Paul Scully’s father left Burma in the 1950s for the United Kingdom. After the military seized power in 1962, his relatives followed.
Scully was born in the UK and grew up in an entirely different world than his family. More than half a century later, much has changed in both places.
Burma is now known as Myanmar, and an election in November pushed pro-democracy forces into power. Scully, 48, is an MP for the Conservative Party in Britain, having won his seat last year in London’s Sutton and Cheam constituency.
But the two worlds converged over the weekend.
Scully, who put his personal interest to practical use as Co-Chair of the All Party Parliamentary Group for Myanmar, is visiting the country for the first time.
On Saturday, at the start of the busy, weeklong trip, he went around Yangon, tracking down locations where his Anglo-Burmese father and other relatives lived. He was trailed by a group of journalists as he visited the sites.
First on the list was his father’s house at No. 124 on 52nd Street, not far from the port where he worked. It was almost unrecognizable. There was a wooden house before, but now a large apartment complex dominates the site.
When a street food vendor caught his eye, Scully was reminded of the htamin latt thoke (rice salad) that his grandmother used to make for him.
“It was 20 years ago,” he said. “That’s one of my favorite foods but I haven’t had it for a long time. So if I don’t have it this week I’m going to have it when I get back home.”
On a stomach fresh from England, he wasn’t ready to dive into the street food just yet; his aunt told him to be careful.
“I better wait, I’m only at the start of my journey,” he joked.
He visited a building on Bo Aung Kyaw Street a few blocks to the west, where his father and his uncle lived at one time.
On the walk he reflected on the state of Yangon.
“You can see the contrast between the colonial properties of years ago to the mordern buildings that are coming in. And hopefully as the country opens, it will be more open to business,” he said, adding that historic preservation is important.
“I wouldn’t like the country to lose its character, but there is a lot of investment that can come in to help replace international aid which would be beneficial to the country because it means you can bring in investment, improve your roads, hospitals, schools and these kind of things, but also start trading with the rest of the world.”
He visited nearby St. Mary’s Church – where his father and siblings were baptized and his aunts were married – and St. Paul’s School – now Basic Education High School No. (6) – on Thein Phyu Road where his father and uncle went to school (see top photo).
Next to St. Mary’s Church is the Secretariat, where Aung San was assassinated in 1947. Scully thought about how his family lived through those enormous changes and witnessed the aftermath firsthand.
“Knowing that my father and my uncle walked back along that same road that same day and saw the commotion, it really sets it all in context, in the historical context of the country and what’s happened over the decades,” he said, speaking to journalists later that day at the Strand Hotel, where his grandmother worked as a telephone operator and receptionist.
“It’s very important and very emotional for me to actually see,” he added.
Personal history isn’t the only reason for his weeklong trip to Myanmar. He also planned to meet new lawmakers and activists and visit Mandalay, Naypyitaw and Lashio. He hopes that his background can help raise the profile of what’s going on in Myanmar back home.
“My role as … the first MP with Burmese heritage means that I’m in a unique position to keep the awareness of the situation in Myanmar in the public eye in the UK and across the west,” he said.
To learn more about his story, you can see him speak this Friday (February 19) at the British Council in Yangon starting at 5pm.
According to a description of the event, “he will speak about his family background, how he became an MP, life as an MP in a democratic parliamentary system, and how the British Parliament has been and will continue to support the development of democracy in Burma.”
