For Us Surrender Is Out of the Question: a Story from Burma's Never-Ending War

401 Pages·2010·9.224 MB·English

by  McClelland, Mac

U.S. $15.95 CURRENT AFFAIRS F
O
R
“Alternately poignant and raucous, angry and heartbreaking . . . U
McClelland’s reporting is very much from-the-ground-up, far livelier S
than we will ever get from the average foreign correspondent.” S
—Adam Hochschild U
R
R
E
n 2006, Mac McClelland arrived as a volunteer in Thailand and N
D
unexpectedly found herself living with associates of a U.S.-designated
E
terrorist organization engaged in battling Burma’s dictatorship. Her R

staggering story explores the world’s longest-running war, seen from I
S
the point of view of her housemates, refugees who risk their lives
O
documenting their government’s secret ethnic-cleansing campaign.
U
Intensely engaging and extensively researched, For Us Surrender Is Out T

of the Question is an intimate account of McClelland’s time among O
F
Burmese rebels—whose country, she discovers, shares surprising histori-

T
cal and contemporary entanglements with our own.
H
E

Q
“For Us Surrender Is Out of the Question makes a faraway group of U
E
refugees feel like close friends. For a book about such a dire S
situation, it is a surprisingly entertaining read.” T
I
—Ann Friedman, Deputy Editor of The American Prospect O FOR US
N

“A story you almost certainly haven’t heard, but should.” •
—Justin Elliott, News Editor of Talking Points Memo M SURRENDER
A
C
IS OUT OF THE QUESTION
Mac McClelland is a writer and editor at Mother Jones. M
Her work has also appeared in The Nation, GQ South c
C
Africa, Orion, and Hustler, among other publications.
L
A story from Burma's never-ending war
E
L
L
A MAC McCLELLAND
N
D
“Gritty, informed, passionate . . . McClelland's gonzo sensibility,
Cover design by Adrian Kinloch
big heart, and keen eye for weird details bring this tale of inhuman
Author photo by Hans Kwiotek
cruelty and human resilience vividly alive.”
Soft Skull Press —Gary Kamiya, cofounder of Salon
An Imprint of COUNTERPOINT
www.softskull.com
Distributed by Publishers Group West
For Us

sUrrender
Is oUt oF the QUestIon
6742_ForUsSurrenderIs[fin] .indd 1 12/18/09 2:03:00 PM
6742_ForUsSurrenderIs[fin] .indd 2 12/18/09 2:03:00 PM
For Us

