For five years and six months, Ma Thida sat in a jail cell in what was then called Burma. Though close to death and in poor health, what got the writer, doctor and activist through was meditation, she said.
“I never felt like a victim,” Thida said. “The only one who could hurt me was me.”
Thida addressed a small crowd of Boston University students and faculty members in a lecture titled “A Story for Burma,” sponsored by the BU Center for the Study of Asia, on Tuesday.
Thida worked as a doctor at a nonprofit clinical hospital from 1991 to 2008, except for the five years she spent in prison. In 1985, she began writing, and has since written over 80 short stories, a novel titled “Sunflower” and commentary for a literature magazine.
Thida, a resident scholar at the Radcliffe Institute for Advanced Studies at Harvard University this year, has received several awards for her writing, such as the Reebok Human Rights Award.
“Most of literature writers write indirectly and ambiguously so people can read between the lines,” she said.
History professor Eugenio Menegon, who coordinated the talk, said the lecture was important because it enlightened students on Asian culture.
“We think that students have so much to gain by understanding Asian societies and politics, so that they can become better citizens of the world,” he said.
Menegon said he thinks the situation in Burma, which is now called Myanmar, should always be on people’s radar because Myanmar deserves a better future.
“This lecture shows how literature can be a powerful tool to both heal the wounds,” he said. “It heals the past and gives hope for the future.”
In her lecture, Thida gave her account of living under a military government. She described the country as a place filled with business cronies with agendas.
In Myanmar, people are never truly free, and even today, freedom is not achievable, Thida said.
Thida also shared her experiences on serving in prison.
As an active member of the National League for Democracy, the opposition party, she was targeted by the military government because she advocated for human rights and political freedom.
She was sentenced to jail after reading a banned weekly journal, but was convicted on charges of endangering public serenity and contacting illegal organizations, she said.
Every two weeks, she was allowed 15 minutes with her family. During her time in jail, she said discovered that she couldn’t be free from the eternal universe without mediation.
“The only way to change one’s future is meditation,” she said.
Thida concluded her speech by reading one of her stories titled “Still Waiting.”
Attendees said they found the lecture eye-opening.
“Even though I came for a class, her story and what she has to offer is very interesting and important,” said College of General Studies sophomore Alexander Dow. “I like how she dove right in. She let us interpret the true meanings.”
“This is something to care about,” said attendee and Boston College graduate student Natalene Ong.
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