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For Us Surrender Is Out of the Question: A Story from Burma's Never-Ending War
In 2006, Mac McClelland arrived as a volunteer in Thailand and found herself unexpectedly living with associates of a US-designated terrorist organization battling Burma's dictatorship. Her staggering story explores the world's longest-running war through her housemates, refugees who risk their lives documenting their government's secret ethnic-cleansing campaign. Intensely engaging and extraordinarily researched, For Us Surrender Is Out of the Question is an intimate account of McClelland's time among Burmese rebels—whose country, she discovers, shares surprising historical and contemporary entanglements with her own.
402 pages, Kindle Edition
First published January 1, 2010
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Displaying 1 - 18 of 18 reviews
August 30, 2011
I really loved the gonzo, slightly scattered, but always passionate style of Mac McClelland. Bouncing back and forth between historical background she has researched and her own personal experiences working with Karen refugees in Thailand who are sneaking back into their native Burma to support the efforts of their people to survive against the relentless, remorseless evil that is the government of "Myanmar" is a rollercoaster ride worth taking. I'd love to sit down with McClelland and talk to her about this, as well as her work investigating the BP oil gusher and others important stories she has covered. If you think Burma isn't one of the absolutely worst places in the world to live, this book (and the video "Burma VJ" will definitely change your mind.
January 2, 2012
I have never read a book so hilarious and so heartbreaking at the same time.
July 18, 2016
Really liked this one. The book was well balanced between facts about Burma and Karen life and the narrator's own work at BA. Reading it flew by.
October 10, 2019
An informatative study of the recent history of Myanmar/Burma centred from the perspective of the IDPs of the Karen peoples. Mac McClelland does take the reader through a swaggering romp of the history of Myanamr, but the core of the book is of their time spent with Karen NGO workers on the Thailand side of the border. Worth reading.
February 22, 2015
Mac McClelland is a bad-ass. About that there is no debate.
On a whim, she emailed a refugee group working with the Karen people on the border of Burma and Thailand. With barely more than a vague, emailed acceptance, she traveled half-way around the world to see what she could, and do what she could.
Other journalists have taken on a similar task--Phil Thornton wrote about some of the same subjects in his 2006 book "Restless Souls." But he wore his privilege easily, never really questioning his own parasitic relationship with the refugees: using them to tell and sell stories. McClelland is much more introspective than that, questioning her own privilege and more generally her place in the world of the illegal refugees with whom she is working. Unlike Thornton's narrative, which, as I recall, as too satisfied with itself, the problem with McClelland's is that she opens up too many boxes, which makes her narrative scattered. It is fascinating at times, but never ultimately satisfying.
Burma, as she knows, is a shot show, ruled by a horrible military junta that oppresses most of its people, especially the ethnic Karen--which is why so many have fled to Thailand, which accepts them but with no great enthusiasm. They are housed there according to minimal standards set up by the U.N., which leaves them with basically no options. We learn late in the book that one of the protagonists was a meth head for a long time simply because of the boredom bred by being int he camp: not allowed to work, to travel, to even leave the camp, what else was there to do?
He became a terrorist.
Which is to say that he started helping the Karen resistance, which is officially listed as a terrorist organization. He himself would say he was a freedom fighter, as would all those other with whom he worked. This is another set of questions McClelland raises, but doesn't quite answer--what counts as a terrorist? What does that word even mean anymore?
She also raises questions about sexuality--she herself is bisexual, which is scandalous to the Karen, most of whom are fundamentalist Christian--and there is an underlying erotics of the house in which she is staying, staffed almost exclusively by young men and, at the time, occupied by McClelland and another American female volunteer. The two groups are curious about how sex works in each other's community, and there is some experimentation, all of it tame.
There is also a lot of drinking, which McClelland doesn't really analyze, but would seem to be related to the constant terror of the lives the refugees are leading: having left the camp to work with the resistance, they are officially illegal and are constantly harassed by Thai police, most of whom are simply looking for a bribe, although sometimes they do deport Karen back to Burma.
The story also touches on religious evangelism, as there is a group of Christian rangers working the border against the Burmese Junta. This is a weird section of the narrative, this investigation of the rangers, and never feels as though it is fully integrated.
