My time in Myanmar

Finally, after four days of meetings at the UN, with other Christian relief agencies, and with donors like the Canadian and American governments, I flew to Yangon (Rangoon) on Monday morning, May 26. So, a brief intro to Myanmar (Burma).

First, the two names. Since a military coup deposed democratic rule, and installed a totalitarian regime with a terrible human rights record, the Canadian and American governments (among others) have imposed economic sanctions and refuse to recognize the authority of the regime. This includes recognizing the names of cities (Yangon) and the state (Myanmar) and referring to the pre-regime names. Part of the politics of working there is remembering the appropriate name for the appropriate party, to avoid offending anyone. However, I also use them interchangeably here.

Yangon is a small city, not modern at all, despite a beautiful, empty modern airport terminal. Odd quirks include driving on the right side of the road, with most vehicles right hand drive, which makes being a front seat passenger an adventure. Economic sanctions has restricted new imports, so almost all vehicles on the road are from the 70s or earlier. Nevertheless, I only saw one accident in my time there.

There is a surprising high level of English spoken in Yangon, at least equal to that of Thailand. The landscape is dominated by the large, golden pagodas for which the country is named ("The Golden Land") Buddhism is very visible, with a majority of pedestrian traffic being monks and nuns of all ages. Even so, animism and other spiritual leanings are strong - the government has a Ministry of Astrology.

While in Yangon, I met with church leaders, social group leaders, and businessmen who were already reaching out to their fellow Burmese. I also met with the Yangon version of the same meetings I was at in Bangkok. The government, in it's need for control, has restricted internet access, through a proxy server, which blocks much of the public domain, including email access, which is filtered. I am certain my hotel phone line was tapped, and the government controls distribution of mobile phones, with "world phones" not working there. During my time there, the government first promised, then rescinded access for international aid workers to the remote regions. They arrested and detained local volunteers and citizens handing out aid, and in general, confounded all attempts at aid (which they see as attempts at control), through red tape and double stories. This was the most frustrating relief response I, and many other much more seasoned professionals, have been involved in.

One exciting moment took place when a church leader called my hotel late at night and asked to meet me on urgent business. He arrived to take me away in his car (which was unexpected), under cover of dark, to an unknown area of the city, where a Bible school (the term is over), was "hiding" a whole village. Mostly Christian, these families had fled the flood plain with their pastor, and sought refuge in Yangon. The seminary had taken in in 480 people, including many orphans and widows, and was feeding and clothing them. They were hidden, because the Burmese can't relocate in their own country without permission, and all the cyclone victims would have been put into a camp or sent home. I could take no pictures or names there. The church leaders informed me this was happening all over the city, leading to another logistics problem: How do you aid victims that don't exist? Really, the only feasible solution is to aid the local civil society members in reaching out, on the edge of illegal activity, to aid their fellow Burmese.