The greatest honor, I believe, to a family, is what James Taing has done in Under the Naga Tail. Because, in the book, James shares the history of his family, in fact, his father, who, in his lifetime, as a boy, survived the Khmer Rouge, the new government in his homeland, to then go to Thailand, their “second country”. Under the Naga Tail is a story about the despair others bring, what governments can do to a country, or a person, and, what it means to live through it, prevail in the end. It is the story of a refugee, the only thing the regime leaves him to live for, hope. The book shows the scary, tortuous journey to get to it. If one can, in the end. And, even family, how important they were to each and all, even this, at times, destroyed, in the struggle to find a way through and out, somewhere where there can be life, rather than mere survival.
That those in the country were abused by their own people, their “new” government and, were rescued by another, as Americans helped liberate German World War 2 prisoners, the fact that Vietnamese troops were the ones to be the saviors of those persons, in this country, will always be a reminder to me, that sometimes, even those persons may not share the same beliefs, that they are not necessarily immoral or bad people. Because, before James' father, Mae Taing, is liberated by the Vietnamese, he is very much abused by his own, new government. All because the Angkar, the revolutionary party of the Khmer Rouge, wanted to assert the platform that all people were equal, that if some had nothing, all should have nothing. And, that this platform seemed to make every officer in the regime angry about everything, even the fact that the countrymen wanted to have food of their own, that they tended and grew, in the end nothing made sense, as to what the desires were for this new government, the country and its people.
Before the Khmer Rouge, the family of Mia Taing seemed to do well for themselves. While in the book, what they had, to readers, may not seem as they had all that much, in all reality, and in comparison to those around them, at the time and in the country, they were fairly well off, middle class, in fact. Mia Taing had heard of America and their successes, one of which, that stuck with them, was going to the moon. And, because America had gone to the moon, it made Mia Taing think that anything was possible, in the world. Unfortunately, soon after his life would change and boyhood, being raised to be the man he would be, was very different from the expectations he had.
From the beginning, when the first of the Khmer Rouge comes to his town and all the people, his family, neighbors, all, are made to leave what they have behind. Even children, when they are lost from a family, stay this way, Mia’s family told to keep moving, when they lose one of their own little ones. They are the first to succumb to this “new country” and the only hope is that a nice family along the way took them in. The motivations, it seems, in moving the people is to take away all they ever had, and, as they move on people and Mia’s family learn that everything they have will be taken, they will now have to toil away, working fields with their own hands to cultivate food that, many times, they don’t get to keep; life with the Khmer Rouge no life at all, really, just mere existence and, quite a hellish one, at that.
Once they are saved from their own countrymen, the Chinese family moves to Thailand, to a refugee camp. However they are not yet free and clear of any danger, yet. Not by any means. After a small time there, which Mia looks at as the ability to rest, even though in a camp surrounded by barbed wire, anytime the family is made to move, they could be facing their death. In the end, not all the family will survive. Tears were readily shed, by me, during the reading of this true retelling.
Of all the atrocities, in the book, which are many, the worst, for me, was the fact that family, at times, needed to be left behind, or, completely abandoned. There was a bad joke I heard when I was young, but it always served as an example of a cultural difference, to me, between Eastern and Western cultures. It went as follows: two families are in a boat, one of Western origins, one with Eastern. Each has an elder, baby and a husband and wife. I don’t quite remember how the joke was made funny or how to even tell it right, all it ever illustrated to me was that if each family was told to get rid of one member of the family, those from Western cultures would get rid of the elder, those from Eastern cultures would get rid of the baby. This situation teaches where a culture places their importance: in their youth and their future, or in their elders, their past and wisdom. Neither is right or wrong, God forbid one should ever be in this situation. It has always served as a situational mnemonic device for me.
Therefore, I remembered this well, when I read the book. Because Mia and his family are of Chinese origins, from Eastern cultures. Therefore, though they value their youth, the importance of the family is placed on their elders. So, when I read that Mia had come upon elderly individuals that had been left by their family because they had become too much of a burden to care for, that they had to be left behind, apart from the family, all alone, to their own demise (or if anything happened to make things better, which was doubtful as no one was coming to help anyone). It seems like, for almost every family, the situation had gotten so desperate that, when a person could not ensure their own survival, take care of themself, walk on their own, when they became burdensome, elders were left by the family. Left behind. For an Eastern culture that puts elders above all others, this must have been a very hard decision to make. And, even for the elder, to tell the family to move on without them, leaving them to die, because they know they have become burdensome. Under the Naga Tail is a hard story to read, to imagine living it….
While the ending did give light to the book, all that was lost, all was not lost; the home, heritage, culture, family, so much more….there is nothing that can be done to make any of that better. But, that James Taing survived, and then told the family's story, his fathers story, that he was able to do this, that he did this, let’s all know what happened, gives a voice to the pain of it all. While I don’t want to tell others it is their obligation to read a book like this, when I read a book such as this, sharing the realities of the world, things that happened that we can learn from, that we never would want to happen again, I feel an obligation to read a book like Under the Naga Tail. To know, to understand, to pray for those who had to go through all these moments, lose so much and hope they find peace wherever they are; and to remember and speak up, if I see anything like this ever happen again.
If you have ever read a review of mine there are many books I say are “must reads” on your shelf. Under the Naga Tail is one of those books. And, if you care about making the world a better place, for yourself and others, these are the kinds of books you need to read. To be able to know and empathize with the atrocities of the world. Because, while the same ones that are shared in Under the Naga Tail may not exist in this exact form, the undercurrent of all these acts, the anger, rage, pain, indifference, intolerance, all that remains here, today, in the world. And, if you are like me and agree that needs to change it starts with informing yourself with what others have gone through.
