I realize that this is a forum for food, but my recent week long trip to Myanmar (better known to many of you as Burma) opened my eyes and my heart to a sad reality. I have visited many countries in the world, and some are what we call " developing" but I have never been to a country gripped by a military dictatorship like Myanmar. Upon my arriva,l my biggest fears were beng robbed, being held up at gunpoint, or even being caught doing something the government didn't approve of and ending up imprisoned. What I found was the complete opposite. I found a land of the most humble, gracious, and generous people I could have imagined. The country is seemingly cut off from most the world because of sanctions meant to constrain the harsh government. I must admit, I have marched on Capital Hill in Washington urging my congressmen and senators to vote in favor of economic sanctions against equally grueling regimes in the Middle East, and never once thought of the horrendous impact those sanctions have against the poorest and most vulnerable members of that society. Myanmar showed me the effects. Yangon, their previous capital city, is a city of 5 million people. The buildings are crumbling, the taxis are from decades ago, and there are no American (or European for that matter) products in sight beyond the occasional grossly inflated Coca Cola bottles imported into Myanmar from Thailand and Cambodia. What they call sidewalks are a sad excuse for a broken ankle waiting to happen. Uneven square slabs of concrete are placed on the dirt which mildly protect the pedestrians from the mud and filthy sewage water flowing beneath. Tourists can be spotted wandering the markets and streets, but they are few and far between in comparison to Myanmar's neighbors Thailand or even Cambodia. When westerners walk down the streets and alleyways, they are greated with huge smiles and curious questions of where they come from. Amongst the few toursists in the city, even fewer are American. When the locals hear we come from the USA they inquire about our dark skinned president who makes them so proud bc he looks like them. Beyond Obama's dark skin, they know little about our country or our politics beyond the fact that we are a Democracy, something they long for.
A common occurrence in Myanmar is hushed conversations when they are sure they are in a safe area about their "situation". Upon several occasions we had our Burmese guides or taxi drivers look around, scoot close to us, and in near whispers discuss the harsh government who rules over them with an iron fist. "We are in a bad situation here, but I think soon it will change" was a phrase we heard several times. Their hope of change, true democracy, and human rights is inspiring. I wonder how long they have been telling themselves "soon it will change" and I wonder if they actually believe it will change.
Myanmar is home to some of the most fascinatingand breathtaking historical sights I have ever laid eyes upon. I believe some of their sights can easily rival the pyramids and the great wall of China. However, I had never heard of any of these incredible sights prior to my trip here, which I think is similar of many Americans. I debated, and still question, whether visiting Myanmar was a good idea. The majority of the hotels and airlines in Myanmar are government run, and even those that are independently owned and operated likely have to share a percentage of their income with the government. During our time in Myanmar, we tried our hardest to avoid all government owned venues, opting to give our patronage to the locals who need it the most.
Education in Myanmar is not compulsory, and oftentimes families cannot afford to pay for their children's education. We learned that one year of university in Myanmar is around 250 euros a year, a fortune to most. Without proper schooling, the Burmese remain in the exact position their governemnt wants-simple, uneducated, and unable to better themselves and their situations. Many of the Burmese live as they did hundreds of years ago, in shacks without electricity or clean water, relying on the river as their lifeline. As an American, I cannot fathom what it is like to not have clean drinking water, or even a cold shower. For the people in Myanmar, something as simple as a shower as we know it is a foreign concept.
It was after seeing the controversial comedy troupe called "The Mustache Brothers" that my yearning to raise awareness of the situation in Burma was born. The three mustache brothers are no longer able to perform to locals after one of them, Par Par Lay, was arrested for simply talking aout the government in an "unfavorable" way. He spent hard time in a Burmese prison for many years on more than one account. They hardly speak English, but their entire family now performs songs and dances to tourists every night of the week. When we saw them in the basement of their small home, there were no more than ten of us from all over the western world, yearning to get a glimpse into the controversiality of their act. We received nothing more than a viewing of a year's old DVD of an American celebrity PSA campaign attempting to raise awareness of Burma's political situation, and some singing and dancing. We had never once seen any of the pieces from the PSA in America. I was unaware of the Burmese military's use of human shields to protect themselves from mines in the fields, and I was unaware of the Burmese government's policy of raping women.
At the end of the day, the people in Myanmar are simply trying to survive. They smile, and they eat deliciously simple curries and foods cooked on the streets. They work to learn English so that they can read books and communicate with the western tourists, and they fear that being caught speaking negatively about their government, and possible change, will ruin their simple lives by landing them in prison. They have so far to develop, but due to the sanctions and the harsh government which spends roughly 40 percent of the country's budget on the military, developing appears to be nearly impossible. It seems to be a vicious cycle, and I hope that some time in my life I will see it change.
