Forgot the news about flu scare in Yangon. The face masks are out of stock at the pharmacies in Yangon since people are buying up to protect themselves from swine flu. For the first time in our country we see people wearing masks at public places. The newspapers warn people to wash hands, wear masks and to stay home if they are sick.
Every rainy season is flu season in Yangon but this year is the first time that they are learning to take precautions, thanks to the swine flu scary news from international media. Usually no lethal cases before by flu and we do not have flu vaccines here. It is very unlikely to stop the epidemic if it is already in near by countries and I hope that the strain is not so virulent like in Mexico.
The hepatitis epidemic in 80s had hit almost all city dwellers in Yangon and had made the vaccine co from the West very rich as well as the few liver specialists of the country. People are well read and informed nowadays thanks to the journals and TV and radio stations. The houses in delta region hit by cyclone last year are investing in live savers and they are more aware of weather updates. They are all recovering in most parts and the government, UN and NGOs have helped them.
May 12 PM Yangon.
Wednesday, July 1, 2009
Yangon News!
La Opera is a popular Italian restaurant for foreign expats most of them working for UN and NGOs. It is the best among the few foreign restaurants in town. Life as an expat in Yangon is quite luxurious with good food and good service available. There are a few European trading companies monopolizing the market since there is trade sanctions imposed to stop major international companies investing in Myanmar. I do not believe in these small trading companies from China, India , Asean and Europe which just take what ever they can from us and leave nothing behind. UN offices have been here since old socialist days and the way they move with their big offices and cars with expats are not dynamic like private companies.
NGOs have small overhead and yet some are of suspicious nature. One European NGO came years ago when about 25 HIV positive prostitutes were thrown out of Thailand. He was seen at L'Opera every week and at his office he has some staff trying to teach some other ways of living for the families. Handiwork, iron poles for garden lighting, cooking pot without using charcoal etc etc . Nothing that makes sense nor marketable. It is like a kid playing games in the jungle with parent's support.
Milk subsitude infant formula is widely marketed by a European company with the help of doctors. It is still the one and only Western formula in the market.Thanks to Chinese milk formula scare, breast feeding is now encouraged by the government. 3 in1 coffeemix produced by local companies are now competing for the mass market. It is a mixture of milk powder, instant coffee and sugar in one dose packets affordable for everyone.
Massage parlors are everywhere which is new for our cities. The girls arriving in the city to work for garment industries do not want to go back to their villages and end up in massage parlors. Men come back from Malaysia and Middle East after they got sacked because of shrinking economy. Some stay home and some work with meagre salary at the hotels to get experience and training. They hope to get overseas job when the market recovers.
The car workshops and some small industries in the city have less workers in rainy season. Many of them went back to cultivate their farms to save labor cost. They only come back when the farm work is less after the rain. There are still some garment factories exporting to Korea in Yangon. Every morning the young girls dressed in jeans and blouses Korean international style with lunch boxes in hand go to the factories. Atleast they do not need to work at massage parlors. They all look fresh and happy having a job and being able to feed and clothe themselves.
The road block in University Avenue is removed now that Daw Su is moved to Insein. It is free now for us to drive by the brand new US embassy compound, very impressive on the bank of Inya Lake the most prestigious neighborhood in the city. The new houses in the city are very grand compared to the socialist days when the private enterprises were depressed after 1962 till 1990.
There are Chinese tourists at the hotels coming for the gems emporium. They like to do their laundry in the hotel rooms and hang them up on the windows. Many local Chinese visit Kumming to do border trading. The property market which had gone up so high since border areas become peaceful, is now cooling off.
There is a national football league now financed by local tycoons and their games start among their groups. The boys in Myanmar want to become football stars and the girls want to become models and movie stars. There are wide spread pirating of vcds and dvds, so producers cannot make money with music CDs. Most of the music here are also copied from the West anyway, substituting with local lyrics.
Asians are copy cats of the West and I do not know how we will copy democracy from the West. We need to do it but without any blood shed nor useless quarelling inflamed by outsiders.
may 11 AM Yangon.
NGOs have small overhead and yet some are of suspicious nature. One European NGO came years ago when about 25 HIV positive prostitutes were thrown out of Thailand. He was seen at L'Opera every week and at his office he has some staff trying to teach some other ways of living for the families. Handiwork, iron poles for garden lighting, cooking pot without using charcoal etc etc . Nothing that makes sense nor marketable. It is like a kid playing games in the jungle with parent's support.
Milk subsitude infant formula is widely marketed by a European company with the help of doctors. It is still the one and only Western formula in the market.Thanks to Chinese milk formula scare, breast feeding is now encouraged by the government. 3 in1 coffeemix produced by local companies are now competing for the mass market. It is a mixture of milk powder, instant coffee and sugar in one dose packets affordable for everyone.
Massage parlors are everywhere which is new for our cities. The girls arriving in the city to work for garment industries do not want to go back to their villages and end up in massage parlors. Men come back from Malaysia and Middle East after they got sacked because of shrinking economy. Some stay home and some work with meagre salary at the hotels to get experience and training. They hope to get overseas job when the market recovers.
The car workshops and some small industries in the city have less workers in rainy season. Many of them went back to cultivate their farms to save labor cost. They only come back when the farm work is less after the rain. There are still some garment factories exporting to Korea in Yangon. Every morning the young girls dressed in jeans and blouses Korean international style with lunch boxes in hand go to the factories. Atleast they do not need to work at massage parlors. They all look fresh and happy having a job and being able to feed and clothe themselves.
The road block in University Avenue is removed now that Daw Su is moved to Insein. It is free now for us to drive by the brand new US embassy compound, very impressive on the bank of Inya Lake the most prestigious neighborhood in the city. The new houses in the city are very grand compared to the socialist days when the private enterprises were depressed after 1962 till 1990.
There are Chinese tourists at the hotels coming for the gems emporium. They like to do their laundry in the hotel rooms and hang them up on the windows. Many local Chinese visit Kumming to do border trading. The property market which had gone up so high since border areas become peaceful, is now cooling off.
There is a national football league now financed by local tycoons and their games start among their groups. The boys in Myanmar want to become football stars and the girls want to become models and movie stars. There are wide spread pirating of vcds and dvds, so producers cannot make money with music CDs. Most of the music here are also copied from the West anyway, substituting with local lyrics.
Asians are copy cats of the West and I do not know how we will copy democracy from the West. We need to do it but without any blood shed nor useless quarelling inflamed by outsiders.
may 11 AM Yangon.
Sharing an e mail !
Be careful when you go to Thailand .
One guy was detained in Bangkok for stealing a box of cigarettes in a duty-free shop in Bangkok International Airport .
He had paid for chocolates and a carton of cigarettes. The cashier put a packet of cigarettes into his bag and he thought
it was a free pack. He was arrested for shop-lifting and the Thai Police extortion price was RM30,000 for his release. He
spent two nights in jail and paid RM50 for an air-cond cell, 200-300 baht for each visitor, and RM11,000 for his final
release. The Police shared the money in front of his eyes.
