Would like to buy a copy of the book please. Can you please advise where I can pick a copy in Panjm? I have the book published earlier by Yvonne
My Mum's family was one of the families that were in Rangoon, Burma Thanks, Have a great day. Zelma On Tue, Apr 5, 2016 at 6:09 PM, Frederick FN Noronha फ्रेड्रिक नोरोन्या *فريدريك نورونيا <[email protected]> wrote: > http://www.deccanherald.com/content/528706/escape.html > > The great escape > Latha Venkatraman, February 14, 2016 > > Lead review > [image: Forgotten exodus Some of the families that managed to flee Burma > during World War II. Courtesy: 'New Songs of the Survivors'] > > *On the morning of December 23, 1941, Japanese Air Force carried out air > raids on Rangoon in Burma killing many Indians among others settled there.* > > Rangoon, then, had a sizeable Indian population and many of the Indian > settlers were Goans. Residents of the city were anticipating the arrival of > war in Burma following Japan’s attack on Pearl Harbor just 15 days ago. > Nevertheless, the air attacks came as a major shock as many were in the > thick of preparations for Christmas, just two days away. > Many were killed in the air raids that continued over the next few months. > > The city was thrown into a complete state of chaos as Indian settlers who > managed to escape the attack started fleeing to India through various > routes. Those who could afford flew home. Many fled by ship, braving aerial > and submarine bombardment, but hundreds and thousands walked to Manipur > through mountains and then Assam while many others walked across the > Hukaung Valley, also known as the Valley of Death. > > Writer Yvonne Vaz Ezdani has come up with her second book on the subject, > New Songs of the Survivors, in which she has recorded stories of survivals > and trauma experienced by Goans during the 1941-1945 air raids by Japanese > forces. > > This book is her account of the horrors of the attacks and the trauma > people experienced while fleeing the country and of the difficulties of > those who chose to stay back in Burma, now Myanmar. > > The earlier version of the book titled Songs of the Survivors that was > published in November 2007, is a collection of stories of trauma written by > Goan survivors who suffered following the Japanese invasion of Burma, and > during their exodus from the country back to India. Ezdani, as the editor > of the book, also speaks about her experiences in the postscript of the > book. > > In New Songs of the Survivors, Ezdani comes up with her own account of the > events that unfolded during those years, reframing accounts of the earlier > book into one narrative but making a distinction between events and > thematically arranging the narrative. > > She first heard of the horror stories from her father Lucio Alexander Vaz. > When she first began to write this book, she sought survivors who would > corroborate her father’s story. > Even as hundreds of people fled the country, there were many who stayed > back in Burma. To them, just as British had colonised Burma, the Japanese > were another coloniser of another colour. “But they would carry the > physical and psychological scars of this experience for decades. They often > told of those dark days, the horror and the hardships they faced, and how > they lived in fear of the Japanese soldiers,” says Ezdani. > New Songs of the Survivors has distinctly two sections — one, detailing > the story of Goan voices, and the second, half-focusing on other individual > voices. > > She starts her narrative with idyllic, peaceful times in Burma, throwing > light on the relatively carefree lives enjoyed by the settlers there. But > with the bombing of Pearl Harbor on December 7, 1941, the threat of war in > Burma becomes real. Schools in Rangoon had closed down because of this > threat. “Everyone knew that war was coming, but no one could really believe > that the city would be bombed,” says Ezdani. > > Air raids commenced on December 23, 1941. And so did the exodus. But not > everyone could leave. The British government had arranged to evacuate > people but only a lucky few could avail of this arrangement. > > The government of British Burma failed to provide a systematic plan for > civilian evacuation, says Ezdani. Weaving accounts of survivors who trekked > across mountains, open country roads, forests, Ezdani brings to the reader > stories of courage, compassion and suffering. > > Amidst the stories of the various facets of the Japanese invasion and the > impact on Indian settlers and refugees, Ezdani also spends time > highlighting the prevalent political situation in Burma then. The Burma > Campaign that ran from 1942 to 1945 was one of the longest and the most > difficult campaigns in the Second World War. The campaign that ended in the > victory for allies and Burmese people has been fought over difficult and > dangerous terrain by troops a long way from home. Burmese people welcomed > the British as liberators and not conquerors. Many Goan survivors did go > back to try and see if they could re-establish their lives. > > The latter half of the book that focuses on other voices or non-Goan > voices, provides glimpses into survivor tales of actor Helen, Benegal > Dinkar Rao, Shakuntala Peter, Gerry O’Connor and M P Vedachalam, who was a > school student when he trekked to safety. > > Ezdani has woven several survivor stories in her narrative, almost lending > a story-like feel to the reader. The book makes for simple and engaging > read but survivor stories tend to merge into one another because of the > striking similarity in the experiences faced by people who fled. > Nevertheless, an important read as you get to read a slice of history laid > out from real experiences of people. > > *New Songs of the survivors* > *Yvonne Vaz Ezdani* > *Speaking Tiger * > *2015, pp 264, Rs 350* > > -- > > _/_/_/_/_/_/_/_/_/_/_/_/_/_/_/_/_/_/_/_/_/_/_/_/_/_/_/_/_/_/_/_/_/_/_/_/_/_/_/_/_/_/ > _/ > _/ Frederick Noronha | http://about.me/noronhafrederick | > http://goa1556.in > _/ P +91-832-2409490 M 9822122436 Twitter @fn Facebook: fredericknoronha > _/ Goa,1556 CC shared audio content https://archive.org/details/goa1556 > _/ > > _/_/_/_/_/_/_/_/_/_/_/_/_/_/_/_/_/_/_/_/_/_/_/_/_/_/_/_/_/_/_/_/_/_/_/_/_/_/_/_/_/_/ > > -- > -- > Saligao-Net is at http://groups.google.com/group/saligao-net > To post to this group, send email to [email protected] > To unsubscribe email [email protected] > > --- > You received this message because you are subscribed to the Google Groups > "Saligao-Net" group. > To unsubscribe from this group and stop receiving emails from it, send an > email to [email protected]. > For more options, visit https://groups.google.com/d/optout. > -- -- Saligao-Net is at http://groups.google.com/group/saligao-net To post to this group, send email to [email protected] To unsubscribe email [email protected] --- You received this message because you are subscribed to the Google Groups "Saligao-Net" group. 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