Burma: To go or not to go?

Don't think that we ran the Go: Burma story and photographs without some discussion. Whether or not to visit Burma, an "untouched" country that has been ruled by a ruthless and often ridiculous junta since 1962, is a thorny question. So thorny that one of the two top guidebook companies -- Rough Guide -- won't even publish a Burma guide because they believe that visiting the country does more harm than good. (Lonely Planet does publish a guide to Burma.)

Here's a quick synopsis of arguments for and against taking a trip to Burma:

Why go?

• It's beautiful and largely unbesmirched by the western world, unlike much of the rest of Asia.
• By going to Burma and really getting to know Burmese who live and struggle under the regime, you let them know that you care. A sort of political Hallmark card.
  
• By coming back from Burma armed with first-hand knowledge, you can educate others and become an activist for democracy in a country that voted for it.
• By going to Burma and being really careful about how and where you spend your money, you can put money directly into the hands of people who really need it.

Why not go?

• Many argue that tourist money spent in Burma has a direct line to corrupt military officials' pockets and to human rights abuses. Why? Every kyat you spend from the moment you skid onto the runway in Rangoon rewards a heinous military regime that has forced hundreds of thousands of people to make the country sparkle. The glimmering resort you stay in could well have been built by forced labor, and the profits from your hotel bill will line the pockets of the military elite.
• Aung San Suu Kyi, the Nobel Peace Prize-winning leader of Burma's democratic movement, has lived under house arrest for 10 of the past 17 years. Her party won elections in 1990 but was never permitted to take office. She has repeatedly urged tourists to boycott travel to Burma. (There are also thousands of other political prisoners detained in horrible circumstances inside Burma.)
• Farmers often get by on as little as 80 cents a day, while state employees' salaries have been increased by as much as 10 times in the past few months.
• Half of the children under the age of five in some parts of Burma are chronically malnourished -- this in a country that in terms of natural resources was one of Asia's richest -- and an estimated 150,000 Burmese children under the age of 5 die every year of malaria, diarrhea, and acute respiratory infections. The World Health Organization estimates that Burma spend $10 per person per year on healthcare, compared with, say, Thailand, which spends $160. One NGO estimates that the figure is even lower -- more like 50 cents. Per person. Per year.
• The political situation in Burma has had a terrible effect on the trafficking of girls and women. It's estimated that 60 percent of the women entering Thailand essentially as migrant prostitutes are under the age of 18. 
• There are an estimated 650,000 internally displaced persons -- basically forced internal refugees who often lead lead a subsistence existence in the jungle -- in eastern Burma.
• The Burmese military uses child soldiers.

Let me be transparent:  I lived for awhile with people who had been refugees for over twelve years -- and that was five years ago. They're still refugees, basically trapped in a camp in a canyon deep in the jungle on the border with Thailand. Words cannot describe the horrid salad of boredom and terror that I saw in their eyes.

I have dear friends who have been imprisoned and beaten. I know people whose husbands vanished, children whose only father is a faded photograph on the wall of a bamboo shack in a refugee camp. I've seen a starving child -- yes, the pot-bellied kind -- in a clinic on the border. I know a woman went crazy after seeing her brother beaten to death by soldiers. I've looked a friend in the eye -- a guerrilla who would vanish for weeks into the jungle to fight in the resistance -- and told him that I understood exactly why he had a machine gun, and what he did with it when he was inside Burma.

No, I won't judge you if you go to Burma -- I'd like to go myself. But between my political beliefs and my writing things like this, chances are I couldn't get a visa if I applied for one. And as for you, for God's sake be informed and responsible if you do go and be careful about how you spend your money.

Here's some reading: A recent series by the BBC on Burma. Pascal Khoo Thwe's From the Land of Green Ghosts. Christina Fink's Living Silence. Human Rights Watch's reports. Coverage from The Irrawaddy.

Okay, on that note, I'm going to step down from my soap box. It's getting awfully stuffy up here.

