Haymar Win Tun

Posted on July 9, 2012 / 8 Comments

Haymar in Sagaing Hills

We learned to our great sorrow that Haymar Win Tun passed away. Our condolences go to her family and many friends, among who are many from LIRNEasia and CPRsouth. She was at LIRNEasia only for a short time and attended only one CPRsouth conference, but the bonds that were forged were deep and strong. It is a tragedy when a young person dies; it is an even greater tragedy when a person of great potential dies. Haymar was a person of great potential.

Last December, Sujata and I were in Myanmar. Haymar was our guide. Everywhere we went—Yangon, Mandalay, Sagaing Hills, Amarapura, Bagan – she would introduce me as her teacher. I learned the Burmese word she used, but cannot recall it now. The picture I have of Haymar is her sitting on the floor in a cave complex used by meditating monks and speaking with great respect to an elderly abbot who was not feeling too well that day. That photograph does not exist (was it out of respect that Sujata did not take out the camera?), but that is my picture of Haymar.

Students should mourn their teachers; but this is the other way around. Many times I have used her work on indicators. If not for her persistence, my article on Myanmar’s telecom problems would never have been published. And she had offered to connect us to the Lee Kuan Yew School Alumni Chapter in Myanmar so that we could make some contribution to the much needed telecom reforms in her country. She loved her people; she loved knowledge. At least we played a small part in her seeing the beauty and grandeur of Upper Burma, last December.

It’s not how long you live your life that matters. It’s how. She lived hers well. It is we who are the losers.

May she attain Nibbhana.

8 Comments

Khun Myo
July 9, 2012, 6:05 pm
Rest in Peace Haymar!
indi
July 9, 2012, 7:12 pm
Terribly sorry to hear that she’s passed away. May she attain Nibbhana.
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sujata
July 9, 2012, 11:03 pm
As were leaving Myanmar after spending 10 days in the company of Haymar I was trying to understand the aura of dignity that seemed to come from this young woman. Rohan’s recapturing of the visit with the old monk makes me wonder– was she aware, was she heedful, in a Buddhist sense, in her last days or even before?

Heedfulness is the Deathless path,
heedlessness, the path to death.
Those who are heedful do not die,
heedless are like the dead.
(Dhammapada, Verse 21)

She may or she may not have been, but, thanks to her I understand this verse better.
Chanuka Wattegama
July 10, 2012, 10:10 am
My interactions with Haymar were limited, but I still remember her lively smile. Sad to hear the news.
Abu Saeed Khan
July 10, 2012, 2:43 pm
Saddened by her early demise. Rest in peace!
Shivanshi Joshi
July 10, 2012, 3:50 pm
I was shocked on reading this.She was an amazing person and friend. May she rest in peace and god give strength to her family and loved ones. Amen!
Gaki Tshering
July 20, 2012, 11:31 am
So surprised to hear this sad news. Haymar was full of life and everyone she touched remembered her in synonymous with happiness. May her soul rest in peace.