Myanmar, Where Hope Dies Last?


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Last Updated on April 25, 2018 by

News stories take on increased significance when we’ve actually visited the place being covered. For example, we've recently been reading more about the effects of a harsh winter on the lives of ordinary people in both Tajikistan and China. As we read these stories, images of the people we’ve met become superimposed on a piece of news that we might otherwise regard with detachment.

We now follow Myanmar (Burma) more closely, as well. Just a few days ago, the junta (military government) there made news by announcing another “road map to democracy” and elections in 2010.

We’d like to be optimistic. Unfortunately, our recent experience in Myanmar tells us that the skeptics may have a more accurate read of the situation.

To See for Ourselves

Shwedegon Pagoda - Yangon
Saying a prayer at Shwedegon Pagoda in Yangon, Myanmar

We had been interested in visiting Myanmar for a while. Our interest was piqued further by the recent Buddhist monk-led protests (so-called Saffron Uprising) there in August-September 2007.

When the news first broke, we were concerned. That concern slowly yielded to hope as we watched scenes of defiant monks and locals protesting price increases and standing up for their freedom. We witnessed what looked like a sustainable movement, but the protests eventually subsided and the situation began to settle down.

A few months later, we made the decision to visit Myanmar. Friends questioned our decision, “Are you sure you want to go there? Is it safe?

Based on our research, we believed it would be safe for travelers. So last month, we carried our hope with us to Myanmar. During our visit, our safety never seemed in question, but the condition of Myanmar’s road to democracy did.

Are You Spies?

Burmese Newspaper Headlines
Headlines from the New Light of Myanmar

We never initiated discussions about politics or the junta. The people in Myanmar were eager to do that for us. So long as they felt comfortable in their surroundings and were certain that no undercover police were around, they spoke openly with us. They shared stories about how military police would surreptitiously snap photos of demonstrators during the day in order to take them away from their homes at night. Police presence was minimal. That is, if you only happen to be counting those in uniform.

In the face of all this, the people of Myanmar are resilient, resourceful, and creative. Locals know how to go about their regular business without attracting attention. They obtain information through word of mouth, by listening to shortwave radio (BBC, VOA, RFA) and by reading correspondence from relatives living abroad. If our experience with the internet was any measure, all of these information sources are heavily monitored and censored.

What’s Behind the Blackouts?

Our own communication challenges were not only limited to circumventing blocked internet, but also navigating frequent power cuts. The purpose of internet controls is straightforward: to prevent the flow of information.

Blackouts are a bit more difficult to understand. In Myanmar, electricity would run rather sporadically for most of the day and usually shut off around dusk. This meant that any home, guest house or business wishing to operate during the evening would need to use a generator.

Compared to every other resource-starved region we’ve been in, this is an odd approach. Because light and heat are more available during the day, electricity is often wisely conserved in favor of darker and colder evenings.

Cynics we spoke to explained that Myanmar's electricity distribution strategy was connected to the business interests of high-ranking officials with connections to the petroleum industry. They suggested a simple dynamic: turn off the electricity (lights and heat) at night and people will be forced to run diesel-powered generators to supply their needs.

Does Poverty Equal a Poor Country?

Myanmar is not a poor country. I’m not saying that there isn’t poverty. There is, but it doesn’t have to be that way,” one man offered.

The point that he was getting at is that Myanmar has resources: vast tracts of fertile land, teak forests, gems, and veins of gold and natural gas. Unofficially, the country supposedly even does a lively opium trade with China and Thailand.

Burmese Woman Harvesting Ginger
Village life on the way from Kalaw to Inle Lake, Myanmar.

The fact that many people in Myanmar remain desperately poor doesn't seem to be due to endemic laziness or lack of resources. Across Myanmar's diverse ethnic groups, people appeared relatively hard-working and resourceful. The issue seems to be more a matter of what government chooses to do with the resources at its disposal and how it “manages” the economy than with the failure of its people or its land.

Locals are quick to tell us that the junta and their friends control all business deals. As a result, average citizens don’t benefit from the country's natural resources. They see supplies drop as the government exports them; prices rise and purchasing power is diminished. Ultimately, increased petrol prices prompted the demonstrations in August and September. This was the tip of an iceberg of frustration. While resources were being extracted, deteriorating infrastructure and diminishing services (electricity, health care and other) were offered in exchange.

