cabbages and kings

“The time has come,” the Walrus said,

“To talk of many things:

Of shoes and ships and sealing-wax

Of cabbages and kings

And why the sea is boiling hot

And whether pigs have wings.”

News that the military junta in Burma says they are talking with Pro Democracy leader Aung San Suu Kyi, is, I suppose, my cue to discuss what little I learned about politics in Myanmar (Burma).

Always, when thinking about the political situation there, I was aware that I was never going to see everything (or maybe even anything) that is wrong with the country. We travelled along the Ayerwaddy River and stayed at Lake Inle and while the people in those regions live simple lives, they are healthy, well-fed and seemingly quite happy in their communities and in their family lives. Rivers mean trade, easy transport and fertile agricultural regions, and these days, a tiny bit of tourism. It was hardly to be otherwise.

One thing was clear, however: despite restrictions on the right of assemby, the people are not afraid to speak their minds. On the trip, we had the opportunity to speak to a wide range of people, all (of course) English speakers and most well-educated. Besides our guides (6 different ones for different regions), we spoke to hotel staff, students, ex-pats (of which there are only around 2,000 in the entire country), taxi drivers and others. At one point, we attended a presentation by a member of Aung San Suu Kyi’s party who had been imprisoned for 2 years by the junta. The talk, incongruously entitled “Colonial Burma” turned out to be, in actuality, a discussion of post-WWII Burma and the pro-democracy movement.

The country’s history is hugely complex - from pre-colonial times to the Japanese occupation to independence and up to the present day - understanding Burma and its problems could take a lifetime of study. Add to this a people comprised of 135 different and often warring ethnic tribes (echoes of Afghanistan and Iraq) and you have a situation that has no easy fixes.

The people, as well, are possibly quite unlike those of any other country. Everyone who’s ever visited comes away believing that the people of Burma (not just the Burmese, who are their own ethnic tribe) are the warmest, gentlest, most generous and polite people on the planet. They are also hugely religious, but religious in the non-fanatical, gentle way of Buddhism which never seeks to impose itself on anyone. Self-knowledge, charity and community are paramount and so it’s no surprise that for a proportion of its modern history it was a socialist state. Even today, certain regions are divided between those who support communism and those who support democracy.

The people I spoke to were, not surprisingly, critical of the junta, blaming it for corruption and severe financial mismanagement of the country, but there did not seem to be, as I expected, a huge outpouring of support for “the Lady” either.

One man, a well-to-do professional, believed that she was not likely to ever lead the country. The people there, despite loving her for her strength and kindness, consider her an outsider and believe that she was elected only because her father was the famous and well-loved General Aung San, who helped to broker a peace deal amongst the ethnic tribes back in 1948, just before his assassination (officially by political rival U Saw, but rumoured to have actually been committed by the former leader General Ne Win). Suu Kyi was raised and schooled in India and then spent much of her adult life in England after studying at Oxford, only returning to Burma when her mother took ill in the early 80s.

Personally, I have to question some of the economic policies that have been presented. Most of her manifesto is in the Burmese language and only portions have been published in English, but it strikes me as a bit too open market a bit too quickly. The country is mercifully free of McDonalds, of Coca-Cola adverts and frankly, of pollution and crime and opening the flood gates to free market foreign investment is worrying to me.

Many of the villages we visited had pretty basic electricity supply. Often it went only to a single building which housed a TV and satellite dish for the use of the villagers. It was in these villages, I was told, that theft, crime and violence was more prevalent. This is not to say that I would begrudge anyone electricity or material wealth, but we (or actually, they) should recognise that the consumption of material goods comes with other, not-so-welcome additions.

I also worry that democracy is seen as some sort of magic wand that will solve all problems and defeat all ills, but like most countries, only the wealthy and educated will vote and people, by their nature, are hugely self-centered. We also know that democracy does little to prevent corruption and that the drive for profit nearly always outweighs genuine concern for the people.

None of this means, I hasten to add, that I in any way support the current government or its methods or that I do not support a drive towards democracy. What I hope for most is that the remarkable people of Myanmar will be given the chance to teach all of us what is important and worthwhile in our own lives and that we are given the opportunity to visit and do business with them in a way that does not impact on the way they choose to live their lives.

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