--Meghan

Comments

[Daniel]

I hate to see democracy suppressed, and hate to see people suffer. That said, I don't believe that traveling to Burma or not traveling to Burma will change either of these conditions there.
The U.S. republic has failed in 2 of the last 3 elections, but we have no sanctions against us to punish cab drivers and bellhops.
I say go line some pockets because the reality of democratic progress in Burma can be summed up by Al Capone, "You'll get a lot farther with a kind word and a gun than a kind word alone."

[Simon]

I'm with Tara - I'm continually frustrated by folks that spend a week or 3 in country and come back as experts. As any of us who have in non-birth countries can testify, cultures and living conditions are normally multi layered in complexity and take longer terms for trust to be built and for invitations to submerge .
I think we promote dignity when we invite where possible insiders - to hear their voices.

[Editor]

It's hard to argue against the educational value of informed travel, but personally, I'm a bit more cynical of the average independent traveler's ability to really learn something in this situation. I think what it comes down to is balance. With an organization, or trip leaders like yours, then perhaps travelers can tip the balance towards doing more good than harm by traveling there. Surely knowledge gained is not enough - giving back in tangible ways to these communities is great, but if someone wants to justify the negative ramifications of traveling to Burma with the "seeing what it's really like logic", without giving back, then I'd still argue they shouldn't go. I think we should be much more cautious in encouraging people to go and see what's really like, because the vast majority who take up the offer simply won't - they'll return with the same stories about how wonderful and 'untouched by western influence' (read: forced into poverty) the country is, and completely miss the point.

And this is not aimed at you, but to the whole situation in general, but perhaps what we need is to move beyond the same recycled, black and white debates about going or not going, or sanctions or no sanctions, and start debating the when's and how's of traveling responsibly. It looks like your organization is already working on that, so thank you.

Tara
http://ethnicvoices.civiblog.org/

[Duncan Beardsley]

Thank you for the recent article about Burma. It is a wonderful country full of beautiful peace loving people. I am a strong proponent of educational travel’s responsibility to show individuals the reality of life in Burma and I encourage all your readers to visit the country and see for themselves. Many of the world’s nations do not share respect for human rights and civil liberties that are commonplace in many Western societies. Burma is one such nation.

Unfortunately there are those that support a boycott of any economic activity with Burma, including travel, as they believe that it benefits the generals. In reality a travel boycott only hurts the little people – the guides, hotel staff, bus drivers and local merchants for whom every dollar helps.

I was fortunate to have been the Director of the educational travel program for another major university in the Bay area, ran a number of programs to Burma and worked hard to inform travelers about the realities of the country and the challenges facing the Burmese people as they cope with an authoritarian government. With the help of university faculty leaders travelers became immersed in a society that is hugely different from their own. We made sure that the travelers saw the real Burma, not just the superficial tourist attractions. A strong faculty leader on the trip made sure that all sides of the issues were told.

On the question of what Aung San Suu Kyi thinks of travel, she differentiates mass travel from educational travel. Clark Neher of Northern Illinois University, one of the more knowledgeable faculty leaders, wrote “I have met with Aung San Suu Kyi, the leader of the democratic opposition in Burma. She is the mother of my student and I rank her among the most courageous and knowledgeable persons I have ever met. Her understanding of Burmese culture is unparalleled. I have told her about (alumni) Travel/Study and she has been positive about this kind of tourism because every effort is made to work closely with the Burmese people and to avoid contact with and financial support for the military government. She has been pleased to hear that Travel/Study recommends and provides outstanding books to read, includes a professor with special knowledge of Burma, sets up meetings with American diplomats and Burmese leaders of non-governmental agencies, and participates in development-oriented projects.”

Finally, as a result of being with the local people in Burma after most trips travelers wanted to “give back” to the Burmese people which has resulted in wells being dug in villages that had no water and school being built where there were none. We continue to help the people of Burma through Generosity in Action a local grassroots effort to give back to many needy people that we visit.

Duncan Beardsley ‘61
Director - Generosity in Action
www.GenerosityInAction.org