On top of that, he was charged in court and fined RM2,000 by the magistrate and handcuffed and escorted to his plane. His
passport was stamped "Thief". While there, his relatives requested help from the Malaysian Embassy and was
told that they are helpless, as M'sians are victimised similarly daily and letters and phone-calls to the Thai
Authorities are ignored.
He shared a cell with a Singaporean the 1st night who paid RM60,000 for his release. The 2nd night was an Indian
national who paid USD70,000.
Mind you this is not in a shag downtown Bangkok but in a duty free shop in Bangkok 's Int'l Airport.
BE WARNED !!!
Monday, June 29, 2009
Condolences to the fallen stars!
People in Myanmar knows Michael Jackson and Charlies Angels. Michael is more popular and they are all shocked and saddened by his death. Not many are interested in Iran news, not at all but many are interested in Jackson's death. I pitied Micheal who was rich and successful yet missing something essential in his life. His fame killed him finally, weak and exposed to those who wanted to exploit. It reminds us of our life, we all strive for success, fame and richness and when we get everything , we still tumble and fall out of steps. May the fallen stars continue their journey in their next life as rich and prosperous without much side effects.
Friday, June 26, 2009
Life in Yangon!
It is totally different from the West. Main thing is the pleasant weather all year round. The heat in the summer months is usually made bearable by the cool breeze. The rainy season cools down the heat and it usually rains only half a day the most. There are palm trees , green shrubs, flowers blooming and all dancing wet and wild when rain comes in the evenings nowadays. The birds coo and chirp in the mornings. In the streets, people go around carrying food to sell. Kids in greens walk to school with umbrellas. Mothers wait outside the gates of the school to pick up their children in the afternoons. Life is as usual with people and cars and buses buzzing the city of Yangon. The trishaw men complaint of road blocks in Insein that hurt his business. At other areas only the time when schools end, the roads are blocked and slow the traffic.
The monks come out as usual once a week to collect food from people. The sight of the monks and the housewives having time to cook and serve food to the monks complete the stress free lifestyle of our country. We all have so much to share what ever poor we are. The fish in the rivers and the greens in the fields are plucked to make food for a family. We only need to store rice and our land is 80% agricultural with rice fields. We have more houses in our street that offer food to the line of monks. The young monks at the end of the line are usually orphans or some kids sent by their parents to learn Buddhism. It is our culture and it is precious. We feel proud and happy to be part of this!
At government schools they learn modern science. At the monasteries they learn to read and write and learn about life and its nature. How to compose and control their desires and about the purpose of this life. They can leave if they want to have a family and earn a living like everyone else. They can come back to monastery anytime they want to leave the world and take refuge in religion and help others to learn the truth about themselves.
The life as a monk is usually very strict and they cannot expect to have a free boarding and free food. They must learn and sit for exams or they must practice to be frugal and live within means. They have to teach the young monks and they have to beg for food every week. They have to do the duties as representatives of Buddha and recite Buddhist teachings to people.
People say that once you become a monk it is hard to become a layman since the lay man has to strive everyday for food and lodging expenses. It is the same with long term prisoned people and with soldiers. They are all supported by the community to live and serve for one purpose.
As I serve food to the line of monks every week, I decide not to think whether they are really serving their purpose or not. They are wearing the color of Buddha and that is enough for me. We see a few police and soldiers on the street as well and we know that they are on duty to keep the country in order so that we can all live and prosper in peace. There may be some misappropriations in some places but we trust the system to get it right. If we look for the bigger picture we can ignore the minor flaws and we can all work from here to a better there.
may burma 1.13 pm Yangon.
Saturday, June 20, 2009
Life in Yangon!
Hi all,
Life here in Yangon is quite peaceful.
The rainy season is cool!
Markets are a bit depressed but we all are surviving.
Saturday, May 2, 2009
taking a break!
Hi All,
I am taking a break since I am where I feel happy and touching lives with my people everyday!
Intend to communicate locally for education and cultural purpose so I need to be absent from the global media.
Need to keep the promise I made to someone!
Thanks and regards,
May
Durians and Mangoes!
Durians and Mangoes are the Kings of fruit, the best in our region among all fruit. Today I have my first Durian bought at the market with 3 dollar. Mangoes are in season also with the price of 1 dollar for four.
Thursday, April 23, 2009
sharing some pdf files
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Thursday, April 16, 2009
Happy Myanmar New Year!
Today is the first day of Myanmar Buddhist calendar. We have just
finished the four day water festival and after crazily enjoying the
water throwing and dancing people are packed at the Pagodas today
gaining merits by worshipping the Pagoda and fasting themselves.
The first time I have access to gmail from office since it has been
down since Nargis spoilt the antenna on the roof.
The best wholesome thing happened to me for being at home in Myanmar
is the weekly offering of food to the monks arriving infront of our
house every week. Three weeks now that we offered them soon ( rice and
curry ) for the monks. The first week was pork curry, the second was
chicken with gourd ( buthee kyet thar hin ) , last week was bean curd
curry ( vegetarian dish ) for thyingyan time. All meat and fish stalls
closed during thingyan since no one wants to do the evil act of
killing animals. Today they will release life fish in the lakes.
finished the four day water festival and after crazily enjoying the
water throwing and dancing people are packed at the Pagodas today
gaining merits by worshipping the Pagoda and fasting themselves.
The first time I have access to gmail from office since it has been
down since Nargis spoilt the antenna on the roof.
The best wholesome thing happened to me for being at home in Myanmar
is the weekly offering of food to the monks arriving infront of our
house every week. Three weeks now that we offered them soon ( rice and
curry ) for the monks. The first week was pork curry, the second was
chicken with gourd ( buthee kyet thar hin ) , last week was bean curd
curry ( vegetarian dish ) for thyingyan time. All meat and fish stalls
closed during thingyan since no one wants to do the evil act of
killing animals. Today they will release life fish in the lakes.
Away from internet is like a major holiday for me since I had so much
time in the States to blog. Still I hope and will keep posting on
this site.
Cheers and Happy New Year!
from Yangon.
Saturday, March 21, 2009
Word of the day!
veracity \vuh-RAS-i-tee\, noun:
1. truthfulness
2. truth
Veracity is the heart of morality.
-- Thomas Henry Huxley
The world is upheld by the veracity of good men: they make the earth wholesome. They who lived with them found life glad and nutritious. Life is sweet and tolerable only in our belief in such society.
-- Ralph Waldo Emerson
1. truthfulness
2. truth
Veracity is the heart of morality.
-- Thomas Henry Huxley
The world is upheld by the veracity of good men: they make the earth wholesome. They who lived with them found life glad and nutritious. Life is sweet and tolerable only in our belief in such society.
