The Golden Land (10 page)

‘Pony ride, Daddy!' squealed Charlotte.

‘Right. I'll take them, Nat. Do you want a coffee and some cake first?' asked Mark.

Natalie shook her head. ‘No, thanks. My tummy feels a bit wobbly. I'd like to see the man with the collectables and see if he's still got the screen I saw. If he has, can you throw it into the back of the station wagon?'

‘Of course. You go and chase him up. It's not a huge market, so I'll find you.' He took the children by the hand and walked off towards the pony rides.

Natalie walked past the stalls with their homemade goodies but she couldn't work up a lot of enthusiasm for them. She headed over to where she could see the collectables spread out on tables under the shade of a tree.

‘Hello there! You've come back,' the stall owner greeted her warmly.

‘Yes. Oh, good, you've still got the screen I saw last time. I was hoping it would still be here. I'll pay you for it, and my husband will come and get it for me.' She glanced at the selection on the tables and the larger items standing around. ‘I like that old Singer sewing machine. I have my grandmother's old one.'

‘Do you use it?'

Natalie laughed. ‘No. I use a modern sewing machine.'

‘Did you bring your Burmese souvenir that you were talking about? There's someone at the markets today who might be able to help you with it.'

‘Really? Here it is. Tell me what you think.' Natalie pulled the kammavaca from her handbag, took off the silk scarf it was wrapped in, opened the box and gently unfurled the scroll of painted images and writing.

‘I've seen these before. Palm-leaf manuscripts. They're quite common in South Asia, India, Sri Lanka, Thailand, those places. They're still made, of course. But this one is unusual.' He fingered it carefully. ‘It's made of cloth. Different. Illustrations are really beautiful. Could be worth a couple of hundred dollars, maybe. Thi might have a better idea.'

‘Thi? Who's that?'

‘Thi is Burmese. She's the one who runs the market though she's been in Australia for yonks. She's set up a school in a village in Burma and what we raise here at the market she sends over to keep it running.'

‘That's incredible! I mean, to find a Burmese woman here.' Natalie was a bit lost for words. ‘I've just been reading about Burma. In the old days. Is Thi here? I'd love to meet her.'

‘She'll be running around somewhere. You won't miss her. She's wearing a T-shirt with “Free Aung San Suu Kyi” printed on it.'

Natalie found Thi in the community garden energetically picking salad greens and tomatoes while directing another volunteer to add mulch and water to the garden beds. Someone sang out from the kitchen window to say that they needed some spring onions.

Shyly Natalie approached the small Burmese woman.

‘Hello, you must be Thi. I'm Natalie.'

Thi straightened up and gave Natalie a smile. She was probably in her fifties, her hair flecked with grey, her olive skin sun wrinkled, her eyes a sparkling brown. A large smile split her face. ‘That's me. How can I help?'

‘The man with the collectables and old wares suggested I see you. It's about something Burmese my great-great-uncle left me. I'm just beginning to learn about Burma.'

Thi reached out and touched Natalie's arm. ‘I always like talking about my country.'

She pointed to the picture on her T-shirt. ‘There's a lot that needs to change and many people need to help. Go and have a coffee and some cheesecake and I'll be with you soon.'

Natalie watched Thi bustle around among the patrons of the café, who mostly seemed to be locals. She was obviously well known as several people stopped her for a chat. She finally sat down opposite Natalie at the little table and looked at the iced water Natalie was drinking.

‘Oh, you need something to nibble on.'

Before Natalie could protest Thi popped into the kitchen and then came and sat back down.

‘Now we have a few minutes.'

‘Yes, sorry to interrupt. I can't stay too long; my husband has our two children out there somewhere,' began Natalie.

‘They'll find you when they want something.' Thi smiled. ‘Now, why are you interested in Burma?'

Briefly Natalie told her about Uncle Andrew then she pulled the kammavaca from her bag.

Thi chewed her lip, put the glasses that hung around her neck on a chain onto her nose and examined the kammavaca closely.

