Visits to Burma

In short, I wouldn't advise going to Burma unless you have a really good reason. If you don't know the language, or don't have friends there, there's probably little there for you. The terrible situation there is only getting worse. It's just not worth it...

I used to think about going back to Burma. I really do want to go back. But what's happening there now is just too terrible. Recently the Burmese military has even been attacking their own civilians as refugees accross the border in Thailand. It seems the murdering is just getting worse each year. They try to put on a false front for the tourists but it's very, very thin.

For the foreign visitor, Burma generally has less to offer than India, Thailand, or Viet Nam, both in terms of standards as well as experiences.

For the visitor, prices are extremely expensive. Unlike India, Burma has very few bargains for the tourist.

If you are observant, Burma will both depress and anger you. Burma's military is hard at work against their enemy - and the "enemy" is in fact the Burmese citizens. As their resources are being sold out from under them, the citizens are literally being enslaved on chain gangs.

Don't be fooled. The Burmese military is putting up a false front for the tourist trade. What really exists behind the thin curtain is a deadly reality. The average Burmese lives in fear of the military, which routinely robs them, forces them into slave labor, and kidnaps them into forced prostitution. The military tries to paint a thin wall around the limited tourist track. In Mandalay and Yangon, they've arrested citizens and destroyed their homes just to clear a make-believe path for the tourists. The further you get from the tourist track, the worse it becomes. Rural drug lords pay cash to the military, who in turn force average villagers into drugs and prostitution. Even the US TV show "20-20" has interviewed innocent Burmese people who's bodies were mutilated with bayonets in this "war for drugs".

For more detailed information on the situations in Burma, check usenet's Burma Net, and any day's edition of the Bangkok Post.

I used to have some pointers here for visitors to Burma, but now I've changed that because I really can't advise going there. No matter what the tour books say (they want to sell books), Burma just isn't worth it. The problem is you will give money to the military when you go there. You can't escape it.

There's a lot of depressing news from Burma. A friend of someone I know there was recently arrested for protesting. His sentance: 20 years in prison. Many of these prisoners are sent into forced labor, working for petroleum projects as the military insiders get rich. The fact that ordinary citizens face the risk of prison simply for speaking out is an indication of just how obscene the situation is in Burma.

Recently the military has even been invading Thailand to attack and burn down refugee camps. Even the Burmese who manage to escape accross the border are being hunted and killed. Tensions at the time of this writing have been escalating between the two countries.

Now they are beginning to charge Burmese ex-patriots cash payments upon return to Burma. The payments they demand are roughly 200 US$ per month of absence. We presume this is a retaliation against anyone who can escape and work for a better life abroad. Some people have reported such extortion on returning citizens in the many thousands of dollars with the threat of house arrest as enforcement.

Even though the culture is fascinating, Burma is a brutal, bloody place. All you have to do is peel back the thin tourist layer to see the real situation. If one doesn't see it, they are simply not opening their eyes.

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