-- Ralph Waldo Emerson
We trade within Asia
Myanmar's foreign trade hits over $11 bln in 2008
www.chinaview.cn 2009-03-21 19:29:13 Print
YANGON, March 21 (Xinhua) -- Myanmar's foreign trade volume hit11.492 billion U.S. dollars in 2008, up 17.8 percent from 2007, according to the latest government monthly economic indicators.
Of the 11.492 billion dollars' foreign trade, the exports amounted to 7.106 billion dollars, up 10.8 percent, while the imports took 4.385 billion dollars, also up 31.2 percent, enjoying a trade surplus of 2.721 billion dollars.
The government sector accounted for 4.656 billion dollars or 65.5 percent in the country's exports, while the private sector represented 2.597 billion dollars or 59.2 percent in its imports.
The apparent increase of Myanmar's foreign trade in 2008 was attributed to the export of natural gas which topped the country's exports during the year with 2.486 billion dollars.
In 2007, Myanmar's foreign trade registered 9.755 billion dollars with its exports showing 6.413 billion dollars and its imports 3.342 billion dollars.
Myanmar trade surplus has been gained since 2002, before which the country suffered a trade deficit for many years.
Myanmar's foreign trade is mainly with Asian countries which accounts for 90 percent of the total. The trade with other member countries of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) represents 51.3 percent. The remaining are with European countries with 4.8 percent and American countries 1.5 percent.
Myanmar's main export goods are natural gas, agricultural, marine and forestry products, while its key import goods are machinery, crude oil, edible oil, pharmaceutical products, cement, fertilizer and consumers goods.
www.chinaview.cn 2009-03-21 19:29:13 Print
YANGON, March 21 (Xinhua) -- Myanmar's foreign trade volume hit11.492 billion U.S. dollars in 2008, up 17.8 percent from 2007, according to the latest government monthly economic indicators.
Of the 11.492 billion dollars' foreign trade, the exports amounted to 7.106 billion dollars, up 10.8 percent, while the imports took 4.385 billion dollars, also up 31.2 percent, enjoying a trade surplus of 2.721 billion dollars.
The government sector accounted for 4.656 billion dollars or 65.5 percent in the country's exports, while the private sector represented 2.597 billion dollars or 59.2 percent in its imports.
The apparent increase of Myanmar's foreign trade in 2008 was attributed to the export of natural gas which topped the country's exports during the year with 2.486 billion dollars.
In 2007, Myanmar's foreign trade registered 9.755 billion dollars with its exports showing 6.413 billion dollars and its imports 3.342 billion dollars.
Myanmar trade surplus has been gained since 2002, before which the country suffered a trade deficit for many years.
Myanmar's foreign trade is mainly with Asian countries which accounts for 90 percent of the total. The trade with other member countries of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) represents 51.3 percent. The remaining are with European countries with 4.8 percent and American countries 1.5 percent.
Myanmar's main export goods are natural gas, agricultural, marine and forestry products, while its key import goods are machinery, crude oil, edible oil, pharmaceutical products, cement, fertilizer and consumers goods.
Friday, March 20, 2009
Failure of all fronts!
a country shall not be left behind
Take the economic shackles off Burma
Michael Backman
May 21, 2008
Page 1 of 2 Single page view
FOR years, the West has imposed sanctions on Burma. It has deliberately set out
to cripple the country, allowing it to be so weakened that when a natural
disaster hits, such as the recent cyclone in the Irrawaddy Delta, the country
cannot cope. Thousands have died as a consequence. Those who have supported
sanctions can hardly cry crocodile tears now. They are complicit in the
suffering now unfolding.
Burma is a country so isolated from the world, so cut out of normality, so
bereft of even the most basic modern medicines that even the most insignificant
items that we take for granted are not available to ordinary Burmese. A small
example: on my last visit to Rangoon, the hotel cleaning staff pilfered aspirins
each day from a bottle I'd brought with me, hoping that I would not notice —
they risked their jobs to steal a few aspirin.
So isolated is Burma that credit cards cannot be used in the country. Visa,
MasterCard and other credit card providers that are based in the US are
prohibited by law from processing the payments due to US economic sanctions. If
aid workers went in now they could not pay for anything with credit cards.
Everything must be paid for in cash.
For years, Burma has been frozen out of the international arena. And now its
Government is being told that it must immediately accept dozens of foreign aid
workers. It is not surprising the junta is reticent. And from its point of view,
it is not short of manpower to deal with natural disasters. With about 400,000
soldiers, Burma has one of the world's biggest and most battle-hardened armies.
From their point of view, what is a handful of aid workers when they have this
massive resource at their disposal?
But of course the junta is failing to provide the sort of help that people
everywhere have the right to expect. So why don't the generals behave in a way
that they should? Partly because they are not like us. The idea that they are
servants of the people simply makes no sense to them. It is the other way round.
This is a group that believes that the maintenance of its own power is integral
to national survival and which takes its policy advice not from trained
economists but from astrologers.
It's why sanctions will never work and yet eventually did work in the case of
South Africa, which was run by a white, educated, well-travelled middle class
that ultimately could no longer stand being frozen out of the salons of Europe.
Economic sanctions mean that we have put a wall around the generals and are
letting them get on with their aberrant behaviour in private. Burma has pursued
an active policy of isolationism for 40 years. Imposing sanctions on a regime
like this is akin to handing a junkie some heroin and then being surprised to
learn some time later that he's still hooked.
On the other hand, China's reaction to the earthquake in Sichuan has been
equally extraordinary but for different reasons. The disaster is on a similar
scale, and both are dictatorships propped up by the military, yet one has dealt
well with disaster. The other has not. Why?
I wrote in these pages a few weeks ago amid all the hype about Tibet and the
Dalai Lama that if China's record on human rights today is compared with that
even five years ago, then a huge improvement is clear and this should be
acknowledged. The transparency that has accompanied the Sichuan quake is
unprecedented. Until recently, the death toll and the true nature of the
disaster would have been declared a state secret. But now, China's reaction to
the disaster is just so completely ordinary — there is huge media coverage and
the Government is making a well-co-ordinated effort to help people. The Chinese,
it seems, are becoming more like us. Continued…
How has this been achieved? Not by the West shaming China into behaving
differently. The real difference has been caused by breakneck economic growth,
which has given millions middle-class incomes and middle-class expectations.
People in China now expect their Government to competently help during a time of
crisis and they expect to be told the truth about it in the media. China might
not be a democracy but its government has had to become more sensitive to
citizens' expectations. In short, economic prosperity has made it behave more
like a democracy, without necessarily being one.
The hundreds of billions of dollars in foreign trade and all the Western foreign
investment that has gone into China in the past decade have changed China
forever. But more than anything, it has changed the environment in which its
Government must operate.
In Burma, sanctions work in the generals' favour — they keep Burma's people poor
and too weak to challenge the generals. Collectively, sanctions have made the
country too weak to cope with a huge natural disaster. Former foreign minister
Gareth Evans wrote in The Age on Monday that Burma's generals were committing
crimes against humanity by being slow to act on aid. But the sanctions, which
are aimed at a handful of generals, are punishing 48 million ordinary Burmese.
