Think of Myanmar or Burma as it was previously referred to and most people would change their look to one of disgust and mutter something about human rights abuse and drugs in the golden triangle. Its terrible, the torture, slavery and human rights violations. We have heard it all before or seen it with our own eyes, not in person mind you, on the TV or in the newspapers. So naturally we believe it.
If someone showed you a picture of a New York slum and told you that is what America looks like would you believe it? Probably not, so why should this be any different?
Being in the oil industry I spend a good part of the early 1990's travelling to Myanmar. I have sat with the Generals, share tea, visited the countryside and worked with the local people. Is it as bad as what everyone thinks? I don't think so. Myanmar does have its problems but so does every country, there problems unfortunately are a little more basic than yours or mine. They don't have to worry about how many cable channels they get because they don't have TV's, or fast food or shopping malls or just about everything else you and I take for granted, even food.
Here is a country that has survived on its own for the past half a century and purposely shut itself off from the rest of the world. And since Myanmar isn't important economically to the US, it becomes the focus of critism. There are two other countries that define the golden triangle for drugs and yet Myanmar is the only one that gets sanctioned.
Go figure...
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Sightseeing
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