The best bits are the stories of the individual refugee workers, their sad and yet valiant histories. And their pathetic, unfortunate endings: after spending most of the book saying they wanted to work for the Karen, by 2008 almost all of them have moved to other countries, as few to the US after Condoleeza Rice softened anti-terrorism laws. There they were still bored, still poor, but also at loose ends, their motivations gone.
Along with this, the book is god at showing how policy decided at the highest levels--such as the Patriot Act, or UN mandates--gets translated into very personal stories.
The writing has a bit of Hunter S. Thompson too it--though with much more conscience--which shows what a bad-ass she is: her willingness to expose her emotions as well as herself in this foreign world. The prose, though, suffers at time and could have used some boiling down. There's also probably too much history of Burma here--which further diffuses the central narrative.
As a story of being a bad-ass, and as a first book, this is great, and I think McClelland will go on to even better heights.
On a whim, she emailed a refugee group working with the Karen people on the border of Burma and Thailand. With barely more than a vague, emailed acceptance, she traveled half-way around the world to see what she could, and do what she could.
Other journalists have taken on a similar task--Phil Thornton wrote about some of the same subjects in his 2006 book "Restless Souls." But he wore his privilege easily, never really questioning his own parasitic relationship with the refugees: using them to tell and sell stories. McClelland is much more introspective than that, questioning her own privilege and more generally her place in the world of the illegal refugees with whom she is working. Unlike Thornton's narrative, which, as I recall, as too satisfied with itself, the problem with McClelland's is that she opens up too many boxes, which makes her narrative scattered. It is fascinating at times, but never ultimately satisfying.
Burma, as she knows, is a shot show, ruled by a horrible military junta that oppresses most of its people, especially the ethnic Karen--which is why so many have fled to Thailand, which accepts them but with no great enthusiasm. They are housed there according to minimal standards set up by the U.N., which leaves them with basically no options. We learn late in the book that one of the protagonists was a meth head for a long time simply because of the boredom bred by being int he camp: not allowed to work, to travel, to even leave the camp, what else was there to do?
He became a terrorist.
Which is to say that he started helping the Karen resistance, which is officially listed as a terrorist organization. He himself would say he was a freedom fighter, as would all those other with whom he worked. This is another set of questions McClelland raises, but doesn't quite answer--what counts as a terrorist? What does that word even mean anymore?
She also raises questions about sexuality--she herself is bisexual, which is scandalous to the Karen, most of whom are fundamentalist Christian--and there is an underlying erotics of the house in which she is staying, staffed almost exclusively by young men and, at the time, occupied by McClelland and another American female volunteer. The two groups are curious about how sex works in each other's community, and there is some experimentation, all of it tame.
There is also a lot of drinking, which McClelland doesn't really analyze, but would seem to be related to the constant terror of the lives the refugees are leading: having left the camp to work with the resistance, they are officially illegal and are constantly harassed by Thai police, most of whom are simply looking for a bribe, although sometimes they do deport Karen back to Burma.
The story also touches on religious evangelism, as there is a group of Christian rangers working the border against the Burmese Junta. This is a weird section of the narrative, this investigation of the rangers, and never feels as though it is fully integrated.
The best bits are the stories of the individual refugee workers, their sad and yet valiant histories. And their pathetic, unfortunate endings: after spending most of the book saying they wanted to work for the Karen, by 2008 almost all of them have moved to other countries, as few to the US after Condoleeza Rice softened anti-terrorism laws. There they were still bored, still poor, but also at loose ends, their motivations gone.
Along with this, the book is god at showing how policy decided at the highest levels--such as the Patriot Act, or UN mandates--gets translated into very personal stories.
The writing has a bit of Hunter S. Thompson too it--though with much more conscience--which shows what a bad-ass she is: her willingness to expose her emotions as well as herself in this foreign world. The prose, though, suffers at time and could have used some boiling down. There's also probably too much history of Burma here--which further diffuses the central narrative.
As a story of being a bad-ass, and as a first book, this is great, and I think McClelland will go on to even better heights.
