Voices From Burma

Presented by the Asia Society, Pen American Center, Open Society Foundations, Voice of Witness, and the Magnum Foundation

Event Date:

October 11, 2011

Voices From Burma brings together prominent authors, actors and Burmese dissidents to read excerpts of first-person accounts from the book Nowhere to Be Home: Narratives from Survivors of Burma’s Military Regime. The evening is hosted by Orville Schell. Readers include writers Amitav Ghosh and Deborah Eisenberg; actors Wallace Shawn and Kathryn Grody; Burmese dissidents U Agga and Law Eh Soe, and more.

Nowhere to Be Home is the eighth book in the Voice of Witness nonprofit book series, founded by Dave Eggers and Dr. Lola Vollen. The series depicts human rights crises around the world through the stories of the people who experience them. Nowhere to Be Home represents an unparalleled achievement—a compelling, in-depth collection of diverse voices from Burma at a time when fundamental freedoms of speech and expression are denied and military attacks on civilian populations continue, increasing the number of internally displaced peoples.

Voices From Burma also features award-winning photography taken from inside Burma by Magnum photographers Chien Chi Chang and Lu Nan along with James Mackay, whose work will be featured in the Moving Walls 19 exhibit at the Open Society Foundations. Combining compelling visual and audio material collected over several years, their multimedia projections underscore the power of narrative storytelling, and together spotlight the complex, intersecting issues that continue to confront Burma today.

This event comes at a particularly crucial time. During the United Nations General Assembly this fall, member states are in a position to establish an international Commission of Inquiry to investigate human rights violations, make recommendations for institutional reforms, and affirm accountability as a necessary part of a transition away from exclusive military rule.