‘This is very beautiful. And it must be very special to be on this cloth.' She touched it reverently. ‘It is the colour of the monks' robes.'

Natalie told her what Andrew had written in his letter.

Thi nodded. ‘This kammavaca is very special. It was made with reverence for King Thibaw. It has travelled far from its rightful home. But at least it is intact. So many treasures have been destroyed.' She handed it back to Natalie. ‘What do you plan to do with it?'

‘Keep it, of course! But I was hoping to learn more about it. Maybe have the writing translated. My husband wonders if it is valuable,' she added.

Thi was thoughtful for a moment. ‘What is valuable to one might be less so to another. And something is worth what another will pay. I cannot give you a value. The writing on this side is old calligraphy, only a special scholar could translate it.'

A glass of juice and a small bowl of yoghurt and figs were put in front of Natalie.

Thi motioned her to eat and continued. ‘I'm glad you know something of Burma, so few people do. Our country is suffering. It is cut off from the rest of the world by the generals. They have committed many horrors. They take the wealth of the country for themselves and let the people struggle and starve.'

‘Yes, I heard about your school and how you send money from here,' said Natalie.

Thi waved a hand. ‘A drop in the ocean but I have to do it secretly. The generals do not allow foreign aid or any outside help into Burma. Our country is secretive but there are people risking their lives to get the word out about what goes on there – the atrocities the army are inflicting on dissidents and anyone who even hints at being critical of the regime.'

‘Do you ever go back to Burma?' asked Natalie.

‘No. It would be too dangerous. There are people who manage to get visas but it can be difficult. I always hope that things will change one day. There are good people around the world supporting Burma.'

‘I'm afraid I don't know very much about all this,' confessed Natalie.

‘Most people don't.'

‘I have a lot to learn,' said Natalie quietly. ‘I have heard about Aung San Suu Kyi but I'm not sure why she's so important.'

‘In Burma she is greatly loved. We call her “The Lady” because to speak her name can bring trouble on yourself.'

‘What has she done?'

Thi gently leaned over and took Natalie's hand. ‘The Lady has given up her freedom for our country. Would you like me to tell you why I say that?'

Natalie nodded.

‘After the Second World War, Burma was able to gain its independence from Britain and in the first elections General Aung San, who was the leader of the Burmese resistance, and his party won easily. But Burma remained a violent and divided country, and before he was able to take up government he and most of his cabinet were assassinated by members of the military. Aung San Suu Kyi was his daughter and she was only two years old.'

‘That's terrible,' murmured Natalie, but Thi continued as though she had not heard her.

‘Her mother was a diplomat and so Aung San Suu Kyi was educated abroad and at Oxford University. She married an Englishman and had two sons. She was leading the life of an academic's wife when her mother had a stroke so she flew back to Rangoon. At that time General Ne Win, who had been the dictator of Burma for many years, announced that he would retire. So there was an uprising among the people demanding free elections. The military brutally tried to suppress this movement so instead of flying back to Britain and her family Aung San Suu Kyi challenged the military. People were very pleased by this because they remembered how her father had stood up to the British. When her mother died there was a huge funeral and the military realised just how popular The Lady had become, so they forbade her to run into the election and put her under house arrest.'

‘That's unbelievable. What happened in the election?'

‘Her party, the National League for Democracy, got more than eighty per cent of the vote.'

‘That's amazing. Did she form a government?'

‘No, no. The generals ignored the results and kept her under house arrest.'

‘But didn't someone – the world or the UN – do something about it?' asked Natalie.

‘No, because although Aung San Suu Kyi won the Nobel Peace Prize, the Chinese backed the military junta. What was really cruel was that when she found out that her husband was dying, the military told her that she could leave Burma to look after him, but she knew that they would never let her back in again. She had to choose between her husband and doing the right thing for her country. She stayed in Burma and was never able to say goodbye to her husband.'

Natalie felt her tears welling up. ‘That is just awful. I can't imagine having to make such a decision. She sounds an extraordinary person.'