The government also appears to enjoy squandering their resources on boondoggles like re-locating the capital of Yangon (Rangoon) to Naypyitaw, a Pleasantville-style planned village of suburban dreams, subdivisions and empty well-lit streets. We passed by it on the train; it was surreal. Large tracts of land and freshly laid wide boulevards in the middle of the plain remain empty but ready for the elite while the rest of the country struggles with rolling blackouts and failing infrastructure.

Whose Future?

Burmese Boy - Kalaw
A Burmese child in a village near Kalaw, Myanmar.

When we heard that the junta announced elections in 2010 as part of Myanmar's democratic road map, we weren't particularly hopeful.

Skeptics say that the government's “free elections” may not be so free. We too have a hard time believing that the military would voluntarily cede political power and the economic power that comes with it. After all, wouldn’t opening the internet, allowing journalists back into the country and freeing a few prominent political prisoners offer some steps on the real road to democracy?

Hope for Real Change?

There is one country that we believe can influence Myanmar towards real change given both its economic influence on and its proximity to Myanmar. Unfortunately, we can’t tell you which country that is until after we visit China for the second time this spring.

Oops, I think we just gave away the answer.

Reflecting on Our Decision to Visit

Given all this, we are glad we visited Myanmar when we did. We wanted to see what life was like for real people. In doing that and spending our money consciously and wisely, we are confident that we did more good for ordinary people than we did for the government.

We're looking forward to sharing more impressions of Myanmar – its diverse people, food and culture – through our writing and our photography.

About Daniel Noll
Travel and life evangelist. Writer, speaker, storyteller and consultant. Connecting people to experiences that will change their lives. Originally from the U.S. Daniel has lived abroad since 2001 and most recently has been on the road since 2006. When he's not writing for the blog you can keep up with his adventures on Twitter, Facebook, and Instagram. And you can learn more about him on the About Page and on LinkedIn.

4 thoughts on “Myanmar, Where Hope Dies Last?”

  1. Hi. You two just amaze me! Thank you for sharing with those of us who will never get to Myanmar, as well as many of the other countries you’ve visited. And the photos! I really appreciate who you are and what you’re doing. I’ve told a lot of friends about your website…don’t know how many have taken advantage of it…think I’ll just e-mail my whole address book now. You continue to inspire me. Love and Blessings, Daisy btw, I don’t know how much you hear from Suzanne, but she has moved into a nice apt 1 mile from her job. Yea.

    Reply
  2. Daisy: Thank you for the flattering message…and even more thanks for telling your friends (your whole address book!) about our website. “Inspiring” is possibly the best compliment we could be paid. We’ll keep the photos and stories coming. Thanks for the update!

    Reply
  3. The reason for the rationing of electricity in Myanmar is that there is simply not enough power in the grid to supply the whole country.

    To compensate the EPC rations electricity by suburbs in towns that have power. The electricity is also rationed out according to priority. Army bases have priority, essential services, etc. The general populace come last.

    The infrastructure is also subject to blackmarket connections to the grid and overloading of substations which if they fail will take a long time to fix because of cost.

    Generally the EPC does try to supply electricity for lighting at night in areas where it is available. Most of Myanmar is without electrical grid.
    Electricity meters for private houses are also restricted to save the grid.
    You have to pay a significant amount just to buy a meter.

    Meters are stolen and are worth a lot.

    Naypyiday has put a huge demand on limited electrical resources.

    The infrastructure can simply not support the demand. Hence electricity is harder to get than petrol.

    Petrol is available almost everywhere in Myanmar. The unique design of the distribution system that foreigners dont see is that most petrol is given out as rations to officers in the army. They get about 40 gallons per month if they have a army car. They sell off half and make more money from this than their meagre wages. So most petrol in the country has flowed at some point through the army.

    If the generals stopped this they would lose loyalty and the officers would not have enough money to survive. Most army bases have a blackmarket petrol shop opposite the front gate.

    Reply
  4. maung sacca: Thanks for shedding light on the blackouts and arcane petrol distribution system in Myanmar. Terrific, enlightening comment.

    As we watched Naypyidaw (or Naypyiday) from the train, it struck us as nothing short of a bizarre abomination.

    Reply

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