Change always begins within oneself. And Taing has helped me to get a better picture of what others have gone through in this insightful, provoking, homage to his family, his father. While I usually say Happy Reading at the end of my reviews, here, I say, read this book with hope in your heart. Hope that the world can and will change so that one day humans can live in a world peacefully. Cause we aren’t even close right now.
That those in the country were abused by their own people, their “new” government and, were rescued by another, as Americans helped liberate German World War 2 prisoners, the fact that Vietnamese troops were the ones to be the saviors of those persons, in this country, will always be a reminder to me, that sometimes, even those persons may not share the same beliefs, that they are not necessarily immoral or bad people. Because, before James' father, Mae Taing, is liberated by the Vietnamese, he is very much abused by his own, new government. All because the Angkar, the revolutionary party of the Khmer Rouge, wanted to assert the platform that all people were equal, that if some had nothing, all should have nothing. And, that this platform seemed to make every officer in the regime angry about everything, even the fact that the countrymen wanted to have food of their own, that they tended and grew, in the end nothing made sense, as to what the desires were for this new government, the country and its people.
Before the Khmer Rouge, the family of Mia Taing seemed to do well for themselves. While in the book, what they had, to readers, may not seem as they had all that much, in all reality, and in comparison to those around them, at the time and in the country, they were fairly well off, middle class, in fact. Mia Taing had heard of America and their successes, one of which, that stuck with them, was going to the moon. And, because America had gone to the moon, it made Mia Taing think that anything was possible, in the world. Unfortunately, soon after his life would change and boyhood, being raised to be the man he would be, was very different from the expectations he had.
From the beginning, when the first of the Khmer Rouge comes to his town and all the people, his family, neighbors, all, are made to leave what they have behind. Even children, when they are lost from a family, stay this way, Mia’s family told to keep moving, when they lose one of their own little ones. They are the first to succumb to this “new country” and the only hope is that a nice family along the way took them in. The motivations, it seems, in moving the people is to take away all they ever had, and, as they move on people and Mia’s family learn that everything they have will be taken, they will now have to toil away, working fields with their own hands to cultivate food that, many times, they don’t get to keep; life with the Khmer Rouge no life at all, really, just mere existence and, quite a hellish one, at that.
Once they are saved from their own countrymen, the Chinese family moves to Thailand, to a refugee camp. However they are not yet free and clear of any danger, yet. Not by any means. After a small time there, which Mia looks at as the ability to rest, even though in a camp surrounded by barbed wire, anytime the family is made to move, they could be facing their death. In the end, not all the family will survive. Tears were readily shed, by me, during the reading of this true retelling.
Of all the atrocities, in the book, which are many, the worst, for me, was the fact that family, at times, needed to be left behind, or, completely abandoned. There was a bad joke I heard when I was young, but it always served as an example of a cultural difference, to me, between Eastern and Western cultures. It went as follows: two families are in a boat, one of Western origins, one with Eastern. Each has an elder, baby and a husband and wife. I don’t quite remember how the joke was made funny or how to even tell it right, all it ever illustrated to me was that if each family was told to get rid of one member of the family, those from Western cultures would get rid of the elder, those from Eastern cultures would get rid of the baby. This situation teaches where a culture places their importance: in their youth and their future, or in their elders, their past and wisdom. Neither is right or wrong, God forbid one should ever be in this situation. It has always served as a situational mnemonic device for me.
Therefore, I remembered this well, when I read the book. Because Mia and his family are of Chinese origins, from Eastern cultures. Therefore, though they value their youth, the importance of the family is placed on their elders. So, when I read that Mia had come upon elderly individuals that had been left by their family because they had become too much of a burden to care for, that they had to be left behind, apart from the family, all alone, to their own demise (or if anything happened to make things better, which was doubtful as no one was coming to help anyone). It seems like, for almost every family, the situation had gotten so desperate that, when a person could not ensure their own survival, take care of themself, walk on their own, when they became burdensome, elders were left by the family. Left behind. For an Eastern culture that puts elders above all others, this must have been a very hard decision to make. And, even for the elder, to tell the family to move on without them, leaving them to die, because they know they have become burdensome. Under the Naga Tail is a hard story to read, to imagine living it….
While the ending did give light to the book, all that was lost, all was not lost; the home, heritage, culture, family, so much more….there is nothing that can be done to make any of that better. But, that James Taing survived, and then told the family's story, his fathers story, that he was able to do this, that he did this, let’s all know what happened, gives a voice to the pain of it all. While I don’t want to tell others it is their obligation to read a book like this, when I read a book such as this, sharing the realities of the world, things that happened that we can learn from, that we never would want to happen again, I feel an obligation to read a book like Under the Naga Tail. To know, to understand, to pray for those who had to go through all these moments, lose so much and hope they find peace wherever they are; and to remember and speak up, if I see anything like this ever happen again.
If you have ever read a review of mine there are many books I say are “must reads” on your shelf. Under the Naga Tail is one of those books. And, if you care about making the world a better place, for yourself and others, these are the kinds of books you need to read. To be able to know and empathize with the atrocities of the world. Because, while the same ones that are shared in Under the Naga Tail may not exist in this exact form, the undercurrent of all these acts, the anger, rage, pain, indifference, intolerance, all that remains here, today, in the world. And, if you are like me and agree that needs to change it starts with informing yourself with what others have gone through.
Change always begins within oneself. And Taing has helped me to get a better picture of what others have gone through in this insightful, provoking, homage to his family, his father. While I usually say Happy Reading at the end of my reviews, here, I say, read this book with hope in your heart. Hope that the world can and will change so that one day humans can live in a world peacefully. Cause we aren’t even close right now.