Exposed Soul
Prologue:
鈥淲e are all in this together,鈥 posted by the听, March 16, 2020
鈥.鈥 That's the consoling statement I've been seeing lately on social media and in the news when fighting the global spread of coronavirus. However, I have been wondering if we are really in this together. In this moment, I feel as if听my soul has been exposed, a common Burmese expression 醼溼曖横曖坚欋溼 (latepya malone) to connote the feelings of guilt, shame, embarrassment, and insecurity. My soul is exposed precisely because we are听苍辞迟听in this together, at least not in the same way.
On March 23, 2020, the听听published a report on the nation鈥檚 first two positive cases of COVID-19. Subsequent reports on coronavirus cases paint a distinctive picture in Myanmar; that is, the virus travels from western countries like the US, England, and Europe to听. As the number of positive cases began to rise, Myanmar social media became saturated with public outrage, shaming returnees from western countries听飞颈迟丑听the virus. At the time of this writing,听and the Myanmar government has stopped issuing international visas.
Interlude:
Comment 1: 鈥淏ecause of those animals who return after getting green cards and those who only think highly of the foreign countries, now it鈥檚 all gone! It鈥檒l be a trouble if we have to close our businesses and lock down the nation. Why are we accepting everyone who returns?鈥
Comment 2: 鈥淭he present of those dogs who returned from abroad, they gave us the trouble and suffering!鈥
(Comments posted under theon the first reported cases of coronavirus in Myanmar on March 23, 2020)
I was born Burmese and am now a naturalized US citizen. I left Myanmar in 2012 at the age of 20. All my family members remain in Myanmar. Eight years later in 2020, the day after I became a citizen on January 31,. The ban limits future immigration, including family-based migration. The new barriers imposed between Myanmar and the US intensified the feelings of separation with my home country, now exacerbated in this pandemic.
In times of emergency we have an instinctive desire to be close to our loved ones. However, the xenophobic hatred towards expatriates in Myanmar challenges that desire in me. At the same time, it makes me question the privilege of choosing to expose my family to a potential threat of contagion just so I can feel closer to them.
The rhetoric of "we're all in this together" understandably tries to evoke a shared sense of vulnerability. Yet the outbreak inevitably underscores systemic hierarchies in our societies. National sovereignties and geographic border policies like the US travel ban have already split our bodies and minds apart. The spread of the coronavirus further stresses our existing differences in socioeconomic and immigration status, cultural and moral values, race, gender, age, (dis)ability status, and more. The international response to this pandemic today remains as fragmented as our own individual ability to cope with this crisis. My soul is exposed by the feelings of guilt from this realization and the shameful fact that we are听not really听all in this together.
Epilogue: 鈥淒ry or 醼佱坚贬醼横醼曖 (chautkat)鈥 streets of downtown Yangon, shared by a friend on Instagram Story, April 3, 2020
Acknowledgement: 醼欋溼夺丰愥溼 醼溼曖横曖坚醼 醼♂愥愥横斸搬勧横嗎夺 醼溼夺♂贬勧 醼栣夺羔曖贬羔愥册 Juan Garc铆a Oyervides 醼♂羔醼会贬羔囜搬羔愥勧横溼会醼
Chu May Paing
PhD Student, Department of Anthropology
chu.paing@colorado.edu