Surely that too is a crime against humanity.
The state apparatus is simply too powerful for ordinary Burmese to overthrow.
It's time for the West to try something really subversive — investment — just as
it has done with China. And if the generals take a retrograde step, then hit
them with even more investment. It won't crush them. But it will change them.
www.michaelbackman.com
Trade Policy Analysis no. 1
U.S. Sanctions Against Burma: A Failure on All Fronts
by Leon T. Hadar
Leon T. Hadar is an adjunct scholar of the Cato Institute and a Washington, D.C.-based journalist who covers international politics and economics with a special interest in East Asia and the Middle East.
Executive Summary
The U.S. policy of imposing unilateral trade and investment sanctions against Burma has proven to be a failure on all fronts. By forcing U.S. firms to disengage from Burma, that policy has harmed American economic interests and done nothing to improve the living conditions or human rights of the people of Burma.
Sanctions have denied Burmese citizens the benefits of increased investment by American multinational companies--investment that brings technoloygy, better working conditions, and Western ideas.
State and local sanctions against Burma have compounded the problem caused by federal sanctions and raised troubling constitutional questions.
Unilateral sanctions have alienated our allies in the region and strengthened the hand of China but achieved none of the stated foreign policy aims. If Washington had allowed the Association of Southeast Asian Nations to take the lead in setting policy toward Burma, the United States could have enjoyed a "win-win" situation--better relations with our allies and more influence over the regime in Rangoon.
As an alternative to the failed policy of sanctions, the United States should allow U.S. companies to freely trade with and investment in Burma. A pro-business approach to engagement would more effectively promote political, civil, and economic freedom around the world. Congress should enact legislation requiring a full accounting of the cost of sanctions and explicit justification on national security grounds before they can be imposed.
Take the economic shackles off Burma
Michael Backman
May 21, 2008
Page 1 of 2 Single page view
FOR years, the West has imposed sanctions on Burma. It has deliberately set out
to cripple the country, allowing it to be so weakened that when a natural
disaster hits, such as the recent cyclone in the Irrawaddy Delta, the country
cannot cope. Thousands have died as a consequence. Those who have supported
sanctions can hardly cry crocodile tears now. They are complicit in the
suffering now unfolding.
Burma is a country so isolated from the world, so cut out of normality, so
bereft of even the most basic modern medicines that even the most insignificant
items that we take for granted are not available to ordinary Burmese. A small
example: on my last visit to Rangoon, the hotel cleaning staff pilfered aspirins
each day from a bottle I'd brought with me, hoping that I would not notice —
they risked their jobs to steal a few aspirin.
So isolated is Burma that credit cards cannot be used in the country. Visa,
MasterCard and other credit card providers that are based in the US are
prohibited by law from processing the payments due to US economic sanctions. If
aid workers went in now they could not pay for anything with credit cards.
Everything must be paid for in cash.
For years, Burma has been frozen out of the international arena. And now its
Government is being told that it must immediately accept dozens of foreign aid
workers. It is not surprising the junta is reticent. And from its point of view,
it is not short of manpower to deal with natural disasters. With about 400,000
soldiers, Burma has one of the world's biggest and most battle-hardened armies.
From their point of view, what is a handful of aid workers when they have this
massive resource at their disposal?
But of course the junta is failing to provide the sort of help that people
everywhere have the right to expect. So why don't the generals behave in a way
that they should? Partly because they are not like us. The idea that they are
servants of the people simply makes no sense to them. It is the other way round.
This is a group that believes that the maintenance of its own power is integral
to national survival and which takes its policy advice not from trained
economists but from astrologers.
It's why sanctions will never work and yet eventually did work in the case of
South Africa, which was run by a white, educated, well-travelled middle class
that ultimately could no longer stand being frozen out of the salons of Europe.
Economic sanctions mean that we have put a wall around the generals and are
letting them get on with their aberrant behaviour in private. Burma has pursued
an active policy of isolationism for 40 years. Imposing sanctions on a regime
like this is akin to handing a junkie some heroin and then being surprised to
learn some time later that he's still hooked.
On the other hand, China's reaction to the earthquake in Sichuan has been
equally extraordinary but for different reasons. The disaster is on a similar
scale, and both are dictatorships propped up by the military, yet one has dealt
well with disaster. The other has not. Why?
I wrote in these pages a few weeks ago amid all the hype about Tibet and the
Dalai Lama that if China's record on human rights today is compared with that
even five years ago, then a huge improvement is clear and this should be
acknowledged. The transparency that has accompanied the Sichuan quake is
unprecedented. Until recently, the death toll and the true nature of the
disaster would have been declared a state secret. But now, China's reaction to
the disaster is just so completely ordinary — there is huge media coverage and
the Government is making a well-co-ordinated effort to help people. The Chinese,
it seems, are becoming more like us. Continued…
How has this been achieved? Not by the West shaming China into behaving
differently. The real difference has been caused by breakneck economic growth,
which has given millions middle-class incomes and middle-class expectations.
People in China now expect their Government to competently help during a time of
crisis and they expect to be told the truth about it in the media. China might
not be a democracy but its government has had to become more sensitive to
citizens' expectations. In short, economic prosperity has made it behave more
like a democracy, without necessarily being one.
The hundreds of billions of dollars in foreign trade and all the Western foreign
investment that has gone into China in the past decade have changed China
forever. But more than anything, it has changed the environment in which its
Government must operate.
In Burma, sanctions work in the generals' favour — they keep Burma's people poor
and too weak to challenge the generals. Collectively, sanctions have made the
country too weak to cope with a huge natural disaster. Former foreign minister
Gareth Evans wrote in The Age on Monday that Burma's generals were committing
crimes against humanity by being slow to act on aid. But the sanctions, which
are aimed at a handful of generals, are punishing 48 million ordinary Burmese.
Surely that too is a crime against humanity.
The state apparatus is simply too powerful for ordinary Burmese to overthrow.
It's time for the West to try something really subversive — investment — just as
it has done with China. And if the generals take a retrograde step, then hit
them with even more investment. It won't crush them. But it will change them.
www.michaelbackman.com
Trade Policy Analysis no. 1
U.S. Sanctions Against Burma: A Failure on All Fronts
by Leon T. Hadar
Leon T. Hadar is an adjunct scholar of the Cato Institute and a Washington, D.C.-based journalist who covers international politics and economics with a special interest in East Asia and the Middle East.
Executive Summary
The U.S. policy of imposing unilateral trade and investment sanctions against Burma has proven to be a failure on all fronts. By forcing U.S. firms to disengage from Burma, that policy has harmed American economic interests and done nothing to improve the living conditions or human rights of the people of Burma.
