BURMESE DAYS

Above: A monk catching up with the English Premier League.


While South East Asia is not a region renowned for its pristine human rights record, Myanmar (or Burma) has most have the worst human rights record in the area. Many of the ‘long neck” Karen people have fled to Thailand from Myanmar to escape war and discrimination at the hands of the Myanmar military junta, which has forced ethnic minorities to join slave gangs that clear forest and build infrastructure. Even the names of the country, Myanmar and Burma, highlight the ethnic tension present in the country as both are terms used to describe the majority Burmese, excluding the many minority groups found in the country.

The modern state of Myanmar broke away from British colonial rule in 1948. Aung San, (his daughter is Aung San Suu Kyi, the democratic movement leader) is also considered by many to be the father of Myanmar as well as the founder of the modern Burmese millitary, the Tatmadaw, the same organisation that has now  imprisoned his daughter. Fighting for Burmese independence, first with the Japanese and then with the British, he was well respected by the military leaders. This reverence may be a contributing factor on why Aung San Suu Kyi hasn’t simply disappeared but has been placed under house arrest for much of the last two decades. At the time of independence from Britain, several provinces joined the Union on the provision that they held the constitutional right to secede. These groups Include the Karen, (who Aung San himself led reprisals against for their support of Britain and strong Christian belief). Most significant of these groups however was the Shan, the largest minority that makes up roughly 10% of the population. Since 1950, the Shan people have been at battle with the Myanmar government, with the conflict centred around the desire of the Shan people to have autonomy, if not full independence.

Many people associate Myanmar with the monk protests in 2007. A trip with my wife to Myanmar co-incideted with this event. We didn’t see any of the large scale protests in Yangon or Mandalay but saw some in Bagan. While the Western media portrays Myanmar as a pariah state, hermit-like in its insular outlook, we found this to be far from the truth. In fact, people had access to BBC (radio and television), CNN and other international media. The internet was slow but no pages that I commonly visited were blocked. There were foreign newspapers like this photo from outside Mandalay show. This monk and I had a long discussion about the Premier League and Arsenal. It was surreal to be watching footage in Myanmar of the protests where western commentators (mostly based in and speaking from Bangkok) spoke of the Myanmar’s people lack of knowledge of the events. Nothing could be further from the truth. The people were educated about the events and knew about the uprising, the protests and the consequences. Don’t always believe that people are as isolated as they are made out to be. Information flows.

A trip to Myanmar is not undertaken likely. Aung San Suu Kyi has spoken of her desire for people, especially Westerners, not to travel to the country as this is lining the junta pockets. This is true to a point, as no travel to Myanmar can be done without giving visa payments and without frequenting government owned shops. However, an independent traveller can stay at hostels and guesthouses that aren’t government operated, take public transport and shop at places that benefit the local population. This benefit to the local population can’t be discounted. Life is tough in Myanmar and tourist dollars can help communities. We met many people who thanked us for visiting and shared insights into the life they lived (without discussing politics which would be a foolish subject for us to initiate and a potentially dangerous one for them to discuss). Furthermore, we decided that having visited China, one of the world’s worst abuser of human rights, it would be hypocritical not to go to Myanmar, citing the same issues. Make your own mind up about the rights and wrongs of visiting this intriging and beautiful country.