Burma Under the Japanese

U. Nu

1942-1945

All were exulting in the thought that Burma would be free, and as the grand old song resounded throughout the countryside no one could hear it without trembling with emotion.

This can readily be understood. The whole air was breathing rumours. 'The Japanese are our great friends.' 'When a Japanese meets a Burman he greets him with our own war cry.' 'The Japanese will die for Burma's freedom.' *A Burman prince is coming as a leader in the Japanese army/ They all firmly believed the messages scattered down from aeroplanes and broadcast on the wireless that the Japanese were coming to help Burma, and rumour had swollen a handful of hope until it overflowed the basket. Now they were off to welcome their great ally the Japanese, and though it was close on noon under the scorching sun of Mandalay, the poor people were so keen to greet their great ally that they did not even notice the heat.

We met them again in the afternoon about four o'clock. They were no longer marching in a procession but limping along in clumps of three or four. Their faces were no longer joyful and exultant as in the morning, and they seemed quite shy of facing the people who had stayed at home. When they came up to us we asked what had happened. One of them replied in a surly tone. 'Don't talk about it. We expected the Japanese commander to be very thankful for our bowls of rice, but all he did was to take his hand out of his trouser pocket and give us a hard slap in the face/ And then he suddenly broke out laughing.

And another man chipped in, 'Talk about rough treatment! After he had slapped our faces he made us drag logs and draw water; drag, draw; drag, draw. It almost broke our backs.' Then they all burst out laughing. And another man followed, 'It is all right to ask people to help you when there is something to be done, but they might as well have given us a word of thanks. All they did was to collar all the rice and curry, and not only the food but the bowls as well.' And again they broke out into laughter. And I thought to myself whatever one may say there is nothing much wrong with Burmans who can see the funny] side of things even in the most unpleasant circumstances. And from that time onwards the news spread like wildfire from one village to another that the Japanese were a tough crowd.

After a day or two we moved on to Kanbaing village where we met Tet-pongyi Them Pe and Kyaw Nyein. They had already started the resistance movement against the Japanese, and showed us a leaflet which they had printed on a hand-press…

One had to be pretty careful not to make any mistakes. But were you done with the business when you had given him the information that he wanted? Not by any means.

Suppose you exchange cigarettes or a few sweetmeats with a Japanese. He may come along by himself and say there are a few things that he does not understand very clearly. Or he may bring a friend and introduce him. One of them may remark that the Kempetai, or the Japanese soldiers or traders, are a bad lot. You may be inclined to think that this Japanese is rather a decent sort. But don't go blurting out anything that you really think.

For when you have met these men you have not done with them. Suppose .that the Japanese suspect you as a communist. Some Japanese who say they are communists will call on you. And they will fish for what they can find out. Someone will say that his younger brother has been arrested as a communist. And they will tell you how badly the Japanese treat the communists, giving them no more than a handful of rice and a cup of water a day, and how the Government oppresses them. Or one of them will say that communist ideas are very sound and that communism works to help the poor; that even the Japanese Government has taken over many ideas from communism. So they tempt you with leading questions like digging a canal for water to run along.

And when you are looking at their stolid round faces, my friend, don't go thinking you are clever enough to deceive them. 'Least said, soonest mended.' There is always a chance of making a slip, and, even if what you have actually said may be all right, you may get into trouble because of some mistake by the interpreter, and everything that you say to the interpreter or the reporter or to that friend of yours or to the communists is reported to the police station. And any scrap of conversation with a Japanese spy who scrapes up acquaintance with you in the street or in the club or theatre or market or opium den is reported to the police station. And the officer in charge compares it with all the other reports to check what you have said.

But they only take all these precautions, my friend, if you are an official of some standing. They don't take so much trouble to make up their mind about an ordinary man. A cup of boiling water, stripping the nails off three or four fingers, or a couple of turns with the machine round your testicles, and you will be ready to admit anything, true or false…

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Original source: http://archive.org/stream/burmaunderthejap017803mbp/burmaunderthejap017803mbp_djvu.txt

Edited by: Jordi Getman-Eraso