Sanctions have denied Burmese citizens the benefits of increased investment by American multinational companies--investment that brings technoloygy, better working conditions, and Western ideas.
State and local sanctions against Burma have compounded the problem caused by federal sanctions and raised troubling constitutional questions.
Unilateral sanctions have alienated our allies in the region and strengthened the hand of China but achieved none of the stated foreign policy aims. If Washington had allowed the Association of Southeast Asian Nations to take the lead in setting policy toward Burma, the United States could have enjoyed a "win-win" situation--better relations with our allies and more influence over the regime in Rangoon.
As an alternative to the failed policy of sanctions, the United States should allow U.S. companies to freely trade with and investment in Burma. A pro-business approach to engagement would more effectively promote political, civil, and economic freedom around the world. Congress should enact legislation requiring a full accounting of the cost of sanctions and explicit justification on national security grounds before they can be imposed.
Yummy!
ASEAN food festival to be held in Yangon to mark Myanmar new year
www.chinaview.cn 2009-03-20 11:52:07 Print
YANGON, March 20 (Xinhua) -- An ASEAN food festival will be held in Myanmar's former capital of Yangon in late this month to mark the fall of the upcoming Myanmar traditional Thingyan water festival in mid-April, sources with a supermarket said here Friday.
The 15-day ASEAN food festival at the Capital Hypermarket, which is the first of its kind, will last from March 27 to April 10.
The food festival will introduce food of Myanmar and nine other member nations of Brunei, Cambodia, Indonesia, Laos, Malaysia, the Philippines, Singapore, Thailand and Vietnam, as well as other Asian countries and region such as China, Chinese Taipei, India, South Korea and Japan.
The festival will increase understanding on oriental traditions and culture, the sponsor said.
As for Myanmar food, according to restaurant businessmen in the country, foreign customers taking Myanmar traditional food registered the majority, accounting for 65 percent of the total visiting the country.
Foreign customers prefer Myanmar traditional cuisine as it is less expensive than Chinese and European food.
According to hotels and tourism statistics, there are restaurants in Myanmar offering, in addition to Myanmar traditional food, a variety of cuisine such as Chinese, Thai, European, French, Italian, Indian, Korean, Japanese and Singaporean.
www.chinaview.cn 2009-03-20 11:52:07 Print
YANGON, March 20 (Xinhua) -- An ASEAN food festival will be held in Myanmar's former capital of Yangon in late this month to mark the fall of the upcoming Myanmar traditional Thingyan water festival in mid-April, sources with a supermarket said here Friday.
The 15-day ASEAN food festival at the Capital Hypermarket, which is the first of its kind, will last from March 27 to April 10.
The food festival will introduce food of Myanmar and nine other member nations of Brunei, Cambodia, Indonesia, Laos, Malaysia, the Philippines, Singapore, Thailand and Vietnam, as well as other Asian countries and region such as China, Chinese Taipei, India, South Korea and Japan.
The festival will increase understanding on oriental traditions and culture, the sponsor said.
As for Myanmar food, according to restaurant businessmen in the country, foreign customers taking Myanmar traditional food registered the majority, accounting for 65 percent of the total visiting the country.
Foreign customers prefer Myanmar traditional cuisine as it is less expensive than Chinese and European food.
According to hotels and tourism statistics, there are restaurants in Myanmar offering, in addition to Myanmar traditional food, a variety of cuisine such as Chinese, Thai, European, French, Italian, Indian, Korean, Japanese and Singaporean.
Wednesday, March 18, 2009
Bruno on Happy St. Patrick's day!
This is our friend Bruno in his new home celebrating St Patrick's day which was yesterday the March 17Th. It is an Irish national holiday and widely celebrated in US where many Irish had migrated especially in NY and Boston. The color is green and many children wear green jackets and wigs and ribbons to school on this day. I may have a connection with them in my past life as I can feel Irish in my blood. One early British colonist settler in Myanmar said " Burmese are Irish of the Orient." ( I do not know what attributes of us he was referring to but do I care? )
Bruno is now adopted by a kind family. He had spent two years with us and had given us great joy. His journey in this life will continue with his new family. May God bless them!
It gives us great joy to know that he is well taken care of! Some how my blogging habit had produced some good karma though it had created some unwholesome effects on some pro sanctions activists to my country. They want to punish us more for not revolting to the junta. Since 1997 they barred investments to our country though they invest heavily in China whose conditions of human rights is far worse than us. Our country was sacrificed for the Western ideals since our market is smaller than China. Tibet is loosing its identity to Chinese invasion and we will loose our peaceful culture to encroachment of Chinese and Bengali's. Already there is a border tension between Bangladesh and us. If Burmese can afford they shall build a wall like the Great Wall of China at the border since fencing will not be enough to stop them. Some of them were already on our soil since British days and called themselves Rohinja of our country. They have the right to be on our land and live peacefully like other Chinese and Indians born in our country but we cannot afford further claims to destroy and dilute our identity and our ancestry. They have aids and help from the international banks and we do not have that kind of help. They want to lease our lands with loans from World Bank so their farmers can come and work on our lands. In no time our land will be taken over by our neighbors, in no time our people will become slaves to them. In no time our Theravada Buddhism and our peaceful nature will disappear and get lost in the world.
These trade sanction acts are all unwholesome things for us Burmese. Unwholesome means things that make ill karma or effects, that make you and others unhappy, angry, sad and make you get into doing or saying wrong things that you have to suffer later. ( akusala ). They left some nasty remarks on my blog which had to be deleted. If you do not belong to any of their groups nor support their acts, they want to defame you and discourage you from exposing the truth. You do not want to respond to anonymous on cyber space for so many reasons. My main reason is to isolate and protect myself from external stimuli that will disturb my peace of mind. As I woke up early sometimes with bad feelings , I would find these remarks on the blog. I send my love to them and pray that they will be in peace.
My intentions of communicating to the world is to promote peace and understanding of different cultures and to promote kindness and matured action among the countries of the world instead of over powering or force introducing alien concepts to natives elsewhere. The Internet has helped me in understanding more about everything happening in the world and I would like to share my knowledge and make a positive evolution from this corner of Internet. Of course with Bruno on my lap competing with my mac book when he was here with me beside our fireplace. He was my teammate in making the world a better place to live. Bye, my dear canine friend, thank you for your time with me on this earth and give my regards to your new family. Happy St Patrick's day to you all!
Thank You,
mayburma.
PS. Bruno is under our witness protection program ie: his whereabouts will not be disclosed. :)
---
Don't beleive in everything you read !
Fear from Freedom: Pithuna wasa - False Reports!
"The intentional ill writings and speeches to cause anger and pride and unwholesome feelings among people create more trouble on earth, will not lead to peaceful transformations and solutions.
News journalism, writing , reporting, distorting the truth, saying false information with intention to cause misunderstanding and animosity among people is called " pithuna wasa " in Buddhist terms.
Those journalism which continually create hatred and anger commonly between super power countries or the world.