sUrrender
Is oUt oF the QUestIon
A story from Burma’s never-ending war
mac m clelland
c
soft skull
6742_ForUsSurrenderIs[fin] .indd 3 12/18/09 2:03:00 PM
Copyright © 2010 by Mac McClelland.
All rights reserved under International and Pan-American Copyright Conventions.
Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data
McClelland, Mac.
For us surrender is out of the question : a story from Burma’s never-ending war / Mac
McClelland.
p. cm.
Includes bibliographical references and index.
ISBN 978-1-59376-265-0 (alk. paper)
1. McClelland, Mac. 2. Women political activists—Burma—Biography. 3. Political
activists—Burma—Biography. 4. Americans—Burma—Biography. 5. Burma—History—1948
6. Burma—Politics and government—1988- 7. Ethnic conflict—Burma. 8. Social conflict—
Burma. 9. Burma—Social conditions. I. Title. DS530.53.M37A3 2010
959.105—dc22
2009043448
Cover design by Adrian Kinloch
Interior design by Elyse Strongin, Neuwirth & Associates, Inc.
Printed in the United States of America
Soft Skull Press
An Imprint of Counterpoint LLC
2117 Fourth Street
Suite D
Berkeley, CA 94710
www.softskull.com
www.counterpointpress.com
Distributed by Publishers Group West
10 9 8 7 6 5 4 3 2 1
6742_ForUsSurrenderIs[fin] .indd 4 12/18/09 2:03:00 PM
BURMA
TIBET
BHUTAN
KACHIN
STATE
INDIA
BANGLADESH CHINA
SAGAING
DIVISION
CHIN
STATE SHAN STATE VIETNAM
MANDALAY
DIVISION
MAGWE
DIVISION
LAOS
ARAKAN STATE NaypyidKaASwRTAETNENI Ban Kwai/Nai Soi
BBeanyg oafl RDAIPNVEGISGOIUOONN KAREN STATE BMana eM Laae OSounr i&n Mae Ra Ma Luang
DIVISION Mae La
IRRAWADDY Rangoon Myawaddy Mae Sot
DIVISION MON Umpiem Mai
STATE
Nu Po
THAILAND
Ban Don Yang
Andaman
Sea
TEN Tham Hin
Legend ASSERIM
SNtaattioen/Dailv Bisoiounn dBaoruyndary DIVISION
Refugee Camp Gulf of
Thailand
© Map by KHRG [Karen Human Rights Group], 2007
UseFUl
1000 1940
▲
▲
1939
1057
Burmese civilians revolt;
Burman king starts war for all
British Empire strikes
of Burma; others within and
back, opening fire
outside country follow suit ▲
1945
▲ Allied Powers, with
1824 Karen and suddenly
British declare war Burman support, win
the first time (win) Burma
▲
▲ Dec. 1941
1852 Axis Power Japan, ▲
British declare war the with Burman support, 1947
second time (win) invades Burma Burmese
independence
agreement
▲
1885 signed; Karen
British declare war the National
third time (win again) Union formed;
Aung San
assassinated
1985 1990 1995
▲ ▲
1984 1995
KNU making millions; ▲ Manerplaw falls
Burma army steps up 1989
offensive/fights through Aung San Suu Kyi put under ▲
rainy season; 10,000 house arrest 1994
Burmese refugees in 80,000 Burmese
Thailand refugees in
▲
Thailand;
1988
Democratic
Burmese civilians revolt;
Karen Buddhist
government strikes back,
Army forms
opening fire
6742_ForUsSurrenderIs[fin] .indd 6 12/18/09 2:03:01 PM
dates
1950 1960 1970
▲
▲
1950
1960s
After contributing briefly to war
Four Cuts begins
effort and eternally to ideology
▲ of KNU, Ba U Gyi killed ▲
1945 1958
Allied Powers, with ▲ Government gives Ne Win
Karen and suddenly Jan. 4, 1948 temporary power to avoid a coup
Independence Day;
Burman support, win
UN Convention on the Prevention
Burma ▲
and Punishment of the Crime of
1962
Genocide
Ne Win, having lost election,
▲ takes power in a coup
1950s
US, fighting war on communism,
supports KMT rebels in Burma
▲
Jan. 31, 1949
Karen National Union
declares war on insurgent-
besieged Burma
2000 2005 2010
▲ ▲ ▲
1995 1997 ▲ 2009
Manerplaw falls Huay Kaloke burned down for 2003 50,000th
the first time; 48th anniversary Aung San Suu Kyi’s convoy Burmese
of KNU war; 105,000 Burmese attacked; US passes more refugee
refugees in Thailand; President sanctions leaves
Clinton mandates Burma Thailand.
sanctions; happy 16th birthday Camp
Htan Dah! population
still at
▲ ▲ 160,000.
1998 2007
Thailand accepts Burmese- Draft resolution on
refugee assistance from UNHCR Burma brought before
United Nations, vetoed;
monks lead massive
protest through Burma’s
streets, violently
smacked down
6742_ForUsSurrenderIs[fin] .indd 7 12/18/09 2:03:01 PM
6742_ForUsSurrenderIs[fin] .indd 8 12/18/09 2:03:02 PM
For Us

sUrrender
Is oUt oF the QUestIon
6742_ForUsSurrenderIs[fin] .indd 9 12/18/09 2:03:02 PM