Myanmar and its emergence on the world stage

I was very pleased to read the news article hinting that Myanmar is now ready to join the global community of nations, which means I hope they are ready to treat their citizens with respect and dignity. The Burmese are, on the whole, a lovely, gentle and caring race of people, as the people of Myanmar have long relied on their community and spiritual way of life to ensure they are equipped to journey beyond the evils that come their way. brought them oppression. that they have endured at the hands of their military. For the Burmese people, the military junta that has controlled this country has exploited their calm and spiritual personality to the extreme, we Westerners have stood by and allowed this oppression to happen.

In the 1990s I had the privilege of working in Yangon as a consultant for their fledgling mobile phone network, although my job was short-lived, just a few months. For a fleeting moment, about 12 or 15 years ago, it seemed that they were about to rejoin the democratic world order, while trying to embrace democracy. Global hotel chains rushed to Yangon to build and operate spectacular hotels of incredible quality. Unfortunately, while maintaining democratic discipline, these hotels have remained largely empty.

As for my reason for being there, it was to advise them on the requirements to implement a mobile phone network in Myanmar. While trying to embrace mobile telephony, as if they wanted to install a network, they began to open up the country again.

During the period that I traveled to and from Myanmar, a journey that I found fraught with difficulties due to all the procedural requirements for obtaining visas etc., I saw an infrastructure reminiscent of the war years throughout Europe. There were old Bedford trucks and buses that were easily 50 years old and still running as originally intended, it was like the world hadn’t moved. For me, this brought a kind of charm to my travels that was nice to see and experience, but I left the country in search of better facilities, so I never had to experience the practical impact for any length of time.

However, what was a surprise to me; it was the presence of French nationals folding their trade. The French were involved in areas such as; Telephone exchanges to restaurants. Colleagues I worked with told me to keep my own advice. If I was in any bar during my nights, they indicated the existence of French intelligence, a service that was there in Myanmar to protect French companies from foreign competitors. I have no idea if I brushed against these guys so I had no experience to say if this was true or not. But, I had certainly been advised to keep my own advice and particularly around the bar at the Strand Hotel, a bar where the few expats who were in Myanmar frequented, embassy personal count among the expats.

During one of my overnight drives I was lucky enough to travel outside of Yangon, traveling on a main road for about 10 miles, at which point we turned off the highway and onto a dirt road for at least another 2 miles. We eventually came across a beautiful freshly painted white colonial house, this house was in the middle of a plantation, it had an archway extending from the front door/driveway where cars could pass and stop below, this archway was reminiscent of a por era pass. You can imagine that in the days when colonial carriages were used, these carriages would pull up under the arch and come to a complete stop, the colonial elite would get off said carriages. The front porch would then transition into a great room complete with a sweeping staircase. This rather splendid building was an upscale French restaurant, it came together with a French chef/owner, the food was of incredible quality. The restaurant was not overcrowded with tables but the tables that were placed there in the different rooms were all full of diners.

I’ve strayed, it’s interesting that the exploits were in fact the ones being exploited at the end of the day, as the Chinese were using Myanmar’s resources to generate power and then send that power back to China, with little benefit to the Burmese. I would suspect that Myanmar’s military regime had long enjoyed Chinese support. But apart from this, and for some reason, they, the junta, have now come to the table and the people of Myanmar can take a breath and breathe a sigh of relief. As for the West, we should now embrace them and help them join the civilized community of nations. In doing so, we must not discount the sacrifice that Aung San Suu Ky made to support her people during this difficult period, as we must acknowledge her strength, resilience, grace and poise as she endured those years confined to her home. Aung San Suu Ky deserves a role on the world stage as I am sure we have a new person of world states in the guise of Aung San Suu Ky, she has shown great humility, great dignity seen only when Nelson Mandela he was released after years of confinement. . Like Nelson Mandela, she has not held her oppressors accountable for her oppression because she has sought to unify this country. I think she has great courage and dignity, a person who has respect for the values ​​of ordinary people! In fact, the world should look to her for guidance at this difficult time.

I hope that we will see this country move quickly, that they, the people, improve their security, bring peace and stability, that their standard of living improves rapidly. I also believe that this country should open its doors so that many of us can easily see the temples that have formed the spiritual backbone of the Myanmar people. I hope we all get to experience the Shwedagon Paya (Pagoda) because this is a world-renowned Buddhist temple, set on a hill overlooking all of Yangon. Because this temple was built and established before the time of Christ. For my part, I am lucky to have visited this wonderful monument.

Good luck Burma.