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A14 PEOPLE / ARTS
Tuesday 3 sepTember 2024
Q&A: Author Clare Hammond reveals how railways made and

broke Myanmar

By SAM HARSHBARGER Burmese state. So broadly,
Associated Press in military terms, I think that
BANGKOK (AP) — For three probably is considered a
months in 2016, a British success.
journalist working in Myan- Obviously, it wasn’t suc-
mar traveled across the cessful for the people, who
Southeast Asian country on suffered because of it.
trains with a mission to find AP: You write about public
out where they led, who memory of how the armed
built them, and why. forces became so power-
Clare Hammond arrived in ful. How do the railroads
Myanmar during a period come into play?
of hope amid a transition HAMMOND: Yes, it was a
to civilian rule, as Aung strategy. It was no coinci-
San Suu Kyi was coming to dence that the stories that
power after her decades people told me all across
of struggle against military the country were so similar
rule. to one another.
Hammond recounts her I think they built these
travels in “On the Shadow railways purposefully to
Tracks: A Journey through strengthen themselves. I
Occupied Myanmar,” pub- think the interesting parallel
lished in June, which be- that we could make with
gan after she came across An employee steps into a diesel railcar on a railway connecting the Bawdwin mine in Myanmar’s what the British did as well
a map showing a far more Shan State with the nearby town of Namtu in November 2016. was that there was this kind
extensive railway network Associated Press of element of deception of
than she had anticipated. labor, environmental deg- The Associated Press asked expansion that took place, propaganda.
The rails carried troops and radation, and repression, Hammond to explore what many parts of the country In all official documents
supplies deep into Myan- she also grapples with the her time traveling on Myan- were not really controlled and media reports and so
mar’s interior, first on behalf promise and limitations of mar’s trains reveals about by the state. on, they talked about how
of the British and later the Myanmar’s short period of the country’s past, present They were controlled by what they were doing was
Myanmar military. Follow- democratization which the and future. various different ethnic for the people.
ing these tracks, Hammond Myanmar military brought This interview has been ed- armed groups, and they It was to develop the na-
uses the railways as a lens to an end when it seized ited for clarity and length. weren’t really connected tion. It was to bring in mo-
to understand the recent power in February 2021. AP: Did the railroads to the central Burmese dernity. It would help rural
troubled history of Myan- Now the country is mired achieve the military’s state. people bring their produce
mar, formerly Burma. in civil war after nonviolent goals? After the railways were to market. That’s what a lot
As Hammond confronts protests against the take- HAMMOND: Before they built, those parts of the of the British railway reports
Myanmar’s successive rul- over segued into a nation- built the railways and the country were tied much focused on as well: the lo-
ers’ records of coerced wide armed resistance. attendant massive military more closely to the central cal economy.q

Could Oasis reunion come early? Saudi boxing promoter wants

Liam and Noel together at Sept. 21 bout

By STEVE DOUGLAS too.
AP Sports Writer “It will be something amazing if we get
The Oasis reunion could come earlier than them together,” the chairman of Saudi
expected. Arabia’s General Entertainment Authority
The Britpop-era band ended a 15-year hi- said in an interview with British radio sta-
atus last week by announcing a tour of the tion talkSPORT. “We will try, we will try. Why
British Isles next summer, with 17 gigs selling not?”
out on Saturday following a scramble for Oasis’ representatives didn’t immediately
tickets by Oasis fans. respond when contacted by The Associ-
However, Liam and Noel Gallagher, the ated Press.
once-feuding brothers who are the face Oil-rich Saudi Arabia has become a major
of Oasis, could be on the stage together player in sports, enticing top soccer play-
way before then if a Saudi boxing promot- ers like Cristiano Ronaldo and Neymar to
er gets his own way. the kingdom, setting up a breakaway golf
Liam is slated to perform some hits at series, and also being the host to many
Wembley Stadium in London on Sept. 21 high-profile boxing fights by offering lucra-
ahead of the world heavyweight title fight tive purses.
between Anthony Joshua and Daniel Du- Online ticket sites strained under demand
bois, when more than 90,000 spectators for Oasis’ first shows for 15 years, with pric-
Liam Gallagher performs at the Reading Music Festival, England
on Aug. 29, 2021, left, and Noel Gallagher performs at the are set to attend. es starting at about 74 pounds (just under
Glastonbury Festival in Worthy Farm, Somerset, England, on Turki Alalshikh, the Saudi advisor who orga- $100) and rising to a 506-pound ($666)
June 25, 2022. nizes boxing events for the kingdom, said package that includes a pre-show party
Associated Press Monday he wants Noel to be at Wembley, and merchandise. All tickets sold out.q