Pithuna Wasa - instigating news are everywhere, spreading life wild fire from one place to another. ( nowadays with blogs , Internet, radio stations, TV stations... )
As the countries do not trust each other , they group together to each side.
The chief of these countries do not act noble or trustworthy either. They say lies, they have pride, they show anger. They attack each other. "
The above words are original sayings of our chief Buddhist Abbot Mahar Gandaryone Sayadaw in his book Pathan Tayar Taw, Buddha's highest teachings. It was written in 1950s .
Among the teachings of Buddha , Pathan is the highest and most sophisticated teachings , it said.
On page 102 the preachings were not to say lies. " People lie everyday where they say something is correct though they know it is not since they want to make a trade and make profit. They will invent something when they want to boast or trick people. They will try to make false appearances as if they are rich by wearing clothes, driving big cars, eating at expensive restaurants beyond their means. These acts and speeches all show lying. "
Reading this paragraph made me understand the cars and houses people bought during these last years with credit lying to themselves first:- not thinking whether they can afford it or not, listening to the real estate dealer's pitch the second lie that you do not need down payment and it is easy to own a huge home. People never think nor ask rushing with the desire to live a luxurious lifestyle. I was in Baltimore in 2007 when a real estate dealer showed me a chart and tried. My question was , "Where is the catch? If I can buy with no down payment and if I pay only the interest first, tell me why it is so easy and when will I have to suffer ? There must be a catch!". I left him with his wide opened mouth unable to utter any more sales pitch.
Therefore our venerable monk said, " Please try to speak correctly the truth and say it gently without emotions. The habit of lying is the getting quite dangerous in our country as well as in the world nowadays. No one trust anyone anymore even among families, among trading partners, among the big nations of the world. "
" Greed makes you lie, these greed, lying acts are all supported by properties of the travelling of senses in the body and mind leading to acts......Aramana, Anyamanya, Thahazata, Nythaya etc .. all are leading to major ill karma unwholsome effects you will get in many more lives in your future. Do not think it lightly that you can get away with a lie. You will suffer in your future. These unwholesome feelings and acts do not disappear in our karma , they always come up in one part of your lives ..."
" Pithunawasar is saying things to create jealousy and anger among friends, family and between countries. By putting a word between friends, couples they know that will cause trouble and love among these people will be disturbed."
" When you hear or read these news, there will be anger formed in your mind, followed by angry voice, so the mind cause action in voice and later by hand. When we read world news there are full of these. Though some part of news are correct, they make countries breach their trusts in each other. Countries get aligned and there is distrust between these groups. "
Nowadays the news medias reflect so much of Pithuna Wasar. With Internet it is even widen the field and its reach. The major world news and entertainment is from America and UK. Media is alarmingly dangerous when they cause unwholesome feelings among communities, un fruitful and unending disturbances for peace in a region. There are more to understand about the mindset of people who are trying to control and change the world, the self importance and ignorance of the impermanent existence of themselves, the ignorance that things are happening in life according to its causes. They are exploiting our case with no intention for the real solution.
During the past year when I was making use of my idle time in US by reading this teachings of Buddha, I found the answer to my world whatever happening around me. I wish to share some knowledge with the world through my blog.
The best thing to do goodwill is to enlighten someone with truth like Buddha did in his times.
mayburma.
"The intentional ill writings and speeches to cause anger and pride and unwholesome feelings among people create more trouble on earth, will not lead to peaceful transformations and solutions.
News journalism, writing , reporting, distorting the truth, saying false information with intention to cause misunderstanding and animosity among people is called " pithuna wasa " in Buddhist terms.
Those journalism which continually create hatred and anger commonly between super power countries or the world.
Pithuna Wasa - instigating news are everywhere, spreading life wild fire from one place to another. ( nowadays with blogs , Internet, radio stations, TV stations... )
As the countries do not trust each other , they group together to each side.
The chief of these countries do not act noble or trustworthy either. They say lies, they have pride, they show anger. They attack each other. "
The above words are original sayings of our chief Buddhist Abbot Mahar Gandaryone Sayadaw in his book Pathan Tayar Taw, Buddha's highest teachings. It was written in 1950s .
Among the teachings of Buddha , Pathan is the highest and most sophisticated teachings , it said.
On page 102 the preachings were not to say lies. " People lie everyday where they say something is correct though they know it is not since they want to make a trade and make profit. They will invent something when they want to boast or trick people. They will try to make false appearances as if they are rich by wearing clothes, driving big cars, eating at expensive restaurants beyond their means. These acts and speeches all show lying. "
Reading this paragraph made me understand the cars and houses people bought during these last years with credit lying to themselves first:- not thinking whether they can afford it or not, listening to the real estate dealer's pitch the second lie that you do not need down payment and it is easy to own a huge home. People never think nor ask rushing with the desire to live a luxurious lifestyle. I was in Baltimore in 2007 when a real estate dealer showed me a chart and tried. My question was , "Where is the catch? If I can buy with no down payment and if I pay only the interest first, tell me why it is so easy and when will I have to suffer ? There must be a catch!". I left him with his wide opened mouth unable to utter any more sales pitch.
Therefore our venerable monk said, " Please try to speak correctly the truth and say it gently without emotions. The habit of lying is the getting quite dangerous in our country as well as in the world nowadays. No one trust anyone anymore even among families, among trading partners, among the big nations of the world. "
" Greed makes you lie, these greed, lying acts are all supported by properties of the travelling of senses in the body and mind leading to acts......Aramana, Anyamanya, Thahazata, Nythaya etc .. all are leading to major ill karma unwholsome effects you will get in many more lives in your future. Do not think it lightly that you can get away with a lie. You will suffer in your future. These unwholesome feelings and acts do not disappear in our karma , they always come up in one part of your lives ..."
" Pithunawasar is saying things to create jealousy and anger among friends, family and between countries. By putting a word between friends, couples they know that will cause trouble and love among these people will be disturbed."
" When you hear or read these news, there will be anger formed in your mind, followed by angry voice, so the mind cause action in voice and later by hand. When we read world news there are full of these. Though some part of news are correct, they make countries breach their trusts in each other. Countries get aligned and there is distrust between these groups. "
Nowadays the news medias reflect so much of Pithuna Wasar. With Internet it is even widen the field and its reach. The major world news and entertainment is from America and UK. Media is alarmingly dangerous when they cause unwholesome feelings among communities, un fruitful and unending disturbances for peace in a region. There are more to understand about the mindset of people who are trying to control and change the world, the self importance and ignorance of the impermanent existence of themselves, the ignorance that things are happening in life according to its causes. They are exploiting our case with no intention for the real solution.
During the past year when I was making use of my idle time in US by reading this teachings of Buddha, I found the answer to my world whatever happening around me. I wish to share some knowledge with the world through my blog.
The best thing to do goodwill is to enlighten someone with truth like Buddha did in his times.
mayburma.
