https:\/\/surprise-castle.myshopify.com\/products\/fifty-years-in-the-karen-revolution-in-burma-the-soldier-and-the-teacher-9781501746949","provider":"Surprise Castle","version":"1.0","type":"link"}