Shwezigon Paya, Bagan, Myanmar, January 2014
The woman next to me on the slow boat between Mandalay and Bagan is getting ready to disembark. But first she engages in one of the most common rituals in Burma – the application of Thanaka – a yellow cosmetic paste made from the bark of a tree. The paste is said to protect against the sun and to enhance the wearer’s beauty.
Almost every woman and girl in Burma wears Thanaka, and some men are partial to it as well. Young girls and boys go overboard with thick layers and outrageous patterns on their faces, while grown-up women employ a more subtle touch. The tree Thanaka is produced from takes seven years to mature – the ilder the wood, the higher the price.
These days, the paste can be bought ready-made but the traditional way is to make it yourself.
„Things haven’t changed much here for a few thousand years. On the other hand, just one visit can change you forever.“
I had the rare opportunity to see the political cabaret of the Moustache Brothers in Mandalay. After the show they talked to me about their lives under the military regime in Burma. „We do not have fear, but every joke can bring us in prison again“, Lu Maw told me. From 1996 to 2003 they stayed in a forced labour camp because they performed freely on the compound oft Aung San Suu Kyi, today the charismatic leader of Burma. One of their members died already, the other lost in prison his eyesight, but they continue with their performance. There are no local visitors because everybody risks to get imprisoned when they attend the show. I did enjoy very much this evening with them. They asked me to write about it, because the more international attention they get the more safety is guaranteed for them. And, of course, I will.
After their release in 2002 the reunited Moustache Brothers remained blacklisted from playing at outside events (marriages, funerals and so on). However, they played a series of gala performances at home attended – inevitably – by government agents. The regional commander soon said to Par Par Lay not to perform at home anymore. When he got home, some tourists had already gathered for that night’s show, and he and his family imaginatively decided to perform without costumes and makeup. Thus the show went on for the tourists (and the KGB people – Lu Maw´s nickname for Myanmar´s military intelligence). They explained they were merely “demonstrating” a performance, since they could not do a “real” one without costumes. Somehow it worked.
“They have ordered us to stop 6 times”, says Lu Maw. “But it goes in one ear and out the other. That´s our job!” The performance has become exclusively for tourists. Locals who attend would probably be followed by the police, but foreigners experience no problems.
Following the September 2007 demonstrations, Par Par Lay suffered another month in jail, but the shows have never stopped. They are still performed in a single room with just a dozen plastic chairs a yard away from the performers. Par Par Lay died in August 2013 of cancer; Lu Maw and Lu Zaw are continuing with the shows.
January 2014
It took me almost 20 years to come back to Burma. Since I met Aung San Suu Kyi for an interview in 1996 I did/could not enter the country another time. Now – with new reforms – it is possible for me again …
Schwer verletzte und misshandelte Jagdhündin, von Caroline Waggershauser gefunden.
Caroline Waggershauser: „Nur drei Wochen konnte sie bei mir sein. Gerade eben hat mich die Tierärztin angerufen: Absolutes Nierenversagen. Klar, bei diesem Scheißleben, dass die Arme in diesen vor Kot und vor Urin starrenden Zwingern führen musste, bei trockenem Brot und faulem Wasser.
Sie bat mich, die Hündin einschläfern zu dürfen, um ihr weiteres Leid zu ersparen, es sei nichts mehr zu machen.
2 Wochen später ging es ihr schon viel besser.
Natürlich habe ich meine Zustimmung gegeben. So sehr ich mich auch gefreut hatte, ihr ein neues Leben schenken zu dürfen.Ees durfte nicht sein. Ich bin so niedergeschlagen. es waren drei intensive Wochen, ich war nur noch für sie da. Alle zwei Stunden
Flüssigkeitsaufnahme, Serum spritzen, Medikamente kaufen und geben. Hin und her Rennerei, extra für sie Futter zubereiten, sie säubern, wenn sie sabberte oder wenn sie Durchfall hatte oder sich erbrach. Die letzten drei tage musste ich sie überall hin auf den armen tragen, weil sie sich nicht mehr auf den Beinen halten konnte. Von ihrem Platz aufs Sofa, vom Sofa raus in den Garten und wieder zurück.
Und dabei hatte ich vor ein paar Tagen noch Hoffnung geschöpft: Einen Moment hatte ich sie aus den Augen gelassen und da war sie weg. Ich renne
über die Terrasse, da sehe ich sie, wie sie runter zu den Hasen will. Ich glaube, der Instinkt eines Jagdhundes ist das letzte, was im Hirn erlischt. Und gestern, als ich sie mit einem Schal aufrecht hielt, den ich um ihren Brustkorb geschlungen hatte, schnupperte sie unentwegt in den Wald hinüber, wo im Tal gerade eine Jagd im Gange war. Sie hörte Schüsse und Hundegeheul. Vielleicht wäre sie gern dabei gewesen.
Jetzt ist sie schon tot. Ich bin traurig, denn ich hatte mich darauf gefreut, ihr eine Zukunft geben zu können. Nun ist sie im Reich der Schatten. Kein Herumtoben mehr, kein weiches und warmes Plätzchen, auf dem man sich toll zusammenrollen kann. Es ist vorbei.“
Der letzte Blick.
Fotos: C. Waggershauser
Der frühere Besitzer ist bekannt.
Mandalay Hill, Myanmar, January 2014
„Das neue Jahr sieht mich freundlich an und ich lasse das alte mit seinem Sonnenschein und seinen Wolken ruhig hinter mir!“
Johann Wolfgang von Goethe
I’ve seen the world last year. Most of the time I could combine work with travelling. I have been to Asia, East and South East Europe and Africa. I’ve seen incredible monuments in Asia, have been in a country which is now on the edge of a civil war, relaxed in the best corners of Asia and passed my green belt in Karate. It’s been a great year full of joy, health and happiness! Not only I travelled a lot, I’ve met many new and old people. Without you my Blog would not be so successfully and well known. It wouldn’t be the same without you. Thanks for that.
Family meeting in Switzerland.
Angkor Wat, Cambodia.
Exploring the busy streets of Saigon in a rickshaw.
Boat trip on the Mekong.
FCC, Phnom Penh.
Winter holidays.
Art in London.
Enjoying the tranquility of Masuria.
Taksim Square, Istanbul.
Art Opening, Istanbul.
At a beach in Romania.
Nightclubbing with friends.
Camp Marmal, Afghanistan.
Redeployment, Afghanistan.
Working as a journalist, Afghanistan.
Masar-i Sharif, Afghanistan.
Costa Smeralda, Sardinia.
Best friends, Sardinia.
Sailing, Sardinia.
Meeting with friends.
Visitors of our art festival in Randersacker, my home village.
Working in South Sudan.
Field trip, South Sudan.
Village kids, South Sudan.
Interview with Leprosy patients, South Sudan.
Talking with a patient in a hospital in South Sudan.
Equator, Uganda.
Touching stories, Uganda.
Village life, South West Uganda.
Passing my greet belt.
Outdoor Karate.
My 7,5 meters (24,7 feet) jump!
Travelling with my dog.
At my friend’s farm in Germany.
East Side Gallery, Berlin.
Art Collection Gunter Sachs I
Art Collection Gunter Sachs II
Presenting my work.
Dinner with friends.
Visiting Santa Claus.
See you soon again! Wanna join me on Instagram too?!
„To travel is to take a journey into yourself.“
Danny Kaye
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