Tuesday, March 17, 2009
Choose out of Two
How to live in life is pretty simple
1: Good Way is the way that does not harm others and your environment.
- have the good view, have a good practice, have a good insight about life.
- have a good plan
- say a good thing
- do a good work
- an honest occupation
- make effort only for something good for people
- keep awareness of everything
- have a serene pose
2: Bad Way is the way that causes harm to others and your environment.
These people only say bad things, see bad things, have pessimistic views, only make efforts leading to destruction, anger and antagonizing things.
There is no serenity and no peace.
These people have paramount selfishness and self importance of themselves.
Once you remove the self (Atta ), you can follow the good path.
The main lesson is that there is no SELF.
There is only a physical body and mass moved by nerves ,senses and feelings.
1: Good Way is the way that does not harm others and your environment.
- have the good view, have a good practice, have a good insight about life.
- have a good plan
- say a good thing
- do a good work
- an honest occupation
- make effort only for something good for people
- keep awareness of everything
- have a serene pose
2: Bad Way is the way that causes harm to others and your environment.
These people only say bad things, see bad things, have pessimistic views, only make efforts leading to destruction, anger and antagonizing things.
There is no serenity and no peace.
These people have paramount selfishness and self importance of themselves.
Once you remove the self (Atta ), you can follow the good path.
The main lesson is that there is no SELF.
There is only a physical body and mass moved by nerves ,senses and feelings.
Monday, March 16, 2009
Where are We Today?
The world has gone up and down in their globalization wild swing act and now has come back to settle down again. " I have never seen this bad in my life," Tony the owner of a restaurant in upstate NY told us. That scared me since he is about 60 year old and he has been in restaurant business all his life. This part of US has not really enjoyed the boom like other states yet it has to feel the pain of the downturn quite bad. The news on radio talked about higher suicidal rates among high school kids, the Albany Times Union newspapers has stories of lay offs and grim effects of economy.
Everyone is effected globally. It was the same in Myanmar when I went back in December '08. The hotels were empty, the gems stores in Bogyoke market were idle, the high scale pubs and restaurants were empty. The bar tender at an international hotel told us," Our industry was hit hard in September riots in '07, and cyclone Nargis in '08 and now financial crisis." The only tourism left there is the Chinese tourists coming for gems emporium which also is decreasing with global crisis. There were Thai tourists groups making pilgrimage to Kyaithiyo pagoda on the way from Pegu an old city where one of Thai King died after being captured and brought back by Burmese King.
Chinese restaurants and Jade shops are doing not so bad with these tourists but every thing is slowing down. A vendor of a pearl store in Bogyoke market said, "I cannot sell any this year, some who have bought with credit have problems paying me and I have to be very patient with them to get my money. " The south sea pearl from Myanmar waters are quite marketable in nearby countries. There are joint venture companies cultivating in Mergui in lower Burma coastal areas. Some shops wanted to sell Burmese pearl with discount to me but their prices were too high even at discount. I remember the words my mother told us, " Jewelery is only for adornment if you have food to eat, when you have no food, it is an exchange for food." I have grown up in socialist days when my mother had to sell them at great discount to feed the family. I do not know how long this recession is going to last and one should keep cash which is King.
There is depression and despair in business circle and tourist industry as no one knows what is going to happen with financial crisis and what is going to happen in 2010 election in Myanmar. Some affluent people disappeared from Yangon scene. Their businesses had closed down or left with some staff while their families are in Singapore or other foreign places. They want their children to study abroad and they do not want to be in Yangon in 2010.
Burglary can get higher in the city nowadays as unemployment grows. I remember when I was young when many thieves were roaming about in our wards at wee hours every night. Today, home owners share to pay for the night guard for their neighborhood. They had to put up ugly spiked barb wire on their walls as well. In 1980s one of my Thai friend told me how houses in Bangkok had high walls around them which he did not find it in Yangon. This time I found some houses with high concrete walls around them in residential areas of my city.
We have our own Madoffs also. There are a few ponzi schemes every year in the city and a few ran away with millions of cash ( $ ) in the trading circle. " We hear scandals every week, " a gems and gold merchant told me. People do everything in cash basis and illegal hundi system for transactions which make them prey to swindlers. With the stocks crashing some end up not being able to pay back money they owe. The country needs proper channels of import banks and insurances for legitimate businesses to grow and to provide stable employment to people. Right now it feels like a wild west.
In many parts of Yangon among middle class and lower middle class , there is not much difference in their lives as they exist with minimal prices for mass market. The road side stalls and tea shops are always full of customers. The daily wet market has the same activities as always. The trishaw tri cycle men complaint that they had to compete with taxis whose prices had come down. Taxis fares are cheap in Yangon though their sofas are not so clean to sit on. People are still enjoying their morning Mohinga fish soup and Ei Kyaw Kwe fried dough at tea shops.
Many businesses are still very active in their activities like some modeling, marketing, advertising areas though the market is very competitive. I attended one of the launch ceremony of a locally made toothpaste and soap product at Traders Hotel. They complaint that they had tough competition with imported products from the border. A research co made an effort to sell its products to advertising agencies. It was such a small group and the industry had sh rinked to minimal existence. All the local brand owners are making their own advertising appointing marketing personals of their own. All the messages were mixed up and all cluttered. The private hospitals are doing well , the pharmaceutical importers are quite rich, there were about two major import of clinical lab equipment, one by the defence ministry and one by a private hospital. Some rich people prefer to go to Bangkok and Singapore for treatment instead of paying high prices in Yangon private hospitals which they complaint that they do not have the same standard of service. Poor people still depend largely on the government hospitals though they co pay for medicines. One I know had an appendectomy done with 300 $ cost which he borrowed and pay back. Another one had child birth at government hospital and we donate 50$ for for medicines. In private hospitals the room charges are very high. Somehow people are surviving in their own ways. In Insein ward where daily wagers live the government sponsored USDA has a free clinic and a micro credit loan. The patients went there to get medicines for free and sold them back at the market. They only give daily dosages now instead of weekly. The micro credit is 7% interest per month which the borrower has to pay back monthly and fully paid by 14 months. It is only 100 $ loan which they increase later to people who pay back regularly. The borrower has to go to weekly meetings.
Myanmar youth in Yangon is having a fever of Hip Hop fashion, songs and dance. The group that came to a December Hip Hop show was so huge and it stopped the traffic on Kabar Aye Pagoda road. The authorities assigned traffic police and riot police cars for it. The song lyrics are so rude and crude beyond crude copying the Hip Hop style of NYC. The censorship is lenient to magazines, music and movies as long as they are not swayed to politics.
I have seen my country from the very top to the very bottom this trip. The children of rich people swimming at Sedona hotel, having birthday parties at the pool side, chatting in English among themselves with nannies and housemaids hovering around them to the children playing on the road side under the street lights while their parents are setting up tea shops and food stalls on the platform.