February 26, 2015
This book was published in 2010, written about a short time spent with Karen rebels in 2006. The author traces the history of the world's longest-running war amidst her volunteer work teaching English to some refugees. Although some of her language is quite vulgar (shock value?) she captures the spirit of the situation so well that you feel you are right there with them. Her personal adventure actually living with the rebels is easier reading and more interesting than the pages of history with long footnotes although we need to know it. As a result of reading the book I finally understand the plight of the Karen people living in constant fear with no place to live where they are safe. They can't stay in Burma and aren't welcome in neighboring Thailand. There's been a ceasefire recently, but recent beginnings of reform haven't stopped the problems in Burma. The ethnic Rohingya situation is in the forefront of news this moment. Child soldiers, sex trafficking and worse are happening now. This was a compelling read that vividly educated me on the incredibly sorrowful conditions of the Burmese Karens like no other book I've read. (As an aside, I knew they ate dog meat, but I really didn't want to read all the details. I saw a huge pen full of cute pups for sale in downtown Yangon last year and skipped taking a photo for fear of offending my guide who said they were pets.)
March 28, 2013
Wow. While this book actually only chronicles a 6 week stay working with Burman refugees, it packs in a bunch of history (recent and less so), along with emotional impact. I suspect I may have been coming off to my coworkers like an undergraduate who just discovered a cause. And it's not exactly a polemic; it's just engrossingly enough written that I missed my bus (and then almost missed getting off at my house) because I was reading it.
And, of course, she does the usual close-to-home job of painting the trip abroad, with its annoyances and homesickness and weirdness. Hers has the added almost-epilogue chronicling all the problems plaguing the immigrant, which I admit I hadn't really thought about, but is fascinating.
Also, her semi-afterword on sourcing is both entertaining and makes me feel confident in her facts (and want to subscribe to magazine which do that assiduously).
If you don't go read it - which you all totally should - just let me say, OMG, Burma, WTF. So, so much of a mess. And while we occasionally hear about North Korea, I can't remember the last thing I heard about Burma. That's not right, y'all.
And, of course, she does the usual close-to-home job of painting the trip abroad, with its annoyances and homesickness and weirdness. Hers has the added almost-epilogue chronicling all the problems plaguing the immigrant, which I admit I hadn't really thought about, but is fascinating.
Also, her semi-afterword on sourcing is both entertaining and makes me feel confident in her facts (and want to subscribe to magazine which do that assiduously).
If you don't go read it - which you all totally should - just let me say, OMG, Burma, WTF. So, so much of a mess. And while we occasionally hear about North Korea, I can't remember the last thing I heard about Burma. That's not right, y'all.
April 21, 2014
Entertaining and well-researched and reported account of the mostly ignored oppression and genocide going on in Burma and along its border with Thailand. Covering death and abject poverty with a raw sense of humor and self-awareness isn't easy, but McClelland plunges readers into the chaos of ethnic Karen refugees trying to survive and document the crimes against their people with a deft and even light-hearted approach that mixes in humor, history and cross-cultural misunderstandings with the crushing reality of the overarching political situation. McClelland has landed herself in stickier situations since, but this book shows the roots of her fearless and filter-less reporting on underexposed topics.
October 14, 2010
A powerful, well researched book which personalizes the legacy of (an ongoing) conflict, and contextualizes Western interaction with it. Conversational in tone, refreshingly less earnest than many books about contemporary Burma and thankfully not falling for the 'power of one' discourse which has guided much recent comment (no offence meant to DASSK and her followers). If you don't know much about Burma a) you should, and b)this is good place to start.
Having visited Burma and spoken with both dissidents, general public (and activists outside) about politics, the future and hope I can't see that change is going to come quickly if at all. But the struggle must continue ...
Having visited Burma and spoken with both dissidents, general public (and activists outside) about politics, the future and hope I can't see that change is going to come quickly if at all. But the struggle must continue ...
