The Changing Face of Burma

By: Gabrielle Yetter

With one hand balanced on the steering wheel, our driver, Thura Thein, fumbled in his pocket as he drove along the busy Yangon road from the airport.

A moment later, he pulled out a photograph. Smiling broadly, he thrust it toward us. “This is me with Aung San Suu Kyi,” he proudly declared, and he pointed out the home where the revered Burmese opposition leader spent 15 years under house arrest.

“She saved our country,” said one of the Burmese tour guides we met at Shwedagon Temple. “Our country is changing and everyone is very hopeful.”

It was the same everywhere. People smiled when talking about Burma (or Myanmar, as the military regime named it). Street vendors sold t-shirts displaying Suu Kyi’s face. An office in Bagan hung signs proclaiming “National League for Democracy “.

Things are shifting – and the people we met were happy to share their joy.

It hasn’t been like this for long. The Lonely Planet guide of 2011 cautions travelers “Don’t raise political questions and issues in inappropriate situations” and “Show equal caution regarding what you ask or say on the phone or via email” as well as  “Asking a taxi driver to take you past Aung San Suu Khyi’s house or to an NLD office could implicated them”.

Myanmar’s food

By: Keith Lyons

After decades of isolation, Myanmar is opening up to the rest of the world. Virtually unknown outside South-East Asia, Myanmar's cuisine is now being discovered by an increasing number of visitors, as well as those fortunate to have a rare Burmese restaurant in their city. So is Burmese food just rice and curry? Is it true they don't just drink tea, but also eat it? Are Myanmar dishes too simple, spicy, oily or sweet?

For starters, if you look on a map you will see that Myanmar is located between three gastronomic superpowers: India, China and Thailand. As you would expect, there are Indian, Chinese and South-East Asian influences on the food you find in Myanmar, but Burmese cuisine is quite distinctive, and not just curry and rice.

Sure, steamed white rice is the foundation of many meals, but travelers to Myanmar are often impressed with the variety of food available not just across the country, but at each meal. Let me explain. When you order a curry, hearty salad or noodle dish, you'll get a spread of accompaniments: pickled vegetables, fermented beans, fried shrimps, onion and chilli, raw fresh vegetables and dips, fresh herbs like mint and pennywort, and a paste made from salted fish or shrimps called ngapi. In fact ngapi is more than a condiment, being the base for many mains, salads and soups. Also often served free with many meals is a simple black pepper soup.

‘The Lady’of Burma: Aung San Suu Kyi

By: Diana van Oort

Aung San Suu Kyi is without a doubt the most iconic Burmese politician. As the Chairperson and General Secretary of the National League for Democracy (NLD), she has been described as charismatic, dedicated, inspirational, courageous and stubborn. She was born on 19 June 1945 in Rangoon and is the third child and only daughter of Aung San (father) and Khin Kyi (mother). Her father founded the modern Burmese army and negotiated Burma’s independence from the British Empire in 1947. He was assassinated by his rivals in the same year. He’s still held in high esteem. Her mother was appointed Burmese ambassador to India and Nepal in 1960.

Aung San Suu Kyi’s Political Life

Aung San Suu Kyi grew up with her mother and two brothers. One, Aung San Lin, drowned when he was eight. The other, Aung San Oo migrated to The United States. After Aung San Lin's death, the family moved to a house by Inya Lake, where she still lives today. Aung San Suu Kyi is a Theravada Buddhist.

The Moustache Brothers: Burma’s Comedy Trio Keeps on Cracking Jokes against the Grain

By: Diana van Oort

Humor and totalitarian regimes don’t go well together, something the Moustache Brothers from Burma can attest to The Moustache brothers are a comedy trio from Mandalay, known for their live performances that combine comedy, classic Burmese dance, and sharp satirical criticism of the military regime. In 1996 they paid a high price for cracking jokes against the regime.

The Moustache Brothers: “All I did was cracking some jokes”

"All I did was cracking some jokes. But for that, I was sentenced to hard labor," says Par Par Lay in an interview with Newshour on the BBC World Service. "I didn't revolt against the government but I was charged with a political crime." In 1996 Par Par Lay, 64, and his cousin, 60-year-old Lu Zaw, were sent to prison after they performed outside the house of Burma's most famous political prisoner, Aung San Suu Kyi, where they made the military government the butt of some jokes. Lu Maw, 62-year, avoided prison, apparently after they drew lots to decide who would actually deliver the controversial jokes. They came out of prison in 2003. In 2010 Aung San Suu Kyi herself was released from house arrest by Burma's new, nominally civilian government.

Signs of Change: Traveling through Burma

Text & Images by: Willem van Gent

Willem van Gent and Willy van Rooijen are a Dutch couple who traveled through Burma. They share their experiences and first signs of change on Latitudes.

In the fall of 2010 we find ourselves in the south of Laos. In the lobby of our hotel at the Mekong we watch the news that the house arrest of Burmese opposition leader Aung San Suu Kyi (66) has been lifted. We decide there and then that Burma will be our next destination.

December 2011. To our surprise getting a visa for Burma at the Bangkok embassy is going very smoothly. And we are certainly not the only ones who want to go there. It is almost impossible to find a room in the capital Yangon.

Changes are in the air but nobody knows how fast the reformist process the new president Thein Sein has started, will go on. We stay a few days in Yangon and do the things all tourists do. We walk around and enjoy the street life, with the tea houses, the small stalls, the sounds and smells of a city where people spend a big part of their days outside.

Transportation in Burma: Riding Iron Deathtraps for Fun

The Naga Festival

By: Maya Liem

Every year on January 15th the Naga people, living in Myanmar, celebrate the Lunar New Year Festival, known as Kaing Bi. All Naga tribes in Myanmar send delegations to celebrate their most important festival of the year. At midnight on new year’s eve, the Naga chief prays at the festival site. When the praying is over, people sacrifice cattle, pigs and chickens, which will be prepared for the meal at the festival. The festival is usually celebrated with lots of food, rice wine and dances.

Naga, a people divided

The term Naga people is given to a conglomeration of tribes living in the North Eastern part of India (in Nagaland, Manipur, Assam and Arunachal Pradesh) and the North Western part of Myanmar (in the Naga Self-Administered Zone, Sagaing division). Although many Naga have been Christianized after the arrival of missionaries from the middle of the 19th century on, and the new educational system has brought changes to the old social patterns and cultural practices, the Naga people still attract the attention of the outside world.

Resource War in Burma

By: Zach Goldman

Burma has always been a source for bad news, and unfortunately this year is no different. In June of 2011 fighting between the KIA (Kachin Independence Army) and the Burmese Military erupted after 17 years of an unsteady ceasefire. Fighting within Kachin state has since increased into a full scale cross border guerrilla war with (reportedly) the KIA having the upper hand and the Burmese Military using more and more desperate means to dislodge them from their border region hideouts.

The reasons for the fighting are many including everything from opportunities in government positions to recognition of Christianity as the state religion, perhaps the most prominent reason is the plan for a dam to be built at the headwaters of the Irrawaddy river.

Refugee Monologues

By: Diana van Oort

Give them a face, a name and let them tell their story and refugees will be seen as people, not as numbers and be ignored. This is what The Actors Studio in cooperation with the UNHCR did in October. ‘Life Sdn Bhd 7: refugee’, shows you a glimpse into the lives and challenges of some of the refugees living in Malaysia. Honest and compelling stories that often go unheard, told by seven refugees: Khampi, Ngun Siang, Raine, Sharifa and Trasia (Myanmar), Theepika (Sri Lanka) and Ahmed (Somalia). They talked about fear, death, isolation and being homesick, but also about hope and happiness.