I heard about the Arabian theme wedding in the hotel, I saw the ad of the Indiana Jones New Year party with 100 $ tickets. But the majority and myself enjoyed the street fairs in Yangon for light festival in October and November months. You can buy balloons, eat the fried fritters on the road side, played the games, all cheap but all fun.
There are beauty saloons in the city and many rich kids who came back for holiday from abroad were enjoying the services. Whatever Burmese people do is with much love and care and they are very good service professionals. In this economy the very rich can sit and idle but middle class and poor will find hard to make extra, but things can be no more worse for them as they are existing in minimal income and surviving day by day. Their existence give me some moral boost! Their smile and their acceptance of life and their right attitude is encouraging!
We say good bye to Tony, tell him that he will survive, he has no time to go skiing this season as he has to be the bartender. His son is the chef , his wife tends the table. Spring is coming and soon it will be time for them to spend some time on their boat on the lake hopefully this year. We will be in Yangon by then.
mayburma Mon 10.25 am NY.
Everyone is effected globally. It was the same in Myanmar when I went back in December '08. The hotels were empty, the gems stores in Bogyoke market were idle, the high scale pubs and restaurants were empty. The bar tender at an international hotel told us," Our industry was hit hard in September riots in '07, and cyclone Nargis in '08 and now financial crisis." The only tourism left there is the Chinese tourists coming for gems emporium which also is decreasing with global crisis. There were Thai tourists groups making pilgrimage to Kyaithiyo pagoda on the way from Pegu an old city where one of Thai King died after being captured and brought back by Burmese King.
Chinese restaurants and Jade shops are doing not so bad with these tourists but every thing is slowing down. A vendor of a pearl store in Bogyoke market said, "I cannot sell any this year, some who have bought with credit have problems paying me and I have to be very patient with them to get my money. " The south sea pearl from Myanmar waters are quite marketable in nearby countries. There are joint venture companies cultivating in Mergui in lower Burma coastal areas. Some shops wanted to sell Burmese pearl with discount to me but their prices were too high even at discount. I remember the words my mother told us, " Jewelery is only for adornment if you have food to eat, when you have no food, it is an exchange for food." I have grown up in socialist days when my mother had to sell them at great discount to feed the family. I do not know how long this recession is going to last and one should keep cash which is King.
There is depression and despair in business circle and tourist industry as no one knows what is going to happen with financial crisis and what is going to happen in 2010 election in Myanmar. Some affluent people disappeared from Yangon scene. Their businesses had closed down or left with some staff while their families are in Singapore or other foreign places. They want their children to study abroad and they do not want to be in Yangon in 2010.
Burglary can get higher in the city nowadays as unemployment grows. I remember when I was young when many thieves were roaming about in our wards at wee hours every night. Today, home owners share to pay for the night guard for their neighborhood. They had to put up ugly spiked barb wire on their walls as well. In 1980s one of my Thai friend told me how houses in Bangkok had high walls around them which he did not find it in Yangon. This time I found some houses with high concrete walls around them in residential areas of my city.
We have our own Madoffs also. There are a few ponzi schemes every year in the city and a few ran away with millions of cash ( $ ) in the trading circle. " We hear scandals every week, " a gems and gold merchant told me. People do everything in cash basis and illegal hundi system for transactions which make them prey to swindlers. With the stocks crashing some end up not being able to pay back money they owe. The country needs proper channels of import banks and insurances for legitimate businesses to grow and to provide stable employment to people. Right now it feels like a wild west.
In many parts of Yangon among middle class and lower middle class , there is not much difference in their lives as they exist with minimal prices for mass market. The road side stalls and tea shops are always full of customers. The daily wet market has the same activities as always. The trishaw tri cycle men complaint that they had to compete with taxis whose prices had come down. Taxis fares are cheap in Yangon though their sofas are not so clean to sit on. People are still enjoying their morning Mohinga fish soup and Ei Kyaw Kwe fried dough at tea shops.
Many businesses are still very active in their activities like some modeling, marketing, advertising areas though the market is very competitive. I attended one of the launch ceremony of a locally made toothpaste and soap product at Traders Hotel. They complaint that they had tough competition with imported products from the border. A research co made an effort to sell its products to advertising agencies. It was such a small group and the industry had sh rinked to minimal existence. All the local brand owners are making their own advertising appointing marketing personals of their own. All the messages were mixed up and all cluttered. The private hospitals are doing well , the pharmaceutical importers are quite rich, there were about two major import of clinical lab equipment, one by the defence ministry and one by a private hospital. Some rich people prefer to go to Bangkok and Singapore for treatment instead of paying high prices in Yangon private hospitals which they complaint that they do not have the same standard of service. Poor people still depend largely on the government hospitals though they co pay for medicines. One I know had an appendectomy done with 300 $ cost which he borrowed and pay back. Another one had child birth at government hospital and we donate 50$ for for medicines. In private hospitals the room charges are very high. Somehow people are surviving in their own ways. In Insein ward where daily wagers live the government sponsored USDA has a free clinic and a micro credit loan. The patients went there to get medicines for free and sold them back at the market. They only give daily dosages now instead of weekly. The micro credit is 7% interest per month which the borrower has to pay back monthly and fully paid by 14 months. It is only 100 $ loan which they increase later to people who pay back regularly. The borrower has to go to weekly meetings.
Myanmar youth in Yangon is having a fever of Hip Hop fashion, songs and dance. The group that came to a December Hip Hop show was so huge and it stopped the traffic on Kabar Aye Pagoda road. The authorities assigned traffic police and riot police cars for it. The song lyrics are so rude and crude beyond crude copying the Hip Hop style of NYC. The censorship is lenient to magazines, music and movies as long as they are not swayed to politics.
I have seen my country from the very top to the very bottom this trip. The children of rich people swimming at Sedona hotel, having birthday parties at the pool side, chatting in English among themselves with nannies and housemaids hovering around them to the children playing on the road side under the street lights while their parents are setting up tea shops and food stalls on the platform.
I heard about the Arabian theme wedding in the hotel, I saw the ad of the Indiana Jones New Year party with 100 $ tickets. But the majority and myself enjoyed the street fairs in Yangon for light festival in October and November months. You can buy balloons, eat the fried fritters on the road side, played the games, all cheap but all fun.
There are beauty saloons in the city and many rich kids who came back for holiday from abroad were enjoying the services. Whatever Burmese people do is with much love and care and they are very good service professionals. In this economy the very rich can sit and idle but middle class and poor will find hard to make extra, but things can be no more worse for them as they are existing in minimal income and surviving day by day. Their existence give me some moral boost! Their smile and their acceptance of life and their right attitude is encouraging!
We say good bye to Tony, tell him that he will survive, he has no time to go skiing this season as he has to be the bartender. His son is the chef , his wife tends the table. Spring is coming and soon it will be time for them to spend some time on their boat on the lake hopefully this year. We will be in Yangon by then.
mayburma Mon 10.25 am NY.
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