‘Yes,' said Thi. ‘She is. Sometimes the military release her from house arrest but when they see how popular she still is, they re-arrest her. It is very difficult for her to speak out to the world, or to her people, but we all know the sacrifices that she is making to make Burma a free country and we all love her for it.'

‘That is the bravest and saddest story,' said Natalie. ‘Thank you so much for telling me.'

‘I am glad that I could. The more people who know about the plight of Burma and Aung San Suu Kyi, the more pressure there will be on the military to change. That is what I think anyway.'

‘I hope you're right.'

‘Hey, there you are!' called Mark, and Natalie turned and waved to him.

‘Mummy, can we have ice-cream?' Charlotte ran to Natalie and stared at the bowl of food in front of her. ‘What's that?' she asked.

‘That's fresh figs from my garden with homemade yoghurt and local Ridge Lake honey. Would you like some, too?' asked Thi.

‘No, thank you. I'd like ice-cream, please.'

‘I'm sure we can find some.' Thi stood up.

‘Thi, this is my husband, Mark, and my children,' said Natalie, ‘Charlotte and Adam.'

‘A beautiful family. Let me give you my phone number. Hope to see you again here. We like new visitors to our market.'

‘All for a good cause,' said Natalie, smiling. ‘It's been eye-opening. I'd like to talk some more. And the figs are delicious.'

‘I like the sound of the mango cheesecake,' said Mark, sitting down.

‘I'll organise that for you.' Thi excused herself.

‘How amazing to meet a Burmese woman way out here,' said Natalie.

‘Did she say anything about Uncle Andrew's thingy?' said Mark.

‘Not a lot, except it's special. She told me a bit about what's been happening in Burma. Wait till I tell you what Thi told me.'

A young girl came over with their order and Thi came back and handed Natalie a slip of paper as well as a bag of fruit and a bunch of flowers.

‘My contact details, some figs and the flowers are from my garden,' said Thi. ‘Come and visit us again some time, you are always welcome.'

‘What a lovely person,' Natalie said to Mark. ‘I bought the screen by the way. Can you get it into the station wagon? The man at the stall thinks that I should see an expert if I want to get the kammavaca valued properly.'

‘Which is what I said. What do you want to do?' asked Mark, nibbling at his cheesecake.

‘Uncle Andrew has made me curious about Burma and so has Thi,' said Natalie.

‘I meant about the kammavaca. You might have to get it insured. Who knows what it could be worth?' said Mark lightly.

‘Hmm. We'll see. How about one more pony ride before we go home?' said Natalie cheerfully.

‘Yay!' Charlotte jumped off Mark's lap and Adam clapped his little hands together.

Mark smiled at Natalie. ‘Glad you're feeling better. I'll pay the bill, you take the kids over to the pony.'

Later in the week, Natalie was working in the kitchen when she heard Charlotte call out.

‘Mummy, Mummy, the floor's leaking!'

‘Charlotte, what are you talking about?' Natalie followed Charlotte into the main bathroom, where she saw water all over the floor. It seemed to be coming from the drain in the middle of the bathroom floor.

‘What happened? Have you and Adam been playing in here?'

‘No, Mummy. It was just like this.'

‘What is going on? Sweetie, go outside while I clean this up. Why do these things happen when Mark is away!' When Charlotte looked worried, Natalie smiled. ‘It's all right, honey, we'll get the plumber over. He'll fix it. You can use Mummy's bathroom.'

But when Jodie rang, Natalie couldn't help dumping her woes on her friend.

‘The water's backing up the drain. It must be really blocked. I can't use that bathroom at all and the plumber I rang can't come for two days! Do you know a good plumber? I suppose we're lucky that we have the ensuite.'

By the time Mark rang that evening she was very upset about the whole plumbing problem.

‘I know we have the ensuite, but it only has a shower and it's really difficult to wash the kids properly without a bath. Adam just squirms and I'm as wet as he is in the end.'

‘I'm sorry I'm not there to help you, darling, but it's going to be fine. It's probably just a clogged drain. We're going to renovate the bathroom anyway, right?'

‘Yes, but that's way down on our list. We have to be able to use it in the meantime!'