April 4, 2012
I know what you are thinking! You are thinking, "White person in Asia stories? I have been burned by you before!" And I am right there with you. But there are a few really important reasons that For Us Surrender Is Out of the Question avoids the problems apparently endemic to fictional and non-fictional narratives of this kind:
1. Mac McClelland isn't the main character or the most important part of the story.
2. It's not some weird allegory.
3. It's not some banal allegory, either.
4. The story is quite specific.
1. Mac McClelland isn't the main character or the most important part of the story.
2. It's not some weird allegory.
3. It's not some banal allegory, either.
4. The story is quite specific.
August 1, 2011
I found this book after reading a brief piece by Mac about how she uses violent sex to get over PTSD.
I knew nothing about the situation in Burma and it's horrifying. She deftly and expertly weaves in her time spent with Karen refugees and a good amount of historical background on the conflict. You won't feel better about the world afte reading it, but you should put it on your list anyway. Great writing.
I knew nothing about the situation in Burma and it's horrifying. She deftly and expertly weaves in her time spent with Karen refugees and a good amount of historical background on the conflict. You won't feel better about the world afte reading it, but you should put it on your list anyway. Great writing.
May 27, 2010
I'm embarrassed by how little I knew about Burma before reading this book. Mac McCelland does a great job of making an exhaustive history lesson remarkably entertaining and even funny at times. But most of it isn't history - it's happening now and I hardly knew a thing about it. Now I know and I don't know what to do with that knowledge, but at least I know, right?
October 15, 2010
Mac McClelland's account of both her personal experience in Burma as well as her recounting of the history of the war which has been going on since and through WWII made for the best non-fiction read this year for me.I couldn't put this book down and missed a few subway stops on account of how engrossed I was in this book.
June 8, 2013
A well written story that was as interesting as it was informative. The layers of information were broken up by anecdotal stories which made this book very easy to get through while at the same time providing incredible amounts of background history on the plight of Karen refugees and the conflict that continues to displace them.
December 10, 2011
I enjoyed her gonzo-style, but fact-checked writing enlightening, educational, and definitely geared for American/Western sensibilities.
December 2, 2012
Thank you Mac. Legit review to come.
January 28, 2024
Brutal and important subject but a writing style and narrator that rubbed me the wrong way.
This book is about the century of war, genocide, and ethnic cleansing by the Burmese junta against the Karen ethnic minority in Myanmar. The book is about the hundreds of thousands of Karen refugees, displaced in the mountains of Myanmar and the camps of Thailand from the late 80s to very recently. It's about the horrors, fears, and legal restrictions that IDPs (internally displaced people) like the Karen face when they have no citizenship and near to no basic human rights. It's about real people, termed "rebels" and "terrorists" to their country, who continue to battle Burma's dictatorship from their organization's secret location in Mae Sot in western Thailand.
The story is told through the author Mac McClelland's perspective as a volunteer at the organization Burma Action's Mae Sot headquarters, where she lives and works for six weeks. There were aspects of McClelland's accounts that kind of made me roll my eyes, as a white woman narrator, but what can ya do.
This book is about the century of war, genocide, and ethnic cleansing by the Burmese junta against the Karen ethnic minority in Myanmar. The book is about the hundreds of thousands of Karen refugees, displaced in the mountains of Myanmar and the camps of Thailand from the late 80s to very recently. It's about the horrors, fears, and legal restrictions that IDPs (internally displaced people) like the Karen face when they have no citizenship and near to no basic human rights. It's about real people, termed "rebels" and "terrorists" to their country, who continue to battle Burma's dictatorship from their organization's secret location in Mae Sot in western Thailand.
The story is told through the author Mac McClelland's perspective as a volunteer at the organization Burma Action's Mae Sot headquarters, where she lives and works for six weeks. There were aspects of McClelland's accounts that kind of made me roll my eyes, as a white woman narrator, but what can ya do.
June 3, 2017
An investigative journalist's work on the border of Burma into the activities of activists on assisting the overthrow of militancy subjecting the minorities and actualization of democracy. A first hand narrative of author's interaction as a volunteer. It challenges our perceptions and how we respond to culture shocks and the victims; IDPs (Internally Displaced Persons) her shared and lasting friendships with the Burmese she met. Interspersed with historical facts of their struggles.
Displaying 1 - 18 of 18 reviews