Produced by:
KBOO
Program::
Air date:
Wed, 11/19/2014 - 9:00am to 9:30am
The Wind in the Bamboo: A Journey in Search of Asia’s ‘Negrito’ Indigenous People
Portlander Edith Mirante discusses her new book “The Wind in the Bamboo: A Journey in Search of Asia’s ‘Negrito’ Indigenous People,” which reveals the plight of tribal Asians who were classified as a separate race and considered doomed to vanish. Defined as “Negrito” because they physically resemble small Africans, they may have the most ancient ancestry in Asia. Nearly exterminated by disease and a cataclysmic volcano, these extraordinary people now survive as forest hunter gatherers in only a few places: mainland Malaysia, the Philippines and India’s remote Andaman Islands. Some are still armed with spears and blowpipes, a few with cellphones and graduate degrees.
The World Affairs Council of Oregon will present Edith Mirante's slideshow launching "The Wind in the Bamboo" on Nov. 19 at 7:00, World Affairs Council of Oregon, 1200 SW Park Ave.
“The Wind in the Bamboo” examines issues of race, identity, the body, scientific classification and genocide, through a sweeping Chatwinesque narrative of journeys into the remaining lands of these ancient forest people. Edith Mirante presents the story of the “Negrito” peoples (the ultimate survivors) with candor, wit and compassion. “The Wind in the Bamboo” will captivate readers who wonder who we humans are, where we come from and where we are going.
Edith Mirante has roamed Asia since the early 1980s, collecting information on human rights and environmental issues. In 1986 she founded Project Maje, an information project on Burma. The author of “Burmese Looking Glass: A Human Rights Adventure” (Grove Press/Atlantic Monthly Press) and “Down the Rat Hole: Adventures Underground on Burma’s Frontiers”(Orchid Press), she has investigated atrocities and resistance in some of the most remote corners of Burma’s frontier war zone. She has testified before the US Congress, European Trade Commission and the International Labor Organization, and has been a featured speaker at national conferences of Amnesty International and Rainforest Action Network. Her website, www.projectmaje.org was chosen as a link by the website of National Geographic in connection with her report on the “Sea Gypsies” of Burma. Scott Bateman’s animations of her commentary appeared on Salon.com in 2007 and 2008. She was interviewed by NPR’s The World about Burmese hip hop music in 2009, and lectured in Calvin College's January Series in 2012. She researched "The Wind in the Bamboo" extensively, with travel in Malaysia, India and the Philippines.
Sketchbooks, etc. are at www.edithmirante.com
The World Affairs Council of Oregon will present Edith Mirante's slideshow launching "The Wind in the Bamboo" on Nov. 19 at 7:00, World Affairs Council of Oregon, 1200 SW Park Ave.
“The Wind in the Bamboo” examines issues of race, identity, the body, scientific classification and genocide, through a sweeping Chatwinesque narrative of journeys into the remaining lands of these ancient forest people. Edith Mirante presents the story of the “Negrito” peoples (the ultimate survivors) with candor, wit and compassion. “The Wind in the Bamboo” will captivate readers who wonder who we humans are, where we come from and where we are going.
Edith Mirante has roamed Asia since the early 1980s, collecting information on human rights and environmental issues. In 1986 she founded Project Maje, an information project on Burma. The author of “Burmese Looking Glass: A Human Rights Adventure” (Grove Press/Atlantic Monthly Press) and “Down the Rat Hole: Adventures Underground on Burma’s Frontiers”(Orchid Press), she has investigated atrocities and resistance in some of the most remote corners of Burma’s frontier war zone. She has testified before the US Congress, European Trade Commission and the International Labor Organization, and has been a featured speaker at national conferences of Amnesty International and Rainforest Action Network. Her website, www.projectmaje.org was chosen as a link by the website of National Geographic in connection with her report on the “Sea Gypsies” of Burma. Scott Bateman’s animations of her commentary appeared on Salon.com in 2007 and 2008. She was interviewed by NPR’s The World about Burmese hip hop music in 2009, and lectured in Calvin College's January Series in 2012. She researched "The Wind in the Bamboo" extensively, with travel in Malaysia, India and the Philippines.
Sketchbooks, etc. are at www.edithmirante.com
- KBOO
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