Journalist Mamalay - Comrade Father's Memoir

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This was a time when there were many signs that Burma would soon gain independence with the help of Japan.

I was filled with joy like I had never felt before in my life. I had always thought that freedom, like the gold, silver, and gold of the alchemists, would eventually turn to ashes.

Now, I am so happy because of the sounds of freedom that are ringing in my ears.

My situation is that my belongings are still damaged by the war. My eyesight is getting worse day by day. I am also suffering from dysentery and mental illness. My situation is completely hopeless in every way. However, I have a son to rely on.

He is 16 years old. I rely on him very much. No matter how bad my situation gets, he still has a son who can help me in some way, and he is happy even though he is poor on all sides without thinking about the future. Soon, he secretly joined the army without informing me.

I was very shocked. I was shocked because I knew what was going to happen to me in the future. He was just a child. He was still very young and he was very eager to join the army, so I tried to stop him. I couldn't stop him. He joined the army without telling me.

I don't forbid him. I just forbid him. I don't forbid him. I have two purposes in not forbidding him. His progress and my own, as a patriotic person, hope for a long-lasting independence for Burma.

My relatives and friends learned that he had joined the army. Some of them, knowing my poor life, blamed me. Some did not blame me. Some were jealous of my son and sent their own sons to the army because they had connections. Others, not caring about the young people's active spirit or because they had no patriotism, began to criticize and criticize me in various ways.

This group of people disagreed with me and started to speak out against me.

He joined the army and my situation is getting worse day by day. I am also suffering from the effects of the war day by day. The disease is tormenting me day by day. My eyesight is getting weaker and weaker. The cost of medicine and food is increasing manifold. I have to spend excessively on what I cannot find like others, and I have nothing valuable left to rely on.

My house has been robbed three times. I have also been robbed five times. All my belongings, including my blanket, mosquito net, clothes, and all my valuables, are gone.

Even though troubles surround me, I am not discouraged. I am determined to see the good in everything that happens. My son comes home from school every Sunday. I am delighted to hear his stories of military skill and his life, which he tells me with great joy.

It was Sunday. I had been waiting for him all morning, starting early in the morning. He arrived around 11 o'clock.

His sisters had nothing to eat when he came, but they cooked everything for him to eat. He sat down and ate everything they had cooked. I felt sad when I saw him eating so happily. The best food his sisters had prepared for him was boiled beans and fish paste.

"Every day at the military school, he eats a variety of pork, chicken, fish, and other dishes, all with a lot of fat. He doesn't want to eat fish paste and boiled beans to please his family, so he pretends to eat them."

I felt sad thinking about this, wondering if I wouldn't be able to feed him properly.

"Son... if there's a special matter, can I write to you?"

After eating, they gathered around and talked as usual.

“Yes, father’s... Maung Khin Maung, number 12, Primary Military Training School, fifth week, if you write “Myanmar Army”, you will arrive.”

"They say the Japanese beat you up a lot, right?"

"I'll hit you, Dad."

He smiled back and said.

"If you do this, you're insulting me."

He saw my face darken and replied without a smile.

"What's wrong with insulting me, Father... They're teachers, we're students, how can a teacher insult a student? He teaches hard with the intention of wanting us to learn martial arts. We're just being beaten up because we can't keep up."

I frowned and replied.

"I'm not going to punish you... I can punish you with my mouth. I can punish you with a stick. Isn't slapping you like this the same as insulting you?"

He knew I didn't like being slapped, so he replied with a few slaps.

"This is it, father... No matter what they do, our goal is to gain knowledge. Now, instead of just being slapped, we'll be kicked with our heels and knees. Military knowledge is the most important thing, father."

"I'm grateful for the good food and military training... but how would my father feel if I slapped him?"

"Food?"

He changed his expression from his original expression to something neither sweet nor sour, so that I couldn't tell whether